Julian Shakespeare Carr (October 12, 1845 – April 29, 1924) was an American industrialist,

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

, and

white supremacist White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other Race (human classification), races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any Power (social and polit ...

. He is the namesake of the town of

Carrboro, North Carolina Carrboro is a town in Orange County in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 21,295 at the 2020 census.

Early life

Carr was the son of

Chapel Hill Chapel Hill or Chapelhill may refer to: Places Antarctica * Chapel Hill (Antarctica) Australia *Chapel Hill, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane *Chapel Hill, South Australia, in the Mount Barker council area Canada * Chapel Hill, Ottawa, a neighbo ...

merchant John Wesley Carr and Eliza P. Carr (née Eliza Pannell Bullock). Carr was from a prominent North Carolinian

planting Sowing is the process of planting seeds. An area or object that has had seeds planted in it will be described as a sowed or sown area. Plants which are usually sown Among the major field crops, oats, wheat, and rye are sown, grasses and leg ...

family and was a cousin of Governor

Elias Carr Elias Carr (February 25, 1839 – July 22, 1900) was an American planter, lawyer, and politician who served as the 48th governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina from 1893 to 1897. A building on the campus of the University of North Carolina a ...

and of

Mary Hilliard Hinton Mary Hilliard Hinton (June 7, 1869 – January 6, 1961) was an American painter, historian, clubwoman, and anti-suffragist. She was a leader in North Carolina's Anti-suffragism, anti-suffragist movement and an outspoken white supremacist, co-fou ...

. His father owned slaves. He entered the University of North Carolina (today the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

) at the age of sixteen, in 1862. His studies were interrupted in 1864 by service as a private in the Confederacy, serving with the Third North Carolina Cavalry.

Career

After the war, Carr became a partner in the tobacco manufacturing firm W. T. Blackwell and Co. in nearby Durham. His business acumen led to the firm's becoming known worldwide through its recognizable Bull Durham trademark. Carr became one of the state's wealthiest individuals, engaging in successful textile, banking (Durham's First National Bank), railroad, public utility (Electric Lighting Company), and newspaper endeavors. In 1909, Carr purchased the Alberta Cotton Mill from Thomas F. Lloyd in what was then called West End, North Carolina, by

. In 1913, after agreeing to extend

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described ...

to the town, it was named

Carrboro Carrboro is a town in Orange County in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 21,295 at the 2020 census. In the 1970s, the mill, abandoned for many years, was restored and opened as

Carr Mill Mall Carr Mill Mall is a small, local shopping mall located in Carrboro, North Carolina. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Alberta Mill Complex. It is also a host for numerous local live performances and other cultural eve ...

Politics

National

Carr was nominated for

Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice ...

by delegates from North Carolina (and one from

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

) at the

1900 Democratic National Convention The 1900 Democratic National Convention was a United States presidential nominating convention that took place the week of July 4, 1900, at Convention Hall in Kansas City, Missouri. The convention nominated William Jennings Bryan for president an ...

, at which he gave a speech. He served as a delegate to the 1912 convention.

Bolstering white supremacy in North Carolina

Julian Carr had a significant role in bolstering white supremacy in North Carolina during the era of

Jim Crow The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sout ...

. He publicly endorsed the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

, opposed the 15th Amendment (1870) giving the vote to African-American men, and promoted racial unrest and turmoil in the late 19th century to defeat an interracial " Fusion" political party. Carr promoted his racial views through the '' News & Observer'' newspaper, which he bought, setting up white supremacist

Josephus Daniels Josephus Daniels (May 18, 1862 – January 15, 1948) was an American newspaper editor and publisher from the 1880s until his death, who controlled Raleigh's ''News & Observer'', at the time North Carolina's largest newspaper, for decades. A D ...

as its editor. He celebrated the

Wilmington Massacre of 1898 The Wilmington insurrection of 1898, also known as the Wilmington massacre of 1898 or the Wilmington coup of 1898, was a coup d'état and massacre carried out by white supremacists in Wilmington, North Carolina, United States, on Thursday, Novem ...

, in which an elected government was overthrown by force (the only such incident in American history), and where at least 60 black North Carolinians were murdered. In numerous speeches, he suggested that African Americans were better off enslaved and celebrated violence, even lynching, against black citizens. In 1880 he was nominated for lieutenant governor. Carr was an unsuccessful candidate in the 1900 Democratic primary for senator, running on a platform of white supremacy. Carr was the largest single donor to the

Silent Sam The Confederate Monument, University of North Carolina, commonly known as ''Silent Sam'', is a bronze statue of a Confederate soldier by Canadian sculptor John A. Wilson, which once stood on McCorkle Place of the University of North Carolina ...

monument to Confederate alumni on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus. At its dedication in 1913, Carr addressed the crowd, urging vigorous support for

white supremacy White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White su ...

. He bragged of an incident when he was 19 years old, "less than ninety days perhaps after my return from Appomattox", in which he performed the "pleasing duty" of horse-whipping an African-American "

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