In 2016, a group of UNC students staged a Black Lives Matter demonstration at the start of a nationally televised football game. Members of the student section raised fists during the national anthem and members of the band took a knee and stopped playing. There was swift backlash from some UNC alumni who felt their action was disrespectful and without cause. This group of alumni came together to counter that and show their support and gratitude for the student activists by taking out a full page ad in the Daily Tar Heel with the following message.

Being a true Tar Heel is a special privilege with special traditions rooted in leadership and standing up for what is important. It means being part of something that is bigger than yourself and taking a vested interest in others and in your community. As Alumni of this great University, we are proud to see this tradition continue with those brave students who demonstrated during the national anthem at the start of the UNC v. Pitt football game on Saturday, September 24th–making the statement that they will not stand for police brutality and that black lives DO matter. We, Alumni near and far, stand, kneel and sit with you Tar Heels, because this is what being a Tar Heel, and an American, is all about.
We are grateful, we are proud, and we support you.