On Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2019, approximately 200 people gathered at the Peace and Justice Center on UNC-Chapel Hill’s campus for the anniversary of the toppling of the Silent Sam statue, according to WRAL.

The Silent Sam Statue was a Confederate monument that was toppled one year ago following protests on UNC-CH’s campus. The gathering was named the Death Day to Silent Sam. According to WUNC, anti-racist activists led students and community members in song, gave speeches and eventually marched through campus as an act of remembrance and celebration of the statue’s removal. 

Police were present for the protest, but the protests remained non-violent and did not lead to any arrests. Protestors gathered around the Old Well displayed signs denoting the names of 28 university buildings and sites named after slave owners or affirmed white supremacist in efforts to have them renamed, according to The Progressive Pulse.

As the demonstration ended, some individuals gathered in the street to dance and burn a Confederate flag.

According to the News & Observer, the future of the Silent Sam statue is still uncertain but is currently being decided by the UNC System Board of Governors, who rejected the $5.3 million plan proposed by the university to build a history center for the statue to be moved. Since the statue’s removal in 2018, former Chancellor of UNC-CH Carol Folt announced that she would resign after authorizing the removal of the base of the monument which remained standing after protesters toppled it in 2018, according to USA Today.