Wake County D.A. Dismisses Moral Monday Protester Charges

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 19, 2014

Contact: Tom Wolf, NC NAACP - tiwolf13@gmail.com or 504-940-4441

Wake County D.A. Dismisses Moral Monday Protester Charges

A Statement from the North Carolina NAACP

RALEIGH, NC - This morning, the Interim Wake County District Attorney dismissed charges against many of the Moral Monday protesters. The dismissals represent a victory for the "Rule of Law" in North Carolina and uphold the rights of citizens to protest and instruct their representatives in the North Carolina General Assembly, the People's House. The North Carolina NAACP released this statement:

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This Labor Day a Moral Monday with a Three-City Tour

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 29, 2014

 

Contact: Sarah Bufkin, NC NAACP - smbufkin@gmail.com or 404.285.3413

 

 

The NC NAACP and the Forward Together Movement Join the NC AFL-CIO and Workers to Make This Labor Day a Moral Monday with a Three-City Tour

 

 

Moral Monday - Labor Day

Monday, Sept. 1, 2014

 

Raleigh Stop

9 am - Press conference

Nash Square

201 S. Dawson St., Raleigh

 

Greensboro Stop

11 am - Press conference

Beloved Community Center

417 Arlington St, Greensboro

 

Charlotte Stop

5:30 pm - Moral Monday Rally

Marshall Park

800 E. Third St, Charlotte

 

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Moral Week of Action at NC Capitol

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 19, 2014

 

Contact: Sarah Bufkin, NC NAACP - smbufkin@gmail.com or 404.285.3413

 

 

The North Carolina NAACP and the Forward Together Movement to Announce Moral Week of Action at NC Capitol Wednesday before Clergy Deliver Letter to State Leadership

 

 

Tomorrow, Wednesday, Aug. 20

2 pm

North Carolina State Capitol - Front steps

1 E. Edenton St, Raleigh, NC 

 

 

RALEIGH - Standing alongside justice-loving coalitions across the South and the nation, the North Carolina NAACP and the Forward Together Moral Movement are mobilizing for a Moral Week of Action at the end of August to challenge the regressive policies coming out of the General Assembly. Instead of using its short session to repeal and remedy the devastating laws passed last summer, the state legislative leadership made the situation worse this session.

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Citing Recent Supreme Court Ruling, NC Judges Dismiss Combined 13 Moral Monday Cases on Constitutional Grounds

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 15, 2014

 

Contact: Sarah Bufkin, NC NAACP - smbufkin@gmail.com or 404.285.3413

                                                    

DURHAM, NC - Two judges have now dismissed 13 cases against Moral Monday arrestees on the Constitutional grounds that Police Chief Jeff Weaver's order to leave the General Assembly building was not "narrowly tailored," that the Legislative rules were vague and overbroad and that the Moral Monday arrestees' constitutionally protected right to assemble, speak and redress their grievances were violated by these arrests on June 24 and July 15, 2013. These rights were protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, Sections 12 and 14 of the North Carolina constitution.

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The North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP and the Forward Together Moral Movement Leads Seven Days of Moral Action at the State Capitol in Raleigh

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 15, 2014

 

Contact: Sarah Bufkin, NC NAACP - smbufkin@gmail.com or 404.285.3413

 

 

Other States Coordinating Similar Efforts Across the South and Beyond

 

 

RALEIGH - The North Carolina NAACP and its coalition partners in the Forward Together Moral Movement are mobilizing for a Moral Week of Action at the State Capitol from August 22-28 to challenge the ongoing extremist legislative attack on poor people and minorities in the state.

 

Across the South and the nation, coalitions in other states are coordinating their own campaigns during the Moral Week of Action at their state capitols to protest extremists that are using the legislature and governor's office to take aim at the country's most vulnerable communities.

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Ok Folks in Asheville, NC Moral Monday

If you live in Asheville, NC and the surrounding area, there will be a Moral Monday event in your area. So if you don’t have anything plan come out and join us..

 

Facebook Event page,

 

its happening at Pack Square Park, in Asheville from 5pm to 6 pm.

 

Details,

Join folks from across the region and state for another energizing and inspiring Mountain Moral Monday - “Moral March to the Polls Rally” on August 4, from 5-6:30 pm at Pack Square Park in downtown Asheville.
The Mountain People’s Assembly, a coalition of WNC organizations, and regional WNC NAACP Branches, will host the return of Mountain Moral Monday, a non-partisan program that will highlight the destructive policies enacted by the N.C. statehouse over the past year while strongly focusing on the voter empowerment campaign, “Moral March to the Polls.”
The event will feature Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, President of the NC NAACP and other guest speakers, as well as musical entertainment. In addition, there will be opportunities for participants to get involved in voter registration, education and Get-Out-The-Vote (GOTV) efforts during the current mid-term election cycle. ‘Moral Freedom Summer’ Organizers and volunteers will be available to help register voters.
To sign on as a supporter or for more information, email info@mountainmoralmonday.org.

