The group is calling on UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz, the UNC Board of Trustees and the UNC System Board of Governors to immediately rename the Tar Heels to the Rams. That name change would allow the university to keep its mascot Rameses, named after legendary football player Jack "the battering ram" Merritt.

Why is Tar Heel offensive?

To call someone a “rosin heel” or “tar heel” was to imply that they worked in a lowly trade. During the Civil War, North Carolina soldiers flipped the meaning of the term and turned an epithet into an accolade. They called themselves “tar heels” as an expression of state pride.

Is Tar Heel a slur?

According to another version of the tale, the name was originally an insult, alluding to the production of turpentine, pitch and, yes, tar in the Eastern part of the state. The slur became a badge of honor when Robert E. Lee reportedly said during a battle, “God bless the Tar Heel boys.” [10].