{"id":1769,"date":"2024-01-26T19:43:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-27T00:43:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/january-2024\/?p=1769"},"modified":"2024-02-07T13:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-02-07T18:00:00","slug":"scholar-as-change-agentmullers-ruffin-research-spurs-progress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/february-2024\/scholar-as-change-agentmullers-ruffin-research-spurs-progress\/","title":{"rendered":"Scholar as Change Agent: Muller\u2019s Ruffin Research Spurs Progress"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A 2007 conversation with Orange County Commissioner Sally Greene, an independent scholar who has taught as an adjunct professor at UNC School of Law, and Eric L. Muller,<\/a> Dan K. Moore Distinguished Professor of Law in Jurisprudence and Ethics at Carolina Law sparked Muller\u2019s research into the legacy of Thomas Ruffin, the Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court from 1833-1852. Greene had begun focusing on Ruffin\u2019s legacy in connection with his legacy at her church, which was founded on land donated by Ruffin in Hillsborough, N.C.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Knowing of Muller\u2019s interest in memorializing past injustices and perpetrators, Greene mentioned Chief Justice Ruffin\u2019s authorship of the State v. Mann<\/em> decision, which brutally authorized violence against slaves despite Ruffin portraying himself as anguished. This prompted Muller to investigate Ruffin\u2019s personal involvement with and perspectives on slavery, given the availability of Ruffin\u2019s archived papers at the Southern Historical Collection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Muller explained that for much of the 20th century, only a narrow understanding of Ruffin\u2019s life was common, focusing primarily on his State v. Mann<\/em> decision, which generations took at face value despite its brutal upholding of violence against slaves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Greene\u2019s focus on reevaluating Ruffin\u2019s legacy and memorials in light of his State v. Mann<\/em> decision prompted Muller to delve deeper. Through researching the archived papers, they uncovered Ruffin\u2019s vicious actions, including beating an enslaved woman named Bridget and repeatedly separating enslaved families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their research was vital in decisions regarding Ruffin\u2019s memorials. As Muller asserted, \u201cOur research was regularly cited in discussions that led to the statue and portrait removal. Without it, there simply would have been no basis for reconsidering Ruffin\u2019s legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, Lydia, who Ruffin claimed could face harsh punishment in State v. Mann<\/em>, is now recognized with a highway historical marker in Edenton, N.C. thanks to Muller\u2019s research. Muller cited Greene\u2019s efforts to inform the public about Lydia and the Mann<\/em> case as a major factor in how emotionally moving the unveiling event in September was. Greene recounted Lydia\u2019s shooting and the case that followed during the ceremony, and Judge James Wynn of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit underlined the importance of remembering victims like Lydia in legal history and the fact that judges may influence how cases are understood. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While acknowledging Ruffin\u2019s achievements, such as his contribution to the growth of North Carolina\u2019s economy, Muller questioned whether Ruffin merited reverence considering his cruel treatment of slaves, saying, \u201cif we\u2019re going to revere people from that era, we should be revering those who were at the best end of that spectrum.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Muller wrote an article<\/a> on his findings, dedicating his work to Ruffin\u2019s victims, including the slaves Bridget, Dick, Noah, and November. In reflecting on the unveiling of the Lydia historical marker, Muller said, \u201cWe need more recognition of the lives of the Lydias of American legal history, and less of the Ruffins.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Muller urges young scholars to pursue research that intertwines their passions and benefits the public, once they have attained job security through more conventional academic work and advises that more established scholars should seek opportunities for their research to \u201creach and touch people outside the academy,\u201d stating that connecting with people impacted by his work has meant more to him than academic reviews and exchanges. Muller\u2019s own research exemplifies how uncovering difficult historical truths can shape society\u2019s understanding and spur reevaluation of injustices to stimulate progress. His scholarship stands as an inspiration for budding academics during research week and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additional stories:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His pro-slavery rhetoric was extreme. And his portrait dominates our top NC courtroom.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Judgement Day<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A 2007 conversation with Orange County Commissioner Sally Greene, an independent scholar who has taught as an adjunct professor at Carolina Law, and friend of Eric L. Muller, Dan K. Moore Distinguished Professor of Law in Jurisprudence and Ethics at UNC School of Law, sparked Muller\u2019s research into the legacy of Thomas Ruffin, Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court from 1833-1852. Greene had begun focusing on Ruffin\u2019s legacy in connection with his legacy at her church, which was founded on land donated by Ruffin in Hillsborough, N.C.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1648,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/february-2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1769"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/february-2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/february-2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/february-2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/february-2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1769"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/february-2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1769\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2002,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/february-2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1769\/revisions\/2002"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/february-2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1648"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/february-2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1769"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/february-2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1769"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/february-2024\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1769"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}