Statement Regarding Silent Sam Decision

Statement on Silent Sam Decision 

As an arts organization whose work is rooted in fostering opportunities for experiences that expand one’s understanding of the world and encourage individuals to engage with their communities, we are appalled at the agreement entered into on our behalf by the UNC System Board of Governors. Granting money from the earnings of UNC’s endowment to an organization that is dedicated to a distorted and false version of history is an action contrary to this University’s search for truth. 

The arts present countless opportunities to spark understanding, foster discourse, and nurture empathy. Every day, the individuals who represent Carolina Performing Arts exercise these ideas through the work we do together, considering it ever more important to do so as part of a university community.

We work at the first public university in America. But we do this work on a campus that was built by enslaved people, surrounded by physical reminders of the Confederacy and institutionalized racism. Indeed, we present and produce art in a building filled with these reminders. As such, we consider it our responsibility to reckon with the truths of our collective history, listen, and create safe spaces, as part of our dedication to the principles of social justice, equity, inclusion, and diversity that support the mission of this 21st century global research university. 

We are working toward creating a better future, for our students, our community, our state and nation, and the world, as fervent believers in the power of the arts to transform individual lives and, indeed, institutions. 

Ars Longa, Vita Brevis. 

James Moeser
Interim Executive and Artistic Director
Carolina Performing Arts
Chancellor Emeritus
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Statement on Silent Sam Decision