News Alert - NC A&T and Winston-Salem State University Invite NC NAACP President to Speak at Campus Rallies Today

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 17, 2012

For More Information:           Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, President, 919-394-8137

Mrs. Amina J. Turner, Executive Drector, 919-682-4700

For Media Assistance:            Rob Stephens, 336-577-9335

(DURHAM) -  Two Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU's) are holding rallies today against Voter Suppression, Amendment One and the rightwing attack on African-Americans, Latinos, the elderly, women, students, the poor, and other minorities. The campus groups, led by NAACP college chapters on the campuses of Winston-Salem State University and North Carolina A&T University are helping to lead these efforts and have invited Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, President of the North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP, to speak.

Both events are scheduled for today, Tuesday, April 17, 2012. The "Rally for a Revolution" on the campus of Winston-Salem State University will take place at 2:30 PM at the Clock Tower.  Please contact Brandon Singletary for on-site coordination - 910-581-9864.  

The "Join the Revolution Rally" at NC A&T University is organized in conjunction with five campuses in Greensboro: Bennett College, UNC-Greensboro, Guilford College and Greensboro College. It will take place at 5:15 PM behind the Student Union on the Quad, 1405 John Mitchell Drive, Greensboro, NC. Please contact William Robinson for on-site coordination - 828-261-5552.    

"Young people are not being fooled by the rightwing's attempt to divide and conquer the current day Civil Rights Movement," said Rev. Barber. "They know passing the first amendment that codifies discrimination into the North Carolina Constitution is part of a strategic plan to strip the rights of a new, more diverse North Carolina in order to maintain power in the hands of the few. As students on campuses where sit-ins sparked a wave of student movements across the country against all forms of discrimination, they know it is especially concerning in a Southern State for powers to set a precedent whereby a majority votes on the rights of a minority in an attempt to move toward a limited states rights agenda as a way of undermining the broad protections of our Constitution."

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Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, conducting voter mobilization and monitoring equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.