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Moral Monday Returns to the Mountains on Monday, Aug. 4

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 31, 2014



Contact: Sarah Bufkin, NC NAACP - smbufkin@gmail.com or 404.285.3413


Moral Monday Returns to the Mountains on Monday, Aug. 4 to Mobilize,
Register and Educate Voters ahead of November through the Moral March
to the Polls Campaign


Press Conference

10:30 am

Hopkins Chapel AME Zion Church

21 College Place, Asheville, NC



Moral Monday Rally

5 pm

Pack Square Park,

121 College St, Asheville, NC





DURHAM, NC - A year after Mountain Moral Monday, named 2013's "Most
Valuable Protest" by The Nation magazine, where people of all
backgrounds gathered in Asheville to rally against regressive public
policies, the North Carolina NAACP and the Forward Together Movement
are heading back to the mountains on Aug. 4 for a Moral March to the
Polls rally.


At this year's Mountain Moral Monday, the Movement will focus on
mobilizing the western portion of the state to register, educate and
turn out voters this November.


"Returning to Asheville marks the 66th week of the Moral Monday
campaign," said Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, president of the NC
NAACP. "After a year of mobilizing in the courts, in the newspapers,
and in the streets, we are shifting our momentum towards the ballot
box. This state legislature wants to silence our voices by suppressing
our votes. But we will not be silenced. We look to our friends in the
mountains to stand up - to register, organize and vote this November."


On Monday, Aug. 4 at 10:30 am, Dr. Barber will join local leaders of
the Mountain People's Assembly and other community partners at a Moral
Monday press conference at Hopkins Chapel AME Zion Church.


The Moral Monday rally will begin at 5 pm in Pack Square in downtown
Asheville. People from across Western North Carolina and beyond will
gather to hear from moral leaders, community members and young
activists as they speak truth to the power wielded by this extremist
General Assembly.

Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II rallies the crowd at last year's
Mountain Moral Monday. Credit: Micah Mackenzie.



WHO: The NC NAACP, the Forward Together Moral Movement and the

Mountain People's Assembly


WHAT: Mountain Moral Monday - Moral March to the Polls rally


WHEN: Monday, Aug. 4

10:30 am - Press conference

5 pm - Rally



WHERE: Press conference

Hopkins Chapel AME Zion Church

21 Church Place, Asheville, NC



Rally

Pack Square Park

121 College St, Asheville, NC





###





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.
The NC Conference of NAACP Branches is 70 years old this year and is
made up of over 100 Adult, Youth and College NAACP units across the
state, convenes more than 160 members of the Historic Thousands on
Jones Street (HKonJ) People's Assembly Coalition, and is the architect
of the Moral Monday & Forward Together Movement.

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Call upon State Lawmakers to Extend the June 30, 2014 Deadline for the Victims of the NC Sterilization Program to Apply for Compensation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 28, 2014

Contact: Sarah Bufkin, NC NAACP - smbufkin@gmail.com or 404.285.3413

The North Carolina NAACP and the Forward Together Moral Movement Call upon State Lawmakers to Extend the June 30, 2014 Deadline for  the Victims of  the NC Sterilization Program to Apply for Compensation

Two thirds of the victims have not filed claims for compensation because of  lack of state outreach about the  available compensation.

 RALEIGH, NC - The North Carolina NAACP and the Forward Together Moral Movement call upon Senate Leader Phil Berger, House Speaker Thom Tillis, Gov. Pat McCrory and Budget Director Art Pope to extend the June 30 deadline for victims of the state's horrific sterilization program to apply for the $50,000 compensation set aside for each victim in 2013.     

As of the middle of June, less than 600 of the estimated 1,800 victims have applied for their compensation. Close observers believe the state has failed to launch a broad outreach campaign to locate eligible North Carolinians, many of whom the state labelled as mentally defective as the reason for sterilizing them.

For almost a decade, the NC NAACP has demanded that the victims of the Winston-Salem based sterilization program that preyed on mainly poor African American women be compensated. In 2013, the General Assembly finally passed a bill that included a $10 million fund to provide restitution for the estimated 5,000 victims of the state's eugenics laws. Anyone who wishes to apply for compensation must submit a formal application byMonday, June 30.

Those familiar with the victims of the program were all concerned about how to reach people and how to help them fill out all the forms necessary to receive their compensation. There is no master list of victims. Many of the state's records are incomplete. Many of the victims lacked Social Security numbers in their early teens, when the majority were sterilized., and the addresses in the records are 40-50 years old. People have moved, married, changed their names. Many are poor and without ready access to legal advice. Some are functionally illiterate.

