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Does @NCCourts intend to be the last remaining outlier on this issue both nationally & within NC? Why does the portrait of famed slaver & torturer Thomas Ruffin still hold a place of prominence in NC's highest court? @JusticeCBeasley @paulmnewby @Anita_Earls @judgemikemorgan 1/ https://twitter.com/GovernorVA/status/1341012240259031040
Like Robert E Lee is to VA, Thomas Ruffin is a prominent symbol of NC's southern redemption movement, an effort led by Confederate sympathizers to overthrow Reconstruction & prevent equality for Black Americans. His portraits & statues were installed in NC during this era. 2/
Ruffin is famous for State v Mann (1830) ruling which said slave owners have absolute authority over enslaved & could not be found guilty of any crime against them. "The power of the master must be absolute." -Ruffin
He also tortured those he enslaved. 3/
https://cwnc.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/exhibits/show/thomas-ruffins-decision/ruffins-slave-activity/ruffin-slave-activity
He also tortured those he enslaved. 3/
https://cwnc.omeka.chass.ncsu.edu/exhibits/show/thomas-ruffins-decision/ruffins-slave-activity/ruffin-slave-activity
Ruffin's portrait remains the largest, most prominent image inside the NC Supreme Court, positioned behind the seat of the Chief Justice. It was installed in 1888 by some of the same people who would go on to carry out the Wilmington Massacre of 1898. 4/ https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/wilmington-massacre-2/
NC institutions have begun removing Ruffin from places of prominence:
Orange Co Courthouse - removed portrait https://www.cbs17.com/news/local-news/orange-county-news/portrait-of-former-nc-supreme-court-justice-slave-owner-removed-from-orange-county-courthouse/
NC Court of Appeals - Removed statue
https://abc11.com/thomas-ruffin-north-carolina-statue-removed-court/6315042/
UNC Chapel Hill - Removed Ruffin name from buildings https://thewell.unc.edu/2020/09/18/history-commission-recommends-removal-of-ruffin-jr-and-bingham/
5/
Orange Co Courthouse - removed portrait https://www.cbs17.com/news/local-news/orange-county-news/portrait-of-former-nc-supreme-court-justice-slave-owner-removed-from-orange-county-courthouse/
NC Court of Appeals - Removed statue
https://abc11.com/thomas-ruffin-north-carolina-statue-removed-court/6315042/
UNC Chapel Hill - Removed Ruffin name from buildings https://thewell.unc.edu/2020/09/18/history-commission-recommends-removal-of-ruffin-jr-and-bingham/
5/
NC Supreme Court, the highest in NC, is now the outlier in the state & slowest to take action on this issue. Last year I was among 15 people across the state appointed to make a recommendation to the court on what to do about the portrait. 6/ https://www.facingsouth.org/2020/12/nc-commission-grapples-giant-courthouse-portrait-slave-owning-judge
After meeting for over a yr, our commission held a vote & majority felt Ruffin's portrait should be removed, replaced w/ smaller one & relocated from its current position. I wrote a dissenting opinion co-signed by 2 other members that can be read here: 7/
https://www.nccourts.gov/assets/inline-files/Advisory-Commission-on-Portraits-Report-and-Recommendation-web.pdf?ULliW82JpQc.9u9vUT5DYPsec54qs4K6
https://www.nccourts.gov/assets/inline-files/Advisory-Commission-on-Portraits-Report-and-Recommendation-web.pdf?ULliW82JpQc.9u9vUT5DYPsec54qs4K6
Sally Greene, an attorney & Orange Co commissioner, agrees that all portraits should be removed. NC is a national outlier in displaying portraits inside its courtroom which should be a place of neutrality. The tradition can't be separated from Ruffin 8/ https://www.facingsouth.org/2020/12/nc-commission-grapples-giant-courthouse-portrait-slave-owning-judge
Today, the @newsobserver published an opinion piece authored by @ncnaacp president Rev Spearman & NC writer & historian @timothybtyson about this very issue and why the @NCCourts can't simply ignore the matter as it seems poised to do if allowed. 9/ https://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/article247971565.html
I stand by my argument that leaving the portraits postpones controversy w/o resolution. But if @NCCourts chooses to ignore issue altogether, it only casts shadow over NC Supreme Ct, showing it to be among the most regressive bodies in NC & USA on matters of racial justice. 10/10
