UNCG Board Strips Former Governor's Name From Auditorium

The University of North Carolina at Greensboro is scrubbing the name of a former governor from its auditorium in light of his involvement in white supremacy movements.

UNCG's Board of Trustees voted unanimously Thursday to remove former North Carolina Gov. Charles Aycock's name from the building's title.

Aycock, a Democrat, served four years as governor from 1901-1905. Celebrated for decades as the “Education Governor,” he advocated strongly for public education, including increased teacher salaries and the construction of new institutions. The result was nearly 700 new schoolhouses.  

But his advocacy fell short on issues of racial equality. A strong voice for Democrats during the period of party domination of southern politics, he was also a leading spokesman for the white supremacy movements of the time. His efforts arguably helped stoke the Wilmington coup d'etat of 1898 – in which Democrat insurgents overthrew the biracial city government – and another effort in 1900 that had long lasting consequences across the state.

Earlier in the day, a subcommittee took up the issue of Aycock's legacy on the campus, recommending to the full board in a 9-2 vote that his name should no longer adorn the campus auditorium.

UNCG is not the only university to remove the governor's name from campus buildings. In recent years, both Duke University and East Carolina University have taken similar actions.