"These victims were targeted by the zealous eugenics program in the first place because they were marginalized, poor and without a voice, and now there has been little to no effort or resources from the state to locate these people and help them prepare their applications," said Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, president of the NC NAACP. "This state has a moral responsibility to find these men and women. Its responsibility did not end with setting aside money for victims to apply for. We call on our state lawmakers to extend this deadline by a year until June 30, 2015 and to commit additional energy and resources to an aggressive outreach campaign in the media and at the grassroots level. Let the state be as zealous locating the between two and four thousand victims and their heirs as it was when it tracked them down in their early teens, convinced the eugenics board they were defective people and then removed their reproductive organs. The extension will not significantly delay payments, since according to the present law no one receives payment until July 2015.

"The NC NAACP with our over 200 coalition partners addressed the issue of wrongful sterilization with the adoption of the coalition's 14-point agenda in 2007," Dr. Barber continued. "Since that time, obtaining compensation for the victims of the forcible sterilization program has been a mainstay of our agenda. Ten years have passed since the state offered a formal apology to victims of the involuntary sterilizations in 2001. These victims have suffered for years, in some cases enduring immense physical and psychological trauma. Compensation will not make these victims whole. But it is a sign that the State of North Carolina wishes to repair the injuries it caused some of her citizens."

  

Sent from my iPhone

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Moral Monday Broadcast on June 30

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 27, 2014

Contact: Sarah Bufkin, NC NAACP - smbufkin@gmail.com or 404.285.3413

The Forward Together Movement to Talk Voter Mobilization and Registration with People across North Carolina at a Moral Monday Broadcast on June 30

Monday, June 30, 2014

7 pm

Livestream link: http://bit.do/mmmpc

Davie St Presbyterian Church

300 E. Davie St, Raleigh

RALEIGH, NC - As a part of its pivot towards the Moral March to the Polls, the North Carolina NAACP and the Forward Together Moral Movement will host a Moral Monday Broadcast on Monday, June 30 to galvanize people all across the state to begin intensive voter registration and mobilization campaigns in their hometowns.

Starting at 7 pm, the Moral Monday Broadcast will be live-streamed across the state and the nation. People unable to attend the event in Raleigh at Davie St. Presbyterian Church are encouraged to hold watching parties in their communities.

The Moral March to the Polls - which kicked off last week in tandem with Moral Freedom Summer's placement of young organizers in counties across North Carolina - will bring the Movement's longstanding fusion coalition and its energy to bear on get-out-the-vote efforts ahead of the November elections.

"The Movement is dedicating itself to voter education, voter registration and voter participation ahead of the November elections," said Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, president of the NC NAACP. "This summer and fall, we will be pushing to turn out thousands of people who did not vote in 2010 and to register thousands more first-time voters in our state. The power of the franchise should not be underestimated."

At the Moral Monday Broadcast, Dr. Barber will frame the Movement's transition to voter mobilization, and experts will walk attendees and viewers through the process of arranging voter registration drives and canvassing. Speakers will discuss why the Forward Together Moral Movement must focus on mass voter education, registration and mobilization efforts over the next 18 weeks. 

WHO:                         The NC NAACP and the Forward Together Moral Movement

WHAT:                      Moral Monday Broadcast   

WHEN:                      Monday, June 30 at 7 pm

WHERE:                   Livestream link: http://bit.do/mmmpc

     Davie St. Presbyterian Church

                                    300 E. Davie St, Raleigh, NC

 

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A Year after the U.S. Supreme Court Dismantled the Voting Rights Act, the North Carolina NAACP and the Forward Together Moral Movement Remain Committed to a Full Strength Restoration of Federal Voting Protections in North Carolina

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 25, 2014

Contact: Sarah Bufkin, NC NAACP - smbufkin@gmail.com or 404.285.3413

Cynthia Gordy, Advancement Project - cgordy@advancementproject.org or 202.341.0555

DURHAM, NC - A year ago today, the U.S. Supreme Court gutted the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act by ending the Section IV preclearance formula, ignoring centuries of black disenfranchisement in the American South and clear evidence that local and state governments continue to engage in voter suppression and obstruction that targets people of color and other minorities. 

The North Carolina NAACP and the Forward Together Moral Movement remain firmly opposed to the court's decision in Shelby Co. v. Holder and call for a full-strength restoration of the Voting Rights Act that provides preclearance coverage for North Carolina and other Southern states.

Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, president of the North Carolina NAACP, released the following statement on the one-year anniversary of the Shelby Co. decision:

  

"Discrimination in our election process is a real and present danger today, and it is an immediate threat. The position of the NAACP is rooted in the sweat, blood, tears and courage of many of our forbearers; the NAACP was extremely disappointed in the U.S. Supreme Court decision issued on June 25, 2013 in Shelby v. Holder which struck key provisions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

"One of the most important and fundamental rights of racial minorities is the right to vote. Since the NAACP was organized in 1909, voting rights has been at the top of our agenda and it remains in that position today. Voting rights is the life-blood of a vibrant and politically connected people. We will not stand by passively and allow five ahistorical Supreme Court justices - who closed their eyes and minds to the blood stained history of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution - to destroy the hard-gained victories for voting rights for racial minorities in this country.

