North Carolina democrats have just thrown their heritage under the bus. The annual Vance-Aycock dinner is no more. The two ex-revered democratic Governors no longer emblazon the masthead of the western state fund raiser. It’s now called the Western Gala.Why did this storied state party abolish the two most famous democrats in its history? Here is a short synopsis by the Winston-Salem Journal:
Zebulon Vance was a veteran of the Confederate army who also served as governor during the Civil War. But most of the criticism centered on Charles Aycock, who served as governor from 1901 to 1905.
Aycock is remembered as a strong proponent of public schools, which led to his being known as "the Education Governor." His name adorns schools and other public buildings across the state, and a statue depicting him stands on the grounds of the old state Capitol.
But he was also a leader of the "White Supremacy Campaign" in 1898, which dislodged the black and white Republicans and Populist Party members who controlled state politics. Aycock oversaw the codification of some of North Carolina's earliest Jim Crow laws, and the 1898 election led to a bloody uprising against Republican leadership in Wilmington in which white mobs killed scores of people.
"With that kind of record, it's very hard to make those kinds of guys your patron saints in the contemporary context," said Harry Watson, director of the Center for the Study of the American South at UNC Chapel Hill.
"The black Democrats are angry and the white Democrats are embarrassed, and probably also angry, at the idea of the party continuing to venerate Charles Aycock when he was elected to office campaigning in favor of disenfranchisement and in favor of violence to support it," he said.
Now we are in a conundrum. Our nation’s capitol allows each state to display two statues of their most revered citizens. And guess who represents North Carolina? That’s right: Zebulon Vance and Charles Aycock. Can we expect a recall? Here is a brief description by the National Statuary Hall: 
Charles Brantley Aycock was born on November 1, 1859, on a farm near Fremont in Wayne County, North Carolina. Though his father died when he was 15, his mother and older brothers recognized his abilities and determined that he should go to college. After graduating from the University of North Carolina in 1880 with first honors in both oratory and essay writing, he entered law practice in Goldsboro and supplemented his income by teaching school. His success in both fields led to his appointment as superintendent of schools for Wayne County and to service on the school board in Goldsboro.
His political career began in 1888 as a presidential elector for Grover Cleveland, when he gained distinction as an orator and political debater. From 1893 to 1897 he served as U.S. attorney for the eastern district of North Carolina, and he was elected governor in 1900. His greatest achievement in office was in education, to which he was dedicated after watching his mother make her mark when signing a deed. He felt that no lasting social reform could be accomplished without education. He supported increased salaries for teachers, longer school terms, and new school buildings; almost 3000 schools were built during his administration. Other reforms he supported included laws to establish fair election machinery, to prevent lynching, to erect a reformatory for boys, and to restrict child labor.
He resumed his law practice in 1905, but in 1911 he yielded to pressure to seek the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate. He died on April 4, 1912, while campaigning.
And now Zebulon Vance:
Zebulon Vance was born on May 13, 1830, in Buncombe County, North Carolina. Forced to withdraw from college in 1844 when his father died, he later studied law at the University of North Carolina from 1851 to 1852. He received his county court license, settled in Asheville, and was soon elected county solicitor. He served in the North Carolina House of Commons in 1854 and in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1858 to 1861. Though he supported the constitutionality of secession, he was an ardent Unionist, not favoring secession until President Lincoln called for troops in 1861. He then organized and served with the Rough and Ready Guards.
Elected governor in 1862, he worked during the war to insure legality in the harsh conscription practices of the Confederacy and to guarantee protection of the law to North Carolinians. After being arrested at the end of the war and being briefly imprisoned, he returned to his law practice. Though elected to the Senate in 1870, he could not serve because he had not yet been pardoned. As governor from 1877 to 1879, he worked to revive the state's economy, agriculture, and industry and to improve schools.
From 1879 until his death he served in the U.S. Senate, where he was a popular and effective mediator between North and South. Hard work undermined his health and led to the loss of one eye. He died in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1894, and after services in the Senate Chamber was buried in Asheville, North Carolina.
Source: http://www2.journalnow.com/news/2011/sep/21/wsmain01-dems-to-drop-controversial-leaders-names--ar-1413810/
http://www.aoc.gov/cc/art/nsh/aycock.cfm
http://www.aoc.gov/cc/art/nsh/vance.cfm
Charles Brantley Aycock was born on November 1, 1859, on a farm near Fremont in Wayne County, North Carolina. Though his father died when he was 15, his mother and older brothers recognized his abilities and determined that he should go to college. After graduating from the University of North Carolina in 1880 with first honors in both oratory and essay writing, he entered law practice in Goldsboro and supplemented his income by teaching school. His success in both fields led to his appointment as superintendent of schools for Wayne County and to service on the school board in Goldsboro.
His political career began in 1888 as a presidential elector for Grover Cleveland, when he gained distinction as an orator and political debater. From 1893 to 1897 he served as U.S. attorney for the eastern district of North Carolina, and he was elected governor in 1900. His greatest achievement in office was in education, to which he was dedicated after watching his mother make her mark when signing a deed. He felt that no lasting social reform could be accomplished without education. He supported increased salaries for teachers, longer school terms, and new school buildings; almost 3000 schools were built during his administration. Other reforms he supported included laws to establish fair election machinery, to prevent lynching, to erect a reformatory for boys, and to restrict child labor.
He resumed his law practice in 1905, but in 1911 he yielded to pressure to seek the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate. He died on April 4, 1912, while campaigning.
And now Zebulon Vance:
Zebulon Vance was born on May 13, 1830, in Buncombe County, North Carolina. Forced to withdraw from college in 1844 when his father died, he later studied law at the University of North Carolina from 1851 to 1852. He received his county court license, settled in Asheville, and was soon elected county solicitor. He served in the North Carolina House of Commons in 1854 and in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1858 to 1861. Though he supported the constitutionality of secession, he was an ardent Unionist, not favoring secession until President Lincoln called for troops in 1861. He then organized and served with the Rough and Ready Guards.
Elected governor in 1862, he worked during the war to insure legality in the harsh conscription practices of the Confederacy and to guarantee protection of the law to North Carolinians. After being arrested at the end of the war and being briefly imprisoned, he returned to his law practice. Though elected to the Senate in 1870, he could not serve because he had not yet been pardoned. As governor from 1877 to 1879, he worked to revive the state's economy, agriculture, and industry and to improve schools.
From 1879 until his death he served in the U.S. Senate, where he was a popular and effective mediator between North and South. Hard work undermined his health and led to the loss of one eye. He died in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1894, and after services in the Senate Chamber was buried in Asheville, North Carolina.
Source: http://www2.journalnow.com/news/2011/sep/21/wsmain01-dems-to-drop-controversial-leaders-names--ar-1413810/
http://www.aoc.gov/cc/art/nsh/aycock.cfm
http://www.aoc.gov/cc/art/nsh/vance.cfm
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