UNC-Chapel Hill honors pioneering alumnus, professor in renaming buildings

McClinton Residence Hall is named for Hortense McClinton, UNC-Chapel Hill's first Black faculty member, while the name of Henry Owl, a Native American who was the first person of color to attend the school, is now on the student affairs office.

“Hortense McClinton and Henry Owl were trailblazing pioneers who left an indelible legacy at Carolina," Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz said in a statement. "They embody the values that define our university, and naming these buildings after them marks an important step in building a campus community where everyone feels that they belong and can thrive."

McClinton was a social worker in Durham when she started teaching in the university's School of Social Work in 1966. She said she's aware of Aycock's background and is glad her name has supplanted his on a residence hall.

"I knew he was a well-known name in North Carolina, not a good one as far as Blacks were concerned," she told WRAL News.

She said she had no idea her name was among the 1,100 or so suggestions submitted for new building names, but she was delighted by the honor.

"I’m glad that it happened before I, excuse me, kicked the bucket," she said. "You know, I am 103."

McClinton lives in an assisted living facility in Maryland but said she will definitely return to Chapel Hill to see the building bearing her name.

Owl received a master’s degree in history from UNC-Chapel Hill with a thesis on the Eastern Band of Cherokees. In the 1930s, he testified before Congress about discrimination he experienced when he attempted to register to vote in Swain County, which includes part of the Cherokee tribal land. His story resulted in a law guaranteeing the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians citizenship and the right to vote.

"It’s nice to have people who actually built something on the campus and contributed in quite a few ways to have buildings named for them," said William Sturkey, an associate professor of history.

Sturkey pointed out that it took years of activism from students and others to reach this point, but he said he thinks school leaders got it right this time.

"These are definitely names that are historic people on the campus," he said. "These are people that are normally not honored on public campuses in the South, so that’s really exciting."

Sturkey said he looks forward to more building name changes in the future. UNC-Chapel Hill leaders are mulling over new names for at least two other buildings, and a commission is reviewing other names currently honored on campus to see if any of those should be reconsidered, too.

"These things take a long time," Sturkey said. "Sometimes, they seem a bit slow because people are so careful, and there are obviously political considerations."

"It’s a little late," she said. "I think things have to have time to work themselves out. You step two steps forward and three steps back, and then you make some movement. And we’re trying very hard to make movement."