December 14, 2019

Mr. Jim Holmes

UNC Board of Governors
c/o Mr. Ripley Rand
Womble Bond Dickinson
555 Fayetteville Street
Suite 1100
Raleigh, NC 27601

Dear Mr. Holmes:

This letter is in response to the recent Silent Sam memorial settlement between the UNC Board
of Governors and the North Carolina Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans, Inc. (“SCV”) and
some of the controversy surrounding it. I wanted to write you to help set the record straight
about certain misconceptions.

We did not expect this settlement to make anyone who cares one way or the other about this
issue completely happy - and they aren’t. We also knew reasonable people have different
feelings about Silent Sam and this settlement wasn’t going to change those feelings.

As the SCV made clear from the start, our group’s original goal was to have the memorial go
right back up per the law. However, once we started talking both parties agreed the violent
protests about Silent Sam over the past several years were not appropriate for a college campus.
College campuses, unlike other public places, are not set up for such protests- especially with
outside agitators and mobs. College campuses are there to educate students so they can get good
jobs and become productive tax paying citizens. Neither party wanted student, staff, or law
enforcement to get hurt or worse over Silent Sam and it was with that spirit we went to the table
to sort this problem out.

Some people have attributed statements, especially a private email to SCV members, to mean the
SCV is going to build something we are not allowed to build out of this trust fund. They are also
using this email to imply we were trying to pull the rug over the heads of UNC or we were
pulling a fast one on the court. This is not true.

I admit I was guilty of puffing and strutting in that email and I apologize for it. It did not reflect
the spirit of good faith with which both parties conducted themselves during this negotiation. It
was not written as a document spelling out legal theories or thoughts. It was written after the end
of intense negotiations expressing relief we had a settlement and an end to the risk of harm on the
campus because of protestors. I should have been more careful with my words. The SCV is going
to follow the terms and restrictions of the trust which we asked to be created in the first place.

Some who disagree with this settlement, have tried to say it was a deal between UNC and a white
supremacy group. This is untrue. The SCV is not a white supremacy group and just because some
people who disagree with us call us that does not make us one. Early on we assured UNC of this

Produced by the UNC System Office on December 16, 2019

point and this was a key basis of our negotiation. The SCV is a group honoring our Confederate
ancestors who fought and died between 1861-1865. The SCV does not allow white supremacists
in our group and we do not endorse any such beliefs. Anyone who endorses any of these beliefs
is not welcome in our group. It is important to note the SCV did not engage in any protests on
campus related to this issue. We actually have been denounced by many groups, such as
ACTBAC, whose beliefs and actions we do not share.

Ultimately, once you get past the howling and indignation, SCV and UNC were able to do what
people should do. Despite our differences our groups found common ground and found a
solution to a problem. Our two groups did not let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

I thank you for taking the time to read this letter.

With best regards,

North Carolina Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans, Inc.

By:
R. Kevin Stone, Commander

Produced by the UNC System Office on December 16, 2019