I went to the Moral Monday protest held in Winston-Salem on July 13th, the ay that the federal court began hearing NAACP vs. McCroy to determine whether or not the new NC voting law was intended to suppress minorities from voting. While McCroy claims that the voting rights law was intended to prevent voter fraud, the law eliminates out-of-precinct voting and shortens the early voting cycle, making it inconvenient for many to vote. As a college student, I have a particular interest in the case, as the law was the reasoning behind officials trying to eliminate the on-campus voting site.
Although the court case was the background for the Moral Monday protest, it addressed more broadly the recent regression of civil rights and growth in inequality in America. Fifty-two years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. proclaimed that “America has given the Negro people a bad check,” denying them access to “the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” but that “now is the time to make real the promise of democracy.” Despite the success of the Civil Rights Movement, it has become clear to much of America that this nation has reverted, denying rights and opportunities once again to minorities and increasingly to the poor. At the rally after the march (in which I participated), Rev Barber said “the fight for justice is at the core of what it means to be a righteous person.” With the Moral Monday protest in Winston-Salem this past Monday, North Carolina protested against this regression of civil rights.
The teach-ins and rallies Monday examined the myriad ways in which opportunities, especially economic ones, have become limited in America. One teach-in, joint hosted by the #Fightfor15 movement and Faculty Forward, discussed the lack of a living wage in America, and how this creates instability and an inability for the working poor to support themselves, no matter how many hours they work.
Tara Holman, an adjunct from Spelman College, stated that she’d always done everything right – stayed out of trouble, gone to a good college, etc. – and yet was being denied access to the American Dream. She, like many other Americans, feels lied to. Upward class mobility is at an all-time low; there’s more economic inequality and a greater gap between the rich and the poor than at any other time. Both opportunity and justice are increasingly being denied to minorities and the poor.
Not only is the right to vote being infringed upon, but by refusing to raise the minimum wage to a living wage, the federal government is continuing to support a system where the poorest are being continually exploited and being denied the ability to exercise their rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. When one is struggling to survive, despite working forty or sixty hours a week, how is one free? Economic power is tied to greater access of opportunities, better protected rights, and more sway over politics. In order to make our society more democratic, we need to reaffirm our dedication to making all Americans equal. This cannot be done if the right to vote is being suppressed or if people cannot rise out of poverty despite hard work due to the lack of a living wage.
Although the court case was the background for the Moral Monday protest, it addressed more broadly the recent regression of civil rights and growth in inequality in America. Fifty-two years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. proclaimed that “America has given the Negro people a bad check,” denying them access to “the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” but that “now is the time to make real the promise of democracy.” Despite the success of the Civil Rights Movement, it has become clear to much of America that this nation has reverted, denying rights and opportunities once again to minorities and increasingly to the poor. At the rally after the march (in which I participated), Rev Barber said “the fight for justice is at the core of what it means to be a righteous person.” With the Moral Monday protest in Winston-Salem this past Monday, North Carolina protested against this regression of civil rights.
The teach-ins and rallies Monday examined the myriad ways in which opportunities, especially economic ones, have become limited in America. One teach-in, joint hosted by the #Fightfor15 movement and Faculty Forward, discussed the lack of a living wage in America, and how this creates instability and an inability for the working poor to support themselves, no matter how many hours they work.
Tara Holman, an adjunct from Spelman College, stated that she’d always done everything right – stayed out of trouble, gone to a good college, etc. – and yet was being denied access to the American Dream. She, like many other Americans, feels lied to. Upward class mobility is at an all-time low; there’s more economic inequality and a greater gap between the rich and the poor than at any other time. Both opportunity and justice are increasingly being denied to minorities and the poor.
Not only is the right to vote being infringed upon, but by refusing to raise the minimum wage to a living wage, the federal government is continuing to support a system where the poorest are being continually exploited and being denied the ability to exercise their rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. When one is struggling to survive, despite working forty or sixty hours a week, how is one free? Economic power is tied to greater access of opportunities, better protected rights, and more sway over politics. In order to make our society more democratic, we need to reaffirm our dedication to making all Americans equal. This cannot be done if the right to vote is being suppressed or if people cannot rise out of poverty despite hard work due to the lack of a living wage.