A former teacher and union leader has asked the N.C. Historical Commission to add a “Hall of Inclusion” on the second floor of the state Capitol in Raleigh, the Charlotte Observer reported.
Eddie Davis, who once headed the state’s largest teachers union, said monuments on the Capitol grounds ignore the contributions of African Americans, Native Americans and other minority groups.
“We should look for cooperative and jubilant ways to respect the composite history of our state,” the Observer quoted Davis as telling commission members.
Although African Americans make up about 22 percent of the state’s population, only the Vietnam War veterans memorial on the Capitol grounds depicts a black person. Many of the monuments honor former Confederates and segregationists.
No immediate action is expected on Davis’ request, the Observer said: The commission formed a committee to study the proposal.
