102 Emerson Drive
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
Building Number: 070
Year Built: 1972
Departments: Archaeology, Center for the Study of the American South, History, Peace War and Defense, Political Science, Sociology
Hamilton Hall was named for Joseph Grégoire de Roulhac Hamilton in 1972. During his tenure as head of the history department from 1908 to 1930, Hamilton made it a leading center for the study of the South. The letters, diaries, and other papers Hamilton gathered after traveling across the South in search of manuscripts relevant to southern history became the foundation of the Southern Historical Collection, now the world's largest repository of southern historical documents.
The Commission on History, Race, and a Way Forward recommended in an April 2021 resolution the the Chancellor that Hamilton's name be removed from honor based on the following information:
- Hamilton expressed throughout his scholarship what one biographer described as a "racist disdain for the very idea of black people voting and holding office and managing public affairs."
- He gave scholarly legitimacy to the regime for Jim Crow that subjugated Blacks as second class citizens.
- He remained faithful to self-avowed white supremacist principles throughout his career.