Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History

The Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History (originally the Black Cultural Center) was founded on July 1, 1988, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.Associated Press. (1988, July 24) "Cultural Center at UNC Open Mission: To Advance Black Endeavors." The Charlotte Observer, p.22a.

Directors of the Stone Center Margo Crawford (1988 - 1994) Dr. Gerald Horne (1996 - 1999) Mr. Harry Amana (1999 - 2001, Interim) Dr. Joseph F. Jordan (2001 - 2022) Dr. LeRhonda S. Manigault-Bryant (2023–Present)

Foundation and renaming The center's goal, according to its first director, Margo Crawford, was to advance black literary and artistic endeavors while trying to understand the cultural diversity on campus.Associated Press. (1988, July 24) Cultural Center at UNC Open Mission: To Advance Black Endeavors. The Charlotte Observer, p.22a. In the fall of 1991, after the successful lobbying of the UNC board of trustees by a group of students, the center was renamed for Dr. Sonja Haynes Stone, an associate professor of Afro-American studies who had died on August 10, 1991, at the age of 51, after suffering a stroke.Wilson, Trish. (1991, October 6) UNC Trustees Agree to Rename Center for Late Sonja Stone. The News & Observer, p. B3. Dr. Stone was director of the Afro-American Studies curriculum from 1974 to 1979, and from 1974 to 1980 she was adviser to the Black Student Movement,(1991, August 12) Sonja H. Stone, UNC-CH teacher. The News & Observer, p. B4. an organization that would later press for renaming the Black Cultural Center in her honor.Wilson, Trish. (1991, October 6) UNC "Trustees Agree to Rename Center for Late Sonja Stone." The News & Observer, p. B3.

Controversy and student movement: 1991–1992

From its inception, the Black Cultural Center was in the midst of controversy. Soon after the Black Cultural Center's creation, university trustee John Pope was quoted as saying, "it seems to me if (black students) are interested in a Black Cultural Center, maybe those students should attend a black university."Henderson, Bruce. (1988, November 3) UNC Trustee's Remark On Black Center Stirs Furor. The Charlotte Observer, p. 4C. An editorial in UNC's student newspaper, The Daily Tar Heel, called Pope's comment "appalling."Henderson, Bruce. (1988, November 3) "UNC Trustee's Remark On Black Center Stirs Furor." The Charlotte Observer, p. 4C. Students turned out to be very interested in a Black Cultural Center: the movement for a free-standing center was the largest student protest movement UNC had seen since the Vietnam War.Smith, Vern E. (1992, October 12) A Place to Call Their Own. Newsweek, P. 92.

Students state their demands On Tuesday, March 17, 1992, a hundred students assembled at South Building, the center of UNC's administration, to demand an answer from Chancellor Paul Hardin III about three demands: higher-wages for UNC's housekeepers, a free-standing Black Cultural Center, and an endowed professorship in Dr. Sonja Haynes Stone's name.Bounds, Wendy. (1992, March 18) Students Jeer Chancellor's Response. The News & Observer, p. B3. Since its foundation nearly four years prior, the BCC had been located in a 900 square-foot renovated snack bar inside the Student Union, and both students and administrators alike agreed that it needed more space.Parsons, Grant. (1992, August 31) Cultural Center Debate Takes in Theories of Race. The News & Observer, p. B1. But Hardin's answer was negative on all counts. He, like many other administrators, was concerned that a free-standing Black Cultural Center would lead to segregation and separatism, and he suggested an addition to the union as an alternative.Graves, Tarnisha. (1992, August 23) UNC Cultural Center Debate Focuses on Separatism. The Charlotte Observer, p. 1B.

Students demonstrate On Saturday, September 3, 300 demonstrators gathered outside Paul Hardin's house to shout their demands for a free-standing center.(1992, September 5) UNC-CH Demonstrations Demand Cultural Center. Greensboro News & Record, p. B9. The students were broken up by the police around midnight. Student involvement continued to grow, and on Thursday, September 10, somewhere in the range of 600 to 1500 students peacefully marched into South Building and presented Chancellor Hardin with a letter demanding that he support a free-standing center and choose a site by November 13.O'Brien, Chris. (1992, September 11) UNC-CH Students March to Demand Center Black Coalition Sets Deadline For Action. The News & Observer, p. A1. Students reportedly waved from the windows chanting "black power," and disrupted work for 15 minutes.O'Brien, Chris. (1992, September 11) UNC-CH Students March to Demand Center Black Coalition Sets Deadline For Action. The News & Observer, p. A1. Their letter came with an ultimatum: "Failure to respond to this deadline will leave the people no other choice but to organize toward direct action."O'Brien, Chris. (1992, September 11) UNC-CH Students March to Demand Center Black Coalition Sets Deadline For Action. The News & Observer, p. A1. The event, which ended with a rally in the pit, UNC's social center, was organized by a coalition of black athletes, the Black Awareness Council.Parsons, Grant. (1992, September 12) Further and Further Apart Center Issue Could Rend UNC-CH. The News & Observer, p. A1. Margo Crawford, the Black Cultural Center's director at the time, attributed much of the movement's progress to the four football players - John Bradley, Jimmy Hitchcock, Malcolm Marshall, and Tim Smith - who founded the Black Awareness Council.Chandler, Charles. (1992, September 17) UNC Football Players Fight for Black Cultural Center. The Charlotte Observer, p. 1A.

