Summary of Public Hearings by the State Capitol African American Memorial Committee

AUGUST 1, 2016 -- The full summary of the statewide public hearings conducted with the support of Governor Pat McCrory in the interest of establishing an African American monument on State Capitol grounds is now available to the public. This document was prepared by the State Capitol African American Memorial Committee.

View the Full Summary Report

Artist Selection and Next Steps

At each of the public hearings, Secretary Susan Kluttz and Deputy Secretary Kevin Cherry informed those in attendance of the next steps in the monument process. This process was informed by staff of the North Carolina Arts Council, which regularly works with public arts projects across the state and it was accepted by the joint committee of the African American Heritage Commission and North Carolina Historical Commission charged with this undertaking. The process:

  1. Following the public hearings, staff will prepare a draft document summarizing the thoughts shared by members of the public and others at these meetings, through the online portal, and by direct mail and email.
  2. This draft summary document will be reviewed and initially accepted or rejected and asked to be edited and re-submitted by the North Carolina Historical Commission at its July meeting.
  3. Once the draft document is accepted, it will be posted for public comment on the Department of Natural and Cultural Resource’s Website until one week before the joint meeting of the North Carolina Historical Commission and North Carolina African American Heritage Commission to be held in fall 2016. At this time, any comments upon the draft summary document will then be taken into consideration. Staff may then choose to redraft or edit the document based upon any comments received.
  4. Staff will report any comments received on the draft document to the joint meeting of the North Carolina Historical Commission and North Carolina African American Heritage Commission and note any changes made to the document as a result of comments received upon the posted draft. The potentially re-drafted summary document will either be accepted or rejected by the commissions. If rejected, these bodies shall request edits of the document and resubmittal.
  5. Once the summary document is fully accepted by both commissions, it will be used as the basis for a “Request for Qualifications” process wherein artists will be asked to submit resumes, portfolio materials, and references among other relevant information to the monument committee for selection of a slate of finalists.
  6. All finalists selected by the committee will be asked to make a presentation to the African American Heritage Commission and the North Carolina Historical Commission. The North Carolina Historical Commission, consulting with the African American Heritage Commission, will choose the artist for the project.
  7. This being a monument commissioning and not a public art project, the artist will then work closely with the committee in an iterative process to develop a conceptual design for the monument.
  8. Once the conceptual design is chosen, fundraising for the project will proceed. The Secretary of Natural and Cultural Resources will be the chair of the fundraising committee for this project.
  9. All funds will need to be in place before going forward with any related construction. 

“I express my thanks to Gov. Pat McCrory, the members of the African American Heritage Commission and the North Carolina Historical Commission. Most importantly, I want to thank the public who took the time to give us their valuable input on this historic monument to be erected to recognize the achievements of African Americans toward this great state.”  Natural and Cultural Secretary Susan Kluttz

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