SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
'Repeal and Repent': Citizens Rise Against State's Regressive Lawmakers
Nearly two hundred demonstrators with Moral Monday campaign demand end to 'harmful' and 'extreme' policies
May 28, 2014
After a day when hundreds rallied at the North Carolina legislative building against the 'extreme' policies pushed forth by the GOP-led body, 14 protesters were arrested early Wednesday morning after staging an overnight sit-in at the office of the state's House speaker Tom Tillis.
Organized under the banner of the "Moral Monday" campaign, over 170 took part in the demonstration Tuesday to call on lawmakers to "repent for the harm they have caused, to repeal the flood of extreme policies passed last year and to restore confidence in our elected officials," according to a statement by the North Carolina NAACP.
Eight fast food workers, four clergy members, one housing expert and one retired public school employee were arrested at 1:45 am after participating in a 12-hour protest during which the Republican leader left through a back exit to avoid meeting with the demonstrators. In the hallway outside the lawmaker's office, fellow protesters sang the the civil rights ballad, "We Shall Not Be Moved."
"I am participating in the nonviolent civil disobedience today to let my voice be heard," said demonstrator Crystal Price, a 27-year old mother of two and an employee of Wendy's in Greensboro.
"When state lawmakers pass laws eliminating the Earned Income Tax Credit or refuse to expand Medicaid--programs my children and I depend on--while giving tax breaks to the wealthiest few, it makes a statement that these representatives do not care about working mothers like me," she added. Price, who is suffering from cervical cancer, was initially one of the protesters staked out in Tillis's office but had to leave to take care of her children.
"Tonight, we put a face on the real harm these policies are inflicting across our state," said Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, movement leader and president of the state's NAACP.
Those arrested were charged with second-degree trespassing, a misdemeanor. By Wednesday morning, twelve of the fourteen were released. The other two continued to be held.
Roughly 950 total activists with the Forward Together Moral Movement were arrested at weekly demonstrations during the 2013 legislative season protesting what they say are the "extreme policies" passed by the GOP-led legislature. These included restrictive voting rules, denial of Medicaid expansion, cuts to unemployment benefits, and the repeal of the Earned Income Tax Credit, among others.
As lawmakers are once again convening at the state assembly, the weekly demonstrations are also set to return with renewed focus to "repeal and reverse" the regressive policies passed in 2013.
The NC NAACP released the below video of the action in and around Tillis's office:
We Shall Not Be Moved | Tillis 15May 27th, 2014 - After North Carolina House Speaker Thom Tillis refuses to meet with North Carolinians, a sit-in turns into a ...
During the demonstration, protesters posted images of the sit-in online:
_____________________
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Lauren McCauley
Lauren McCauley is a former senior editor for Common Dreams covering national and international politics and progressive news. She is now the Editor of Maine Morning Star. Lauren also helped produce a number of documentary films, including the award-winning Soundtrack for a Revolution and The Hollywood Complex, as well as one currently in production about civil rights icon James Meredith. Her writing has been featured on Newsweek, BillMoyers.com, TruthDig, Truthout, In These Times, and Extra! the newsletter of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. She currently lives in Kennebunk, Maine with her husband, two children, a dog, and several chickens.
voter idnorth carolinamarch on washingtonthom tillisnaacpwilliam barberpeople poweroccupy wall streetvoter suppressionmartin luther kingmoral monday
After a day when hundreds rallied at the North Carolina legislative building against the 'extreme' policies pushed forth by the GOP-led body, 14 protesters were arrested early Wednesday morning after staging an overnight sit-in at the office of the state's House speaker Tom Tillis.
Organized under the banner of the "Moral Monday" campaign, over 170 took part in the demonstration Tuesday to call on lawmakers to "repent for the harm they have caused, to repeal the flood of extreme policies passed last year and to restore confidence in our elected officials," according to a statement by the North Carolina NAACP.
Eight fast food workers, four clergy members, one housing expert and one retired public school employee were arrested at 1:45 am after participating in a 12-hour protest during which the Republican leader left through a back exit to avoid meeting with the demonstrators. In the hallway outside the lawmaker's office, fellow protesters sang the the civil rights ballad, "We Shall Not Be Moved."
"I am participating in the nonviolent civil disobedience today to let my voice be heard," said demonstrator Crystal Price, a 27-year old mother of two and an employee of Wendy's in Greensboro.
