Student activist Maya Little poured red ink and some of her own blood on a Confederate monument called “Silent Sam” residing on the campus of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in late April.
The monument, a statue of a Confederate soldier, was commissioned in 1910 and dedicated in June of 1913, commemorating the 321 UNC alumni who fought and died in the Civil War, and the 1,062 who entered the Confederate army.
Little was arrested shortly after her act of protest, telling the News & Observer, “That statue is not a historical object.”
She added, “It’s missing its history. What I did was give it some context.”
On June 14, Little tweeted a petition urging UNC’s Honor Court to drop the charges against her.
UNC’s Honor Court has officially filed charges against me which could result in my expulsion. Sign the petition to have my charges dropped, please share, hold @UNC accountable, stand for activism and not white supremacy https://t.co/8JWepchxz2
— Maya (@readkropotkin) June 14, 2018
“Maya Little faces potential expulsion for an act of civil disobedience against a Confederate statue. We support the statement below, and we petition the UNC Honor Court to drop the charges against her,” the petition reads in part.
“The students of the Silent Sam Sit-In ask that the UNC Honor Court drop all charges against me for my protest of Silent Sam on April 30,” the petition continues. “We ask that the proper disciplinary boards formally consider charges against university officials responsible for the continued surveillance and suppression of activists involved with protests against racist monuments.”
As of press time, the petition had more than 4,200 signatures. Students and community members took to Twitter on both sides of the issue.
Family, let’s help Maya Little out by signing this petition to keep her in school. Racist ass UNC are trying to expel her because she defaced a statue by pouring her own blood on it. The statue is, ‘Silent Sam’, it represents slavery and the whipping of a ‘Negro Wench’. ??✊? https://t.co/IVayybxqkp
— We Are At War (@RochezSwem) June 15, 2018
@UNC You should be ashamed of yourself for this. Instead of making students feel safe you waste money posting campus police to protect this racist statue 24/7. STOP MAKING EXCUSES AND TAKE DOWN SILENT SAM https://t.co/Upejiy5agT
— Her Royal Highness (@ninamirage) June 15, 2018
Please sign this and share widely! Maya Little does not deserve to be expelled, nor should she face criminal charges for her act of civil disobedience against blatant racism on @UNC campus. #SilenceSam https://t.co/2bKJZGX3sL
— Aditi Dholakia (@AditiDDholakia) June 16, 2018
Other users were less than sympathetic to Little’s plight.
What gives you the right to destroy property especially not yours! So if it’s not a statue it will be someone’s car, business or other things!! I’m still pissed they haven’t found Faith Hedgepeth’s killer don’t mean I can go destroy the Police station!! See ya!! https://t.co/0D1EnDgzbY
— 2017 National Champs (@soxen2013) June 17, 2018
Don’t do stupid shit if you don’t wanna face the consequences ??♂️ https://t.co/FrSiPXVJSl
— Clint Henderson (@clinthenderson7) June 16, 2018
It is unclear if UNC has any plans to acknowledge the petition or drop the charges. UNC did not return request for comment in time for publication.
