The Goldsboro-Wayne branch of the NAACP is gearing up for a showdown, if necessary, with the Wayne County Board of Education, as the organization prepares a campaign to have controversial North Carolina Gov. Charles B. Aycock’s name removed from a local high school.
Local NAACP president Sylvia Barnes said pulling Aycock’s name is non-negotiable — and long overdue.
“Whether they are ready or not, I’m not backing down until the action is taken,” she said.
The decision to demand action comes in the wake of the death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer. The incident sparked nationwide protests and has led to the removal and defacing of numerous statues of everyone from Confederate leaders and historical figures with ties to white supremacist groups to U.S. presidents.
Aycock was governor from 1901 to 1905 and, while he is known for helping to establish more than 1,000 schools across the state, he also worked closely with the state legislature to pass laws that suppressed black voters.
Removing Aycock’s name from the Pikeville high school would not be the first time the former governor was shunned by an academic institution.
In 2014, Duke University removed his name from an undergraduate dormitory. At the time, then-Duke President Richard Brodhead said that while Aycock made “notable contributions to public education” in the state, “his legacy is inextricably associated with the disenfranchisement of black voters, or what W.E.B. DuBois termed ‘a civic death.’”
The following year, East Carolina University trustees also voted to remove Aycock’s name from a campus dorm.
UNC-Greensboro trustees followed suit in 2016, voting to pull Aycock’s name off its auditorium because, as Chancellor Dr. Frank Gilliam said, “the beliefs, words and actions of Gov. Aycock regarding racial matters are so clearly antithetical to our core values and mission that we should no longer honor him.”
Aycock, a Wayne County native known as the “Education Governor,” was a leading voice for the Democratic Party before his election — and was considered one of the “architects” of the 1898 massacre in Wilmington by claiming the city was “the center of the white supremacy movement.”
During his gubernatorial campaign, he championed a constitutional amendment requiring literacy tests for voters, a measure intended to disenfranchise blacks and women.
On the stump, Aycock criticized Gov. Daniel Russell for embracing black North Carolinians.
Barnes said the NAACP will not make its case to the Board of Education during its monthly meeting Monday afternoon because members of the organization want to ensure they have an appropriate replacement to recommend — an effort, she said, that will be spearheaded by former Edgewood Community Developmental School principal Tasha Christian-Adams.
“We want to do it right,” she said. “We’ve got to have the right name.”
This is going to be interesting. Until recently, WCPS sponsored annual trips to his birthplace. It seemed like a requirement for elementary students. This may be something that they still do.
Aycock IS the right name! You tried this before and were unsuccessful. He made so many schools possible in this state. Racism is alive and well because he is being targeted because he is white!
No he’s being targeted because he was an outright racist that commanded the slaughter of 100s of black people in Wilmington.
Bravo Deb!
If the BOE votes to change the name who will pay for it? WCPS certainly can not afford it. Perhaps the NAACPA will agree to pay! Surely they understand the financial crisis WCPS is in and will step up.
You will!!
Jesus Christ. Find something relevant to 2020 to change.
Now we are going to see how divided our county is. People are going to show their true “color”. Like someone said this is going to be interesting. To be honest, you have to admit Aycock did do a lot for education but never intended for AA to benefit or participate in educational programs. This is going to interesting to follow and I can’t wait to read all the comments.
Absolute absurdity.
Wayne County is not ready for this. The people are not ready to hear the concerns surrounding this topic. Board members are not ready to be open minded. CBA was a known racist. History reflects his cruel actions against African Americans. George Floyd’s death created a platform for this conversation. If anyone thinks that CBA should not have another name then I challenge them to think about how they feel if a school was name D’Jango. Remember the D is silent.
George Floyd was a known criminal. Just saying. Did he deserve to die that way? Certainly NOT! Did his family deserve a forded flag, Golden casket? Heck NO!!!
Just saying what? What if it was your child? Would you feel the same way? Evidently, you feel that in some way his death was justified. Your comments indicate so. What does his criminal past have to do with his death? Please reply! I am curious to hear your thoughts.