"We are up against a national conspiracy to take us back to the days of Jim Crow voter suppression tricks from the southern state houses and county courthouses. We need a national movement to stop this regression. The minute the ahistorical five's decision in Shelby Co. was announced, the NC General Assembly passed the most restrictive voter suppression law since Jim Crow. North Carolina's voter suppression law inhibits and restrains the right to vote, particularly for African Americans, Latinos and the poor, by:

• requiring all voters to show specific forms of photo ID, excluding student ID's and non-North Carolina driver's licenses;
• reducing popular early voting days;
• ending same-day registration;
• limiting early registration;
• ending it entirely for 16- and 17-year olds;
• empowering vigilante poll watchers to challenge voters of color;
• barring counties from keeping polls open later to accommodate long lines;
• refusing to count provisional ballots mistakenly cast in the wrong precinct;
• simplifying obtaining absentee ballots,  the most common means of voter fraud, which is used most by people who vote for extremist candidate.

"Accordingly, we plan to meet with North Carolina's elected leaders in the U.S. House and Senate as well as our National NAACP leadership to amend and fix any proposed legislation that aims to restore Section V of the Voting Rights Act. It is our plan to fight as hard for a full-strength restoration of Section V as we are presently fighting against the voter suppression efforts here in North Carolina.

"Congress must make voting rights a legislative priority. While we know that compromise will be needed to pass any legislation, we cannot sacrifice our core principle: participation in our democracy should be unfettered and all votes should be properly counted. As the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization with a massive membership base, we have the responsibility to insure that any legislation that is enacted protects the best interests of our members, our community and the democratic principles espoused in our constitution. Our mission is to stand on the side of equal protection under the law and not to merely celebrate political compromise, especially where it has the intent or effect of undermining our hard-won political victories.

"The NAACP calls for unfettered and unabridged access to voting that guarantees that equal protection under the law does not shift the burden of litigation regarding discrimination to the shoulders of those discriminated against. We call on Congress to swiftly and with bipartisan support pass amendments to restore the Voting Rights Act in keeping with our core principles:

• The legislation must contain an expansive rolling trigger formula to include as many states and jurisdictions with a history of discriminatory election practices as possible;
• The legislation should contain a "known practices coverage" proposal;
• We remain ardently opposed to any stringent requirements for a government-issued photo identification when casting a ballot; and
• We support making adjustments to Section 3 bail-in provisions to include state judgments, settlements, and consent decrees.

"We look forward to an opportunity to engage in the debate about proposed legislation as this idea moves through the legislative process. We will draw upon the 1,200 NAACP units from around the country to monitor their districts for additional evidence of racially discriminatory voting practices in their locales which can serve as further examples of the concerns and objections which we presently have about the present state of federal voter protections.

"We who believe in freedom and democracy cannot rest.  But we could sure use some help from the Congress in reversing this racist decision.  And we could use it NOW."

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North Carolinians Flood the State Legislature for a Massive Moral Monday Sit-In and Plan-In to Launch New Phase of Voter Mobilization with Moral March to the Polls

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 24, 2014

Contact: Sarah Bufkin, NC NAACP - smbufkin@gmail.com or 404.285.3413

Cynthia Gordy, Advancement Project - cgordy@advancementproject.org or 202.341.0555

 

Fifteen Arrested for Expressing Moral Dissent over Extremist Agenda Pushed by NC Legislative Leadership after Moral Monday Rally Draws Thousands

 

RALEIGH, NC - People from all across the state reclaimed the North Carolina General Assembly at Moral Monday June 23 for a series of sit-ins and plan-ins to prepare for the Forward Together Moral Movement's next phase - a sustained campaign of mobilizing and registering voters ahead of the November elections called the Moral March to the Polls.

Upwards of 3,500 gathered outside the People's House to protest this state legislative leadership's extreme agenda before breaking off into smaller groups to enter the People's House and work on get-out-the-vote strategies alongside the Moral Freedom Summer organizers. Inside the legislature, 15 moral witnesses were arrested for expressing their opposition to the deluge of devastating policies unleashed last year - bringing the total number of arrests since the first Moral Monday last April to over 1,000. 

 

Yesterday's action marked 60 weeks of Moral Mondays organizing and protest, and the crowd celebrated the Movement's victories in the streets, in the courts and in public opinion.

"It normally takes a Movement years to change the public consciousness, but we already seeing the tremendous effect that this diverse, multi-issue, grassroots coalition is having on our state," said Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, president of the North Carolina NAACP. "We don't navigate by the polls, but the polls show that only 18 percent of North Carolina approves of our General Assembly and the work they are doing right now. On the issues, the majority of North Carolinians agree with the Movement, not with the extremist policies of this legislature. We are transitioning into a new Moral March to the Polls this summer as we do all we can to make sure that North Carolinians can and do raise their voices at the ballot box."