"When state lawmakers pass laws eliminating the Earned Income Tax Credit or refuse to expand Medicaid--programs my children and I depend on--while giving tax breaks to the wealthiest few, it makes a statement that these representatives do not care about working mothers like me," she added. Price, who is suffering from cervical cancer, was initially one of the protesters staked out in Tillis's office but had to leave to take care of her children.
"Tonight, we put a face on the real harm these policies are inflicting across our state," said Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, movement leader and president of the state's NAACP.
Those arrested were charged with second-degree trespassing, a misdemeanor. By Wednesday morning, twelve of the fourteen were released. The other two continued to be held.
Roughly 950 total activists with the Forward Together Moral Movement were arrested at weekly demonstrations during the 2013 legislative season protesting what they say are the "extreme policies" passed by the GOP-led legislature. These included restrictive voting rules, denial of Medicaid expansion, cuts to unemployment benefits, and the repeal of the Earned Income Tax Credit, among others.
As lawmakers are once again convening at the state assembly, the weekly demonstrations are also set to return with renewed focus to "repeal and reverse" the regressive policies passed in 2013.
The NC NAACP released the below video of the action in and around Tillis's office:
We Shall Not Be Moved | Tillis 15May 27th, 2014 - After North Carolina House Speaker Thom Tillis refuses to meet with North Carolinians, a sit-in turns into a ...
During the demonstration, protesters posted images of the sit-in online:
_____________________
Lauren McCauley
Lauren McCauley is a former senior editor for Common Dreams covering national and international politics and progressive news. She is now the Editor of Maine Morning Star. Lauren also helped produce a number of documentary films, including the award-winning Soundtrack for a Revolution and The Hollywood Complex, as well as one currently in production about civil rights icon James Meredith. Her writing has been featured on Newsweek, BillMoyers.com, TruthDig, Truthout, In These Times, and Extra! the newsletter of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. She currently lives in Kennebunk, Maine with her husband, two children, a dog, and several chickens.
After a day when hundreds rallied at the North Carolina legislative building against the 'extreme' policies pushed forth by the GOP-led body, 14 protesters were arrested early Wednesday morning after staging an overnight sit-in at the office of the state's House speaker Tom Tillis.
Organized under the banner of the "Moral Monday" campaign, over 170 took part in the demonstration Tuesday to call on lawmakers to "repent for the harm they have caused, to repeal the flood of extreme policies passed last year and to restore confidence in our elected officials," according to a statement by the North Carolina NAACP.
Eight fast food workers, four clergy members, one housing expert and one retired public school employee were arrested at 1:45 am after participating in a 12-hour protest during which the Republican leader left through a back exit to avoid meeting with the demonstrators. In the hallway outside the lawmaker's office, fellow protesters sang the the civil rights ballad, "We Shall Not Be Moved."
"I am participating in the nonviolent civil disobedience today to let my voice be heard," said demonstrator Crystal Price, a 27-year old mother of two and an employee of Wendy's in Greensboro.
"When state lawmakers pass laws eliminating the Earned Income Tax Credit or refuse to expand Medicaid--programs my children and I depend on--while giving tax breaks to the wealthiest few, it makes a statement that these representatives do not care about working mothers like me," she added. Price, who is suffering from cervical cancer, was initially one of the protesters staked out in Tillis's office but had to leave to take care of her children.
"Tonight, we put a face on the real harm these policies are inflicting across our state," said Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, movement leader and president of the state's NAACP.
Those arrested were charged with second-degree trespassing, a misdemeanor. By Wednesday morning, twelve of the fourteen were released. The other two continued to be held.
Roughly 950 total activists with the Forward Together Moral Movement were arrested at weekly demonstrations during the 2013 legislative season protesting what they say are the "extreme policies" passed by the GOP-led legislature. These included restrictive voting rules, denial of Medicaid expansion, cuts to unemployment benefits, and the repeal of the Earned Income Tax Credit, among others.
As lawmakers are once again convening at the state assembly, the weekly demonstrations are also set to return with renewed focus to "repeal and reverse" the regressive policies passed in 2013.
The NC NAACP released the below video of the action in and around Tillis's office:
We Shall Not Be Moved | Tillis 15May 27th, 2014 - After North Carolina House Speaker Thom Tillis refuses to meet with North Carolinians, a sit-in turns into a ...
During the demonstration, protesters posted images of the sit-in online:
_____________________
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.