Chancellor Hardin asks for negotiations On the Tuesday following the march on South Building, Chancellor Hardin called for student activists to sit with administrators and craft a proposal, which could be for a free-standing structure, to send to the board of trustees.Sheehan, Ruth, and Parsons, Grant. (1992, September 16) Hardin Pushes Panel to Study Cultural Center. The News & Observer, p. B3. Chuck Stone, syndicated columnist and journalism professor at UNC, noted that ""Hardin has changed his stance significantly,"Parsons, Grant. (1992, September 18) Student Center Debate Challenges Chancellor. The News & Observer, p. B1. but student groups were still annoyed that Hardin had not spoken to them directly.Sheehan, Ruth, and Parsons, Grant. (1992, September 16) Hardin Pushes Panel to Study Cultural Center. The News & Observer, p. B3. In response to these complaints Hardin agreed on Wednesday to be present for negotiations.Parsons, Grant. (1992, September 18) Student Center Debate Challenges Chancellor. The News & Observer, p. B1.

Intervention of Spike Lee On Friday, September 18, Spike Lee, filmmaker and spokesperson for black causes, spoke in support of the movement to an audience of 7000 students, about three fourths of whom were black, at UNC's Dean Smith Center.Sheehan, Ruth. (1992, September 19) Telling Them To 'Fight The Power' Lee Lends Support To Students. The News & Observer, p. B1. The rally began with chants of "What do you want? BCC! When do you want it? Now!" Lee, who is a cousin-by-marriage of the late Sonja Haynes Stone, for whom the center would be named, said that what most impressed him was "the fact that this movement is led by athletes", and most of his 10-minute speech discussed the power that black athletes have.Sheehan, Ruth. (1992, September 19) Telling Them To 'Fight The Power' Lee Lends Support To Students. The News & Observer, p. B1. Khalid Abdul Muhammad of the Nation of Islam was also present at the rally.(1992, September 20) Cultural Center Rally. Greensboro News & Record, p. B8. Feeling alienated by the fierce rhetoric of "black power," many white students set out to collect petitions in favor of a multicultural center, which would better represent all minorities on campus.Sheehan, Ruth. (1992, September 22) Rally For Black Cultural Center Called Devisive White Support For Building Weakened, Some Say. The News & Observer, p. B1.

Formation of a panel On Wednesday, September 23, a thirteen-person panel was named "to find a home for UNC-CH's new Black Cultural Center."Henderson, Bruce. (1992, September 24) Cultural Center Site Addressed. The Charlotte Observer, p. 1C. The panel included, among others, Doloris Jordan, mother of former UNC basketball player Michael Jordan, and Harvey Gantt, the first black mayor of Charlotte.Henderson, Bruce. (1992, September 24) Cultural Center Site Addressed. The Charlotte Observer, p. 1C. Despite the efforts of Provost Richard McCormick and Chancellor Paul Hardin, the panel did not include any members from the student coalition that pressed for a freestanding center or members of the cultural center's advisory board, mostly students.Henderson, Bruce. (1992, September 24) Cultural Center Site Addressed. The Charlotte Observer, p. 1C. According to McCormick, "any appropriate architectural forms and land sites will be considered in light of the programmatic plan that the working group develops."Henderson, Bruce. (1992, September 24) Cultural Center Site Addressed. The Charlotte Observer, p. 1C. Students who supported the new center remained skeptical: Black Student Movement president, Michelle Thomas, asked "why start all over again? It's just another stall tactic."Smith, Vern E. (1992, October 12) A Place to Call Their Own. Newsweek, P. 92.

Panel supports a free-standing black cultural center On Monday, October 5, the panel formally supported a free-standing black cultural center with a 10-2 vote.Parsons, Grant. (1992, October 6) UNC-CH Panel Backs Black Center. The News & Observer, p. B3. After the decision, Richard "Stick" Williams resigned from the panel.Parsons, Grant. (1992, October 6) UNC-CH Panel Backs Black Center. The News & Observer, p. B3. Worried that the panel had too quickly made the difficult decision of whether to make the center free-standing, Williams said "We've made that decision quickly just so we could get the students to the table."Parsons, Grant. (1992, October 6) UNC-CH Panel Backs Black Center. The News & Observer, p. B3. The students, for their part, were waiting for a declaration of support from Chancellor Hardin. On Monday, October 12, more than 150 students marched to Memorial Hall to disrupt University Day, the day on which administrators and faculty in academic regalia celebrate the university's foundation.Parsons, Grant. (1992, October 13) Cultural Center Activism Steps Up. The News & Observer, p. B1. As the administrators and faculty filed in the students stood in silence holding signs that read "no more waiting," "no justice, no peace" and "Hardin's Plantation".Parsons, Grant. (1992, October 13) Cultural Center Activism Steps Up. The News & Observer, p. B1. As the ceremony was about to begin the students marched into the hall, singing "If you won't let us build a building, then put on your hoods and roll," to the applause of some in attendance.Parsons, Grant. (1992, October 13) Cultural Center Activism Steps Up. The News & Observer, p. B1.

Hardin's support for a free-standing black cultural center