Maybe people need to go back to work instead of having so much idle time to think of names to change.
Maybe people need to go back to work instead of having so much idle time to think of names to change. Black men need to stand up and be men.
Charles B. Aycock was a known racist. What does G. Floyd death have to do with his criminal background? I guess you are saying that because he was a criminal that his death was justified. I don’t know why his past is relevant and Charles B. Aycock past isn’t.
None of the good things Gov. Aycock did were every associated with or attributed to his flaws. Why do some keep picking at the scabs? Let the wounds heal and move on. Now they are tearing down statues of those who fought FOR abolition as well as unrelated historical figures. It’s a modern day book burning.
Everyone who thinks that CBA is a justified name needs to evaluate themselves. Someone wrote what if D’Jango (the slave who attacked white slave masters viciously) was a school name. I as a white person would seriously have a problem with that. Why is it okay for CBA? Are we asking that African Americans forget the actions of the past and just move on?
How long are you going to keep picking those scabs? It’s time to let the wounds heal.
So, I don’t think African Americans have been picking the scab. If so, we would have had this debate long ago. I think it is easier to say let the wounds heal when you haven’t been hurt.
There are Caucasians as well as African Americans who won’t let the wounds heal. Aycock died before anyone offended by his name was even born. Let it go.
So, people should forget slavery because all the slave masters died before this current generation was born? Just let that go too?
Wayne County isn’t ready for this type of conversation. However, they need to get ready. If not now when? Don’t worry though. P. Burden will side with the CBA supporters and L. Henderson might go either way. Therefore, the people who believe CBA is justified will have their way.
This is beyond ridiculous. He was our Governor, an education advocate.
He was the governor. He wasn’t a governor for all. I mean it is researchable. Why is it that we can’t understand that he was a racist? Or, do we just not want to admit it. He didn’t mean for people of color to have an education. He was an advocate for the Wilmington Massacre.
Dumbasses
Never let a good CRISIS go to waste? Right! When the election is over , who ever wins ,the movement will be cast aside just as it has been before. Some one is being used and you are to blind to see it. History will tell.
Okay, rename it as DJ Trump High. You were never slaves, never slave owners. You can take down every statue, name, etc to try and fill the hate that you have in yourselves over something that happened before our lives. It was wrong we all agree, but we have to be the positive moving forward. I have always thought history to be something that we respect and learn from, appreciate and grow. Unfortunately I don’t think ppl see it as a stepping stone to a greater America, but as a crutch to keep harping on.
So true! Well said!
Perfectly said!
It doesn’t seem like you agree that slavery was wrong. Seems like your are fine with it. Why is it defined as hate?
I think it’s a waste of time and money. WCPS are already $5 mil in the hole. Is the NAACP willing to pay 100% of the expenses to change the name?
Just change the name to Northern Wayne . Already got a Southern and Eastern and move on..
WOW!!!!!
All of you who are advocating that the school’s name NOT be changed because Charles B. Aycock was known as the “Education Governor”–need to get an education! This ISN’T about slaves or slavery. This is about Charles B. Aycock being a racist. Look up the speeches he made. He blatantly said that whites were dominant to Negros and that Negros had been created to serve whites. He created laws to prevent them from being able to vote. He only allowed black tax money to fund their schools–how is that for separate but equal? And he was a leader of the white supremacist political movement who overthrew the governing powers in Wilmington–the only such event to EVER happen in US history. But have any of you ever learned that at the Charles B. Aycock birthplace or while attending CB Aycock? I sure didn’t. And why? Because our white ancestors chose to leave those details out–or twist the facts to make it look like he was supportive of blacks by saying, “He created schools for whites and blacks.” It’s time for us, as WHITE PEOPLE, to admit that those who we have placed on pedestals weren’t the people we have made them out to be. No other high school in the county is named for a person. Just change the name to Northern Wayne High School and be done with it.
It was in the 1800s. Focus forward! Its history, move on!