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Worker's Rights the Focus for Moral Monday Demonstration as 20 Arrested at North Carolina General Assembly

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 17, 2014

CONTACT: Sarah Bufkin, smbufkin@gmail.com, 404-285-3413

Cynthia Gordy, cgordy@advancementproject.org, 202-341-0555

 

Upwards of 1,500 North Carolinians Assemble at Legislature to Speak Out against Bills that Hurt Labor, Teachers, Women - and against Lies from Senate Leader Phil Berger

RALEIGH, NC - In a fourth week of peaceful protest at the North Carolina General Assembly during this legislative session, more than 1,500 people from across the state gathered on Monday to challenge the state legislature's extreme agenda and the regressive policies passed last year that have hurt workers. Members of the North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP, labor unions, the fast food workers' organization Raise Up, as well as teachers' and women's groups highlighted the many ways in which budget proposals from state lawmakers are devastating for the poor, working people and most vulnerable residents of the state.

Yesterday, the Forward Together Movement introduced youth organizers who are kicking off Moral Freedom Summer - in which 50 trained organizers will be anchored in 50 communities across North Carolina to register and mobilize voters.

"The main reason for the short session is to pass budgets, but the budgets that we've seen pass here violate the constitutional principle to govern for the good of the whole," said Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, president of the North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP, during the rally on Halifax Mall. "Each one of them is flawed and extreme because they start from the premise that when you get elected into office as an extremist, your primary role is to please the Tea Party, to please Art Pope and to please those who would take our state backward rather than to serve the population of North Carolina."

Following the rally, the crowd walked inside the General Assembly to petition their legislators, with a group of 20 North Carolinians arrested upon practicing nonviolent civil disobedience. These moral witnesses were cheered on by supporters who filled two floors of the building - singing, clapping and shouting to show their encouragement, as well as to proclaim to lawmakers that their voices will not be silenced. Their voices were further validated with a legal victory last week, in which a Wake County judge ruled that many recent changes to the legislative building rules (designed to prohibit protesters at the General Assembly) were too vague and overly broad to stand up to legal scrutiny, and thus overruled - allowing North Carolinians to freely challenge the status quo in the People's House.

"We are here today because workers are under attack," said MaryBe McMillan, secretary-treasurer of the North Carolina AFL-CIO. "Those who don't have jobs are called lazy. Those who want a living wage are called greedy. And yet our elected officials have doled out fat raises for their friends; they've cut taxes for their corporate donors; and they've even made it so that, unlike wages, campaign contributions can now rise with inflation. ... We are here today to bear witness to the unfairness and immorality of this double standard. But most of all we are here to bear witness to what can be - a state where people take care of each other."

"Elected officials currently in power at the statehouse, I am here to tell you that I suffer and struggle enough as a working mother making $7.25 an hour," said Crystal Price, a Wendy's fast food worker and mother who suffers from cervical cancer - and who falls into the health coverage gap created by North Carolina's refusal to expand Medicaid under the federal Affordable Care Act. "I don't need you passing bills that attack my family and myself, like refusing to expand Medicaid and eliminating the Earned Income Tax Credit on top of everything else I have to go through."

"What they're doing in the North Carolina legislative building is immoral and unconscionable," said J. David Cox, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE). "It is unconscionable to deny workers the right to bargain collectively. It is unconscionable to cut unemployment benefits to workers desperately searching for a job. It is immoral to deny Medicaid to half a million North Carolinians."

Alexandra Sirota, executive director of the North Carolina Budget and Tax Center debunked the distortions and misrepresentations that Senate Leader Phil Berger, Speaker Thom Tillis, Gov. Pat McCrory and their allies have proliferated about the Forward Together Moral Movement's agenda, saying that they would cost the state into the billions. When the Budget and Tax Center analyzed the movement's priorities of looking after the sick, poor, workers, teachers and students would in fact be revenue neutral.

"All three budgets we've seen [from North Carolina politicians] are constrained because our policymakers have chosen to cut taxes for the wealthiest in our state and reduce the dollars that are available for building stronger communities in our state," Sirota said. "Our analysis shows that if you take into account what is exactly aligned with the Forward Together Moral Movement priorities, that's a revenue neutral proposal that the state should be considering and that policymakers should be moving forward as they're negotiating their budgets."

"We have come to Raleigh today to say to our legislators that the laws and policies that you have enacted are morally wrong, and they need to be repealed," said Rev. Nelson Johnson, executive director of the Beloved Community Center of Greensboro. "We are a moral movement because we respect the dignity and worth of all of God's children."

Holly Jordan, a teacher for Durham Public Schools, spoke about last week's Moral Monday, during which Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger had a discussion with teachers, students and parents. "In their conversation, they made clear that educators will not be pacified by a raise at the expense of social services and teacher assistance," Jordan said. "And several of those educators are back in the building today to tell Senator Berger that conversation that's not followed by action will also not appease us."

"Two-thirds of all Moral Monday arrestees are women," said Janet Colm, CEO of Planned Parenthood of Central North Carolina and a Moral Monday arrestee. "Women know it's impossible to have equal rights without access to healthcare, or to fight poverty and racism without good education and jobs and voting rights. ... Women know the importance of voting, and that two-thirds of voters without ID are women. Women know about the minimum wage. A majority of minimum wage workers in our state are women. And women know we can take back our state."

