Woke protestors are calling on the University of North Carolina to abandon its longstanding nickname, the Tar Heels.
According to a group called the Union Soldier Campaign, the term “tar heels” is a reference to Confederate soldiers who bravely stood their ground against marauding Northern troops during the Civil War.
“They stood their ground as if they had tar on their heels…if you call yourself a Tar Heel…you’re cheering for the essence of white supremacy,” William Thorpe, director of the Union Soldier Campaign told the News & Observer of Raleigh.
The group wants UNC to change its name to the Rams and has offered to accept the school’s traditional Carolina-blue and white color scheme.
Left-wing professors are supporting the proposal.
UNC history professor Jim Leloudis claims the term “tar heel” was meant to demean slaves and poor white people.
“It’s hard to untangle,” Leloudis said. “The term, at first, is derogatory in terms of race and class, then gets turned into a symbol of Confederate pride and loyalty.”
Despite the post-modern interpretation, the school’s nickname has been widely embraced since it was adopted 140 years ago.
The Union Soldier Campaign marched to the UNC campus on Tuesday after starting at Bennett Place in Durham, the site of the last surrender of Confederate troops in the Civil War.
The group wants the school’s chancellor, Kevin Guskiewicz, to change the name “immediately.”
Videos of the march show protestors wearing all-black clothes and COVID masks, while Thorpe dawns a union soldier costume.
During a speech, protestors standing behind Thorpe can be seen holding a Union Soldier Campaign placard, a UNC flag, a Washington Redskins poster, an Aunt Jemima syrup bottle and a box of Uncle Ben’s rice.
Another video on the group’s website is a low-production protest song called “Impeach the President, Convict the President.”
