UNC is being asked to change its nickname

UNC is being asked to change its Tar Heels nickname.

When one thinks of “North Carolina,” the most common words that usually follow are “Tar Heels.” However, one advocacy group is requesting that the UNC Tar Heels officially change their nickname.

According to the Raleigh News & Observer, the group — known as the Union Soldier campaign — claims the longstanding nickname has ties to the Confederacy and white supremacy.

William Thorpe, director of the Union Soldier Campaign and one of a dozen protesters who stood outside the administrative building at UNC-Chapel Hill on Tuesday, said the name was “re-appropriated during the Civil War to represent Confederate soldiers who held their ground against the ‘northern aggression’ and fought against the values and ideals of this country,” per the News & Observer’s Kate Murphy.

“They stood their ground as if they had tar on their heels,” he explained. “If you call yourself a Tar Heel … you’re cheering for the essence of white supremacy.”

The group started its peaceful protest/march at Bennett Place in Durham, where the last Confederate troops surrendered during the Civil War, before making its way to North Carolina’s campus.

As Murphy reports, they are advocating for an immediate name change, looking to replace the “Tar Heels” moniker with “Rams” instead. That would mean “Rameses,” the school’s current ram mascot — who was originally named after former UNC football player Jack “Battering Ram” Merritt — to remain in place.

In the wake of George Floyd’s murder and the Black Lives Matter movement, a wave of social change and protest has swept over the United States. The Washington Redskins finally (mercifully) decided to retire a nickname that’s been offensive to Native Americans for decades now, while other teams like the Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Chiefs and Atlanta Braves may follow suit.

Given this information about the true meaning of the term “Tar Heels” in North Carolina, even one of college’s most hallowed programs could be next.