Acknowledgments

Carolina Kickoff’s Statements

As a social justice nonprofit within the Campus Y, Carolina Kickoff is committed to creating a safe and equitable experience for individuals from all backgrounds and with all identities at UNC. Below, we have included statements that align our mission with important issues going on in the world today as well as historical acknowledgements relating to UNC’s campus.

Statement on the Israeli-Palestine Conflict:

As a partner of the Campus Y and an organization devoted to social justice, CK is committed to speaking against injustice everywhere. As such, we stand with the Campus Y Executive Board and in solidarity with Palestinians in their struggle for land and freedom. Please read the Exec. Board’s full statement here.

CK echoes the Campus Y’s position and stand resolutely with UNC SJP in their calls for a permanent fire in Gaza as well as UNC divestment from companies and organizations supporting Israel’s genocide of Palestinian people. Hatred in any form has no place in our organization, on our campus, or in our world; and as such, we call for justice and an end to American complacency.

Acknowledgement of the Exploitation of Black Labor and Racial Injustice on UNC’s Campus:

Today, named after Dr. Sonja Haynes Stone, the Sonja Haynes Stone Center is a hub for Black Culture and History. Dr. Haynes Stone was an outspoken advocate for a free-standing cultural center for African American students, and the center honors her legacy today by promoting appreciation for African American culture as well as furthering academic understanding of African American diaspora culture. Other campus buildings previously named after Confederates, enslavers, and other White Supremacists are in the process of having their names changed. The Student Stores and Student Affairs buildings names were changed in 2020. The process to name Hamilton Hall after scholar, activist, attorney, and historian Pauli Murray is still underway. On campus today, there are a variety of fraternities/sororities, activist clubs, and social groups. The Black Student Movement has been an important part of student life since its founding in 1967. Black Ink is a student newspaper created as part of BSM in 1969 as an alternative to the Daily Tar Heel. Community Justice, Abolition, and Antiracism is a student-led coalition centered around anti-racism and abolition both on campus and the local community.

CK Land Acknowledgment