To: NC Lawmakers
Protect People, Not Monuments
Democracy North Carolina
As North Carolinians of all races, we are appalled that the Governor and General Assembly just made North Carolina the first state to pass a law blocking local governments from removing or moving a limited number of Confederate monuments they find offensive. Whether or not I can attend Monday’s rally to “Protect People, Not Monuments,” please add my name to a petition calling on our elected leaders to focus on improving racial and economic justice, rather than defending symbols of white supremacy from legitimate reexamination.
Why is this important?
On Thursday, July 23, Gov. Pat McCrory signed a law that takes away the authority of local governments to move an “object of remembrance” from, for example, the courthouse square to a county museum. The heated debate in the General Assembly focused on protecting the prominent display of Confederate flags and monuments. Lawmakers ignored the fact that nearly all these monuments in North Carolina were erected between 1905 and 1925 to reaffirm white supremacy and Jim Crow segregation.
The Moral Monday Movement led by the NC NAACP is holding a rally on Monday, July 27, at 5 PM at the old Capitol in Raleigh to call on McCrory and legislators to “Protect People, Not Monuments.” (The Capitol is at 1 E. Edenton St., Raleigh.) We need lawmakers to focus on improving public education, health care, a fair criminal justice system, the environment, voting rights, and economic security.
Please attend the rally and bring a friend – but also sign the petition and forward it to your friends and neighbors. We all have pressing concerns, often different priorities, but let’s send a strong message that we do not want to whitewash the past or move our state backwards.
There is not much time before Monday’s rally, so please act now and circulate this petition. Thanks!
The Moral Monday Movement led by the NC NAACP is holding a rally on Monday, July 27, at 5 PM at the old Capitol in Raleigh to call on McCrory and legislators to “Protect People, Not Monuments.” (The Capitol is at 1 E. Edenton St., Raleigh.) We need lawmakers to focus on improving public education, health care, a fair criminal justice system, the environment, voting rights, and economic security.
Please attend the rally and bring a friend – but also sign the petition and forward it to your friends and neighbors. We all have pressing concerns, often different priorities, but let’s send a strong message that we do not want to whitewash the past or move our state backwards.
There is not much time before Monday’s rally, so please act now and circulate this petition. Thanks!