This year's Mountain Moral Monday rally is scheduled for Monday, August 4; that's little more than two weeks away. Please take a moment to mark your calendars; and absolutely consider attending if at all possible.
The event is scheduled for 5:00 through 6:30 at Pack Square Park. If you need a permission slip to leave work early, ask a teenager to write one for you.
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The theme for the event is “Moral March to the Polls Rally”. Obviously, this event will play an important role in the November elections. The larger the crowd, the more inspired people will be to show up and vote in November, and the more statewide and national press the event will receive. A great turnout will contribute to the narrative the press carries forward about how the public feels with regard to the laws that have been passed recently, not only in North Carolina, but in other Southern states as well. The Moral Monday movement here in North Carolina has inspired similar movements in other states in our region; and the success of our movement here will effect those other state movements as well.
The Asheville Citizen Times already has a story on their website here. According to the story, estimates of last year's turnout were "as high as 10,000". We do that again, and even beat it, if we get the word out. The Citizen Times has pictures from last year's event here and here.
And WLOS has a nice video story on the upcoming event here.
The Facebook page for the event is here. If you are a Facebook user, join the event on that page, invite friends, and do whatever it is you Facebook folk do to create buzz and spread the word about events.
From the event page:
The Mountain People’s Assembly, a coalition of WNC organizations, and regional WNC NAACP Branches, will host the return of Mountain Moral Monday, a non-partisan program that will highlight the destructive policies enacted by the N.C. statehouse over the past year while strongly focusing on the voter empowerment campaign, “Moral March to the Polls.”
The event will feature Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, President of the NC NAACP and other guest speakers, as well as musical entertainment. In addition, there will be opportunities for participants to get involved in voter registration, education and Get-Out-The-Vote (GOTV) efforts during the current mid-term election cycle. ‘Moral Freedom Summer’ Organizers and volunteers will be available to help register voters.
Election day is three short months from the date of this event. We will need every ounce of momentum this event will generate to keep from losing our Senate seat, and possibly the balance of power in the US Senate, to the Republicans. This event can also impact down-ticket races as well, and can help energize subsequent Moral Monday events around the state heading toward November. All of you here reading this know how important this election is, both here in North Carolina and nationally.
So, mark your calendars, ask off from work, spread the word, and help change the course of history.
Thanks!