As the young organizers led the crowd into the General Assembly yesterday to petition state lawmakers to repent, repeal these destructive laws and to restore confidence in their ability to govern for the good of the whole, Dr. Barber emphasized that the Forward Together Moral Movement's work was far from done.

"Not only are we going to fight out here, and fight in the legislative building," said Barber. "We are going to fight in the court, fight in the voting booth and fight everywhere."

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Moral Movement Call on Governor and Legislative Allies to Repent, Repeal and Restore

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 3, 2014

Contact: Sarah Bufkin, NC NAACP - smbufkin@gmail.com or 404.285.3413

Even as North Carolina General Assembly Locks Its Doors on Moral Monday,

11 Protesters Arrested Yesterday for Sit In at Gov. McCrory's Office 

NC NAACP and the Forward Together Moral Movement Call on Governor and Legislative Allies to Repent, Repeal and Restore

RALEIGH, NC - People from all across North Carolina rallied at the General Assembly yesterday for the latest Moral Monday protest of harmful legislation passed last year by Gov. Pat McCrory and the legislature. Despite the legislature locking the doors in an attempt to keep petitioners out, a group of 11 people - everyday North Carolinians impacted by a lack of heath care access and environmentally polluting policies - staged a sit-in at the governor's office.

The 'McCrory 11' were arrested and charged with second-degree trespassing around 7 pm Monday after refusing to leave until McCrory agreed to meet with them about the impact of his policies on the health of the land and people of North Carolina.

Yesterday's Moral Monday went on despite the Senate's decision to hold a midnight session on Friday, allowing them to avoid returning to the General Assembly until Wednesday and miss the demonstration. The group changed plans by instead focusing on the governor, to whom they also delivered a letter calling on him to repeal the extreme policies; repent for the impact they are currently having on North Carolina's poor and working class and to restore a legislative commitment to governing for the betterment of the state.

"Speaker Tillis and Senate Leader Berger knew we were coming, and they locked the doors to the General Assembly building to prevent us from coming in," said Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, president of the North Carolina NAACP. "But we would not be moved from our purpose - calling upon them and Gov. McCrory to repeal these disastrous policies that are hurting the very people God loves - the sick, the poor, the women and children, the elderly, the least of these. Our eleven moral witnesses would not be moved from their attempts to petition the governor directly. If we expand Medicaid in our state, we would save 2,800 lives. If we cleaned up coal ash and blocked fracking in our state, we would save lives. That is what this moral witness today was about. To our governor and our state lawmakers, we say: if you are going to engage in premeditated political ideology that hurts the least of these, then we will give no quarter. These are matters of life and death, and the blood will be on their hands."

Other speakers illuminated the damage inflicted by various policies, including a new bill passed last week in the House and Senate to end North Carolina's moratorium on fracking, along with the current denial of health care access to 500,000 North Carolinians because of the refusal to expand Medicaid.

"These legislators are setting us up for a perfect storm of disasters while they simultaneously knock down our protections," said the NC Environmental Justice Network's John Wagner, of the bill to rapidly expand the polluting business of shale gas mining, or fracking, along with other environmentally damaging policies. "Our legislators weakened local landfill laws and regulations last year, right before they planned to flood our communities with toxic fracking landfills. We are facing terribly hard times imposed by cruel and blatantly immoral legislation, but together - and it has to be together - we have to fight."

"Refusing to expand Medicaid has forced several hospitals in North Carolina onto life support," said Nicole Dozier, assistant project director with the Health Access Project at the NC Justice Center. "Hospitals in expansion states have already seen big increases in the numbers of insured patients they see and big decreases in their shares of uninsured patients... I'm here today with a caution to the governor and the legislature: In your race to win power, don't lose your soul. Expand Medicaid now."

"Governor McCrory, Speaker Tillis and Senator Berger's refusal to accept federal dollars to pay for the care of the uninsured is not rational, is fiscally irresponsible and lacks moral standing," said former Congresswoman Eva Clayton, who made the economic case for Medicaid expansion. "This is especially difficult to understand given North Carolina's current budget shortfall."

Speakers also lifted up the devastation caused by the Dan River coal ash spill earlier this year, in which Duke Energy spilled tons of toxic coal ash into a river in Eden, NC - disproportionately affecting the poor and communities of color. 

"The quality of the air, water and land - and most importantly, the quality of life for North Carolina's people - is in jeopardy," said Connie Leeper, lead organizer for the environmental nonprofit NC WARN, who also called on legislators to hold Duke Energy accountable with a substantial plan for cleaning up coal ash.

Rev. Dr. T. Anthony Spearman of Clinton Tabernacle AME Zion Church and Rev. Joe Hoffman of Asheville's First Congregational United Church of Christ closed the rally by speaking to the moral mandate that motivates the Forward Together Movement to continue its campaign against these extreme policies in our state. 

