Fighting for ‘Love and Justice’ in North Carolina: Why We Still Protest When It Seems Like We’re Losing
February 20, 2015Last weekend, I attended the Moral March on Raleigh in North Carolina organized by the HKonJ People’s Assembly Coalition.
Since the event fell on Valentine’s Day, a day dedicated to sending tokens of love, coalition leaders decided the march, a multi-issue demonstration, should focus on “love and justice.”
Outside the large auditorium where people met at the onset of the march, I was greeted by a sea of pink hats and t-shirts, representing Planned Parenthood and those of us marching for women’s health. Near Planned Parenthood’s booth was another group of people wearing green t-shirts, marching for the environment. On the other side were supporters of the Raise Up for 15 movement, which is fighting to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour.
The march represented just one of the many ways North Carolina residents have been organizing, as part of the Moral Mondays movement, to show state lawmakers we haven’t been feeling the love.