Tarheels Involved in the Slave Trade

by Colin Sharkey
Campus Magazine Online

The University of North Carolina released information about the 216-year old institution's early existence, according to an article on CNN. Archivists have uncovered that "servants" who helped build the school were actually slaves. The university is displaying early evidence that America's oldest public school was built by slaves (some of whom were owned by early faculty and board members) in an on-campus exhibit entitled, "Slavery and the Making of the University: Celebrating Our Unsung Heroes, Bond and Free." The exhibit includes letters and photographs.

It is well and good that UNC acknowledges its ties to slavery, pays respect to those who helped build the school, and did not try to cover up the truth. Other schools, such as the University of Alabama, have also acknowledged their role in the slave trade and responded to the revelation with commemoration of the slaves, markers and statues on the campus, and special courses exploring slavery in early America. While these efforts are admirable, the public, not-for-profit universities that discover blemishes in their past should not respond with overwhelming generosity to charities and scholarship programs, unless the money comes from individuals earmarking the funds for that specific mission. Taxpayers now should not pay for anything but an education.