"We are not the kind of people that shrink back when times get rough," Dr. Spearman told the assembled. "Because of the moral conviction you bring, you are presently the best thing going for the State of North Carolina. I heard somewhere recently that those who appear to be in power will never have ALL the power. There will always be a residual power, an unconsumed, unused, surplus power in community enabling us to shift the center of political gravity and further bend the arc of the moral universe toward justice."

In addition to delivering a letter to Gov. McCrory calling on him to "Repeal, Repent and Restore," protesters delivered similar letters to Speaker Tillis and Senator Berger yesterday, leaving them wedged under and around the General Assembly's locked doors. The Forward Together Moral Movement vowed to return the General Assembly every week until their demands are met.

The letter delivered to Gov. McCrory's office can be accessed HERE.

The letter to Speaker Tillis and Senate Leader Berger that the Forward Together Movement left wedged under the doors to the General Assembly today can be accessed HERE. 

The list of the 'McCrory 11' moral witnesses includes:

1. Jodi Lasseter

2. Serena Sebring Wadlington

3. James Tyson

4. Manju Rajendran

5. Justin Miller

6. Rakhee Devasthali

7. Deborah Ferruccio

8. Colin Miller

9. Kriti Sharma

10. Marie Garlock

11. Sedrick Harris

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Moral Movement Calls People to Raleigh for Moral Monday Today, June 2

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 2, 2014

 

Contact: Sarah Bufkin, NC NAACP - smbufkin@gmail.com or 404.285.3413

 

 

The NC NAACP and the Forward Together Moral Movement Calls People to Raleigh for Moral Monday Today, June 2 to Stand Up for Environmental and Health Justice

 

Pre-Rally Press Conference

4 pm

Pullen Memorial Baptist Church

1801 Hillsborough St, Raleigh, NC

 

Moral Monday Rally and Action

5 pm

Halifax Mall - behind the General Assembly

16 West Jones St, Raleigh, NC 27601

  

 

Check out the latest video from the Tillis 15 sit-in by clicking below:

Tears from Inside the Speaker's Office | Tillis 15

 

 

RALEIGH, NC - The North Carolina NAACP and the Forward Together Moral Movement will gather outside the General Assembly for Moral Monday today, June 2 to petition our lawmakers to make a serious commitment to protecting the health of our people and our environment.

 

"Our General Assembly continues to pass bad policy after bad policy without regard to the people whose health they are damaging," said Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, president of the North Carolina NAACP. "This week, Speaker Thom Tillis, Senate Leader Phil Berger, Gov. Pat McCrory and their extremist colleagues put corporate interests ahead of real people when they rammed through an end to the moratorium on fracking in our state. They put corporate interests ahead of real people when they proposed a budget that takes vital Medicaid support from the elderly and the disabled. We are going back today and we will be back every Monday of this short session until this General Assembly listens to the People's call to repent, repeal and restore confidence in our government."

 

At Moral Monday, environmental and health care experts, moral leaders and everyday North Carolinians who have been impacted will take the stage to make a strong case for the need to repeal these bad laws and policies.

 

The Forward Together Moral Movement will call upon the General Assembly to stop denying health care access to 500,000 North Carolinians by expanding Medicaid and to preserve health insurance coverage for thousands more by supporting the Affordable Care Act. We will also stand up for the health of our environment and for the low-income and minority communities that tend to bear the brunt of exposure to toxic pollution by asking our legislators to repeal the "fast-track" fracking bill and to pass a substantial plan for cleaning up coal ash.

 

Members of the media are invited to a pre-rally press conference at 4 pm in Pullen Memorial Baptist Church, located at 1801 Hillsborough St. After the press conference, we will make our way down to Halifax Mall for the Moral Monday rally and action beginning at 5 pm.

 

WHO:                         North Carolina NAACP and the Forward Together Moral Movement

           

WHAT:                       Moral Monday

 

WHEN:                       4 pm - Pre-Rally Press Conference

                       

                                     5 pm - Moral Monday Rally

 

WHERE:                    Pre-Rally Press Conference

                                    Pullen Memorial Baptist Church

                                    1801 Hillsborough St, Raleigh, NC

 

                                    Rally and Action

                                    Halifax Mall - Behind the General Assembly

                                    16 West Jones St, Raleigh, NC 

  
 

 

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Moral Movement Calls People to Raleigh for Moral Monday on June 2

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 30, 2014

 

Contact: Sarah Bufkin, NC NAACP - smbufkin@gmail.com or 404.285.3413

 

[A copy of this release was sent out earlier with an outdated email subject.]

