Historic march on the capital in Raleigh

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USA Today reported between 80,000 and 100,000 protesters marched on the capital in Raleigh, North Carolina on Saturday. The protest was a continuation of last year's weekly Moral Monday protests during the state legislative session. During those protests, more than 1,000 protesters were arrested for sit ins in the capital.

The marches raised issues including the need to accept Medicare expansion, teacher raises and school funding, and jobless benefits for the unemployed. Other concerns include immigration, gerrymandering, fracking and coal ash, voter suppression, comprehensive healthcare for women, and LGBTQ equality.

Groups participated in the march, including the NAACP, NC State, Duke, and UNC students including Law and Divinity school student groups, doctors' associations, teachers groups and university professors.

Also of note was the strong show of support by religious groups including Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and Unitarian Universalist ministers. Baptist, Methodist, United Church of Christ, and UU congregations were major groups in the march.











































A few new photos of downtown:







The crane on the left is for the Skyhouse Raleigh that is going up:



Bonus photo from the recent snow storm:

[mousquet]

Hm. Trying as hard as I can to be a Christian first (that's pretty obviously the hardest and sweetest thing in life), and then naturally a total libéral, I can only follow this thing. In fact, you owe everything to the global community. It doesn't matter how big or tiny your bank account may be, the rich and the poor just should be aware of it.

As for the gay, that poor controversy is just ridiculously immature. A great deal to those nasty manipulative politicians, huh? They're making some fun of your ass with their useless and perverse controversy. Just let people have their own sexual preference. Who the fuck but the ugly pervert cares basically? Blaming on the gay for their sexuality is just like raping them, violating the most basic rights to privacy. It's fugly, perverse. Hey, my sexuality is my exclusive partner's business, not yours, asshole. Why are they like so scared of the gay? Because they can't naturally make kids? Bah, sometime kinda soon, we'll all naturally be 50 billion people on Earth anyway, and we'll screw all their bullshit.

Education! More of it! Real serious, rigorous, brave and merciless education! Always more of it for everybody, and for free! No matter how young or old you may be, it just doesn't matter. You just don't have the right to be lazy. That is yet no fucking secret, dammit! Only the cowardly selfish asshole will deny that.

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[hauntedheadnc]

My church sent a delegation to this. I hope this movement is still going strong when the elections roll around.

[LMich]

Great photos of a moment in history captured. I heard somewhere, yesterday, that these are the largest general civil rights protests since the 60's. I can't believe these aren't getting more coverage. I can tell you already that these are going to be consequential, politically, in ways that only those there and those following the movement realize. The powers that be should have been more careful trying to antagonize a drowzy bear. Sometimes, they wake up.

On another note, I imagine downtown Raleigh business owners have been loving these captive crowds. If I had a business, down there, I'd be advertising "Moral Monday" specials every Monday. lol

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Originally Posted by LMich

On another note, I imagine downtown Raleigh business owners have been loving these captive crowds. If I had a business, down there, I'd be advertising "Moral Monday" specials every Monday. lol

The Monday protests have been somewhat on hiatus and also being held in different cities and towns right now. This is because the legislature isn't in session. There is a "short session" coming up soon though.

The protests have been positive and the only arrests have been of the sit-in protesters in the legislature building. I haven't heard of any arrests during this march.

There have been protests recently in Durham that have led to shop windows and police cars being vandalized, and police using tear gas on protesters. This is a different circumstance - these are protests over the death of a teen in police custody. The teen had been handcuffed with his hands behind his back and placed in the back of a police car, and, according to the Durham police, somehow got a gun a killed himself with a shot to the face.

Thankfully, that hasn't been the case in Raleigh.

[202_Cyclist]

Good photos. Hopefully Senator Hagen is re-elected this year and the Koches can't buy this election with their tens of millions of dollars.