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In Fifth Round of Direct Action, 1,600+ ‘Moral Monday’ Protesters Gather at NC Capitol, 100 Arrested

June 4, 2013. In fifth round of direct action, N.C. NAACP led a peaceful protest against the state’s legislative agenda with “Three Pillars of Democracy” message on Monday.

NAACP-LOGO-300x165A crowd of roughly 1,600 people – including more than 100 who were arrested and jailed – gathered at the North Carolina General Assembly for a mass pray-in, sing-in and teach-in against the extreme agenda of the state leadership. The multiracial group of clergy members, representatives from SEIU District 1199, college students, seniors, doctors, nurses and others are participating in the fifth recurring “Moral Monday” protest to oppose and expose an avalanche of regressive bills from the legislature.

Led by the North Carolina NAACP, today’s act of nonviolent civil disobedience is the largest “Moral Monday” to date. Protestors are focusing on the “Pillars of Democracy” – economic justice, education and voting rights.

“They [NC General Assembly] are making it harder for the poor and working poor, and those who are sick, to get health care; for children to get an education; for the incarcerated to be redeemed; for people to vote,” said North Carolina NAACP President Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II. “But they are making it easier for the wealthy to get wealthier; for the sick to get sicker; for private schools to flourish; to implement the flawed death penalty and to get guns.”

In other “Moral Monday” demonstrations during previous weeks, more than 150 peaceful protesters have already been arrested and jailed.