 

 

The NC NAACP and the Forward Together Moral Movement Calls People to Raleigh for Moral Monday on June 2 to Stand Up for Environmental and Health Justice

 

Pre-Rally Press Conference

4 pm

Pullen Memorial Baptist Church

1801 Hillsborough St, Raleigh, NC

 

Moral Monday Rally and Action

5 pm

Halifax Mall - behind the General Assembly

16 West Jones St, Raleigh, NC 27601

 

 

RALEIGH, NC - Standing alongside moral witnesses from the Tillis 15, the North Carolina NAACP and the Forward Together Moral Movement announced that we will return to the General Assembly for Moral Monday on June 2 to petition our lawmakers to make a serious commitment to protecting the health of our people and our environment.

 

"Our General Assembly continues to pass bad policy after bad policy without regard to the people whose health they are damaging," said Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, president of the North Carolina NAACP. "This week, Speaker Thom Tillis, Senate Leader Phil Berger, Gov. Pat McCrory and their extremist colleagues put corporate interests ahead of real people when they rammed through an end to the moratorium on fracking in our state. They put corporate interests ahead of real people when they proposed a budget that takes vital Medicaid support from the elderly and the disabled. We will be back on Monday and we will be back every Monday of this short session until this General Assembly listens to the People's call to repent, repeal and restore confidence in our government."

 

At Moral Monday, environmental and health care experts, moral leaders and everyday North Carolinians who have been impacted will take the stage to make a strong case for the need to repeal these bad laws and policies.

 

The Forward Together Moral Movement will call upon the General Assembly to stop denying health care access to 500,000 North Carolinians by expanding Medicaid and to preserve health insurance coverage for thousands more by supporting the Affordable Care Act. We will also stand up for the health of our environment and for the low-income and minority communities that tend to bear the brunt of exposure to toxic pollution by asking our legislators to repeal the "fast-track" fracking bill and to pass a substantial plan for cleaning up coal ash.

 

Members of the media are invited to a pre-rally press conference at 4 pm in Pullen Memorial Baptist Church, located at 1801 Hillsborough St. After the press conference, we will make our way down to Halifax Mall for the Moral Monday rally and action beginning at 5 pm.

 

WHO:                         North Carolina NAACP and the Forward Together Moral Movement

           

WHAT:                       Moral Monday

 

WHEN:                       4 pm - Pre-Rally Press Conference

                       

                                     5 pm - Moral Monday Rally

 

WHERE:                    Pre-Rally Press Conference

                                    Pullen Memorial Baptist Church

                                    1801 Hillsborough St, Raleigh, NC

 

                                    Rally and Action

                                    Halifax Mall - Behind the General Assembly

                                    16 West Jones St, Raleigh, NC 

 

Check out the new video from the sit-in:

  

Tears From Inside the Speaker's Office | Tillis 15 

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Stand with the 'Tillis 15' Sit-In Moral Witnesses

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 29, 2014

 

Contact: Sarah Bufkin, NC NAACP - smbufkin@gmail.com or 404.285.3413

 

 

 

The North Carolina NAACP and the Forward Together Moral Movement to Stand with the 'Tillis 15' Sit-In Moral Witnesses and Announce Next Moral Monday Focusing on Environmental and Health Justice

 

Press Conference

Friday, May 30, 2014

10:30 am

114 West Parrish St, 

Durham, NC 27702

 

DURHAM, NC - The North Carolina NAACP, the Forward Together Moral Movement and moral witnesses from the 'Tillis 15' will discuss this week's sit-in action in Speaker's Thom Tillis's office, as well as preview our plans for the next Moral Monday at a press conference tomorrow morning. On Monday, June 2, we will return to the General Assembly to call upon our lawmakers to make a serious commitment to environmental justice and the health of all North Carolinians.

 

 "The moral witnesses in the 'Tillis 15' emphasized the real-life impact of extreme laws rammed through during the last legislative session," said Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, president of the North Carolina NAACP. "North Carolinians who have been hurt by these policies exercised their constitutionally protected right to petition Speaker Tillis for repeal. Under Article XI, Section 4 of the state constitution, "beneficent provision for the poor, the unfortunate, and the orphan is one of the first duties of a civilized and Christian state.' Speaker Tillis' and Senate Leader Berger's policies have broken with this fundamental principle of governance. This Monday in Raleigh, we will join together once again to remind them that their moral responsibility to care for the least of these calls upon them to stand up for environmental justice and for health care access for all North Carolinians."

 

The Forward Together Moral Movement will return to Raleigh on Monday, June 2, 2014 to continue its campaign for repeal by asking that the General Assembly take active steps to protect the health of North Carolina's people and its environment.

 

The moral witnesses were arrested Wednesday morning after sitting in Speaker Tillis' office for upwards of 10 hours, attempting to petition him to repeal the policies that are hurting them and their neighbors directly. 

 

 

WHO:             The NC NAACP, the Forward Together Moral Movement and the Tillis 15

WHAT:          Press conference

WHEN:          Tomorrow, Friday, May 30 at 10:30 am

 

WHERE:       NC NAACP Offices

                        114 West Parrish St, Durham, NC 27702

 

 

To see personal testimonies from some of the Tillis 15, check out the new video from the sit-in HERE.

 

 

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