North Carolina State Court Reversed 2.5 million Settlement Celebrating White Supremacy
by Kathy Grear 02/14/2020Chapel Hill, NC – Today, a North Carolina state court reversed a settlement under which the UNC system would provide a $2.5 million giveaway to the Sons of Confederate Veterans over the Silent Sam statue, which celebrated the legacy of the Confederacy. The settlement was based upon a meritless lawsuit which the UNC Board of Governors and SCV had colluded on for the sole purpose of the payout.
The judge’s reversal is the product of legal action by five UNC students and a faculty member represented by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law which challenged the jurisdictional basis for the settlement. Previously, the judge denied the students and faculty member the ability to formally intervene in the suit, but nonetheless re-opened consideration of the merits of the settlement and allowed the students and faculty member to submit a brief. “Today is a important victory for the people in confronting the false and divisive Lost Cause narrative and the racist ideology it entrenches,” said Elizabeth Haddix, a managing attorney of the North Carolina Regional Office of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
About the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, was formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to involve the private bar in providing legal services to address racial discrimination. Now in its 56th year, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is continuing its quest to “Move America Toward Justice.” The principal mission of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is to secure, through the rule of law, equal justice for all, particularly in the areas of criminal justice, fair housing and community development, economic justice, educational opportunities, and voting rights.
