The liberal city wanted it down; the GOP state legislature forbade that; activists found a way to end that impasse. Originally published in The American Prospect. JILLIAN JOHNSON WAS OUT of town Monday night, as a group of young activists were yanking the Confederate soldier statue off its granite pedestal in downtown Durham, North Carolina. She learned […]
N.C. on the Brink: Repeal of Anti-Trans Bill Falls Flat
At ground zero in the fight over LGBTQ rights, a special legislative session to repeal the state’s House Bill 2 devolved into name-calling and hostile stalemate. Originally published in The American Prospect. DURING THE LONGEST NIGHT of the year—after what had felt like the longest day—North Carolina Governor-elect Roy Cooper walked into a Raleigh news conference […]
History Matters
North Carolina’s jarring GOP power grab feels familiar. Originally published in The Washington Post. ONE OF THE MOST SURREAL moments during last week’s fracas at the North Carolina legislature came during a news conference called by the state NAACP. The civil rights organization was blasting the Republican legislative majority for its brazen efforts to strip authority from […]
A New Suppression Tactic: Voter Defamation
As they challenge the results of a governor’s race, North Carolina Republicans lay the groundwork for a Trump-era assault on voting rights. Originally published in The New Republic. MY NEIGHBOR LUCIA FOSTER was surprised when I emailed her on November 18. “Are you aware,” I asked, “that your name is on one of the election […]
“A Stench in this Government Chamber”
Why the debate over North Carolina’s House Bill 2 feels all too familiar Originally published in Indy Week. Click here for Barry’s longer story about House Bill 2. I LOST A COUPLE OF HOURS yesterday in front of my computer, watching North Carolina’s culture wars unfold in real time. The state legislature had convened a […]
Can Moral Mondays Produce Victorious Tuesdays?
North Carolina’s protest movement has galvanized the state’s progressives, but couldn’t stop 2014’s Republican tide. Its leaders say they’re only just beginning. Originally published in The American Prospect. All photos © 2014 by Jenny Warburg. DERICK SMITH ARRIVED AT THE KICKOFF for North Carolina’s 2014 Moral March on a raw February morning. He zipped his […]
Tragedy, Privation and Hope
Joy Boothe’s inspiring journey to Moral Monday Originally published in The American Prospect WHEN JOY BOOTHE SHOWED UP at last week’s Moral Monday rally in her hometown of Burnsville, North Carolina, she was fighting both sleep- and sun-deprivation. Boothe had just driven in from Asheville, 35 miles away, where her husband was recovering from a […]
Court: NC Voting Rights Rollback to Stay In Place
Since taking control of state government in 2011, Republicans rolled back North Carolina’s progressive voting laws. A new regime of fewer voting days and voter ID requirements will be in place for November’s legislative and congressional elections. Originally published in The American Prospect A FEDERAL JUDGE HAS TEMPORARILY authorized North Carolina to implement a sweeping new […]
Courtroom Drama: Voting Rights Paid for in Blood Under Siege
“It was, bar none, the worst legislative process I’ve ever been through,” Rep. Rick Glazier told the U.S. District Court. Originally published in The American Prospect. AT THE U.S. DISTRICT COURT IN WINSTON-SALEM, Rick Glazier, a Democratic state legislator, took the witness stand on Tuesday, the second morning of a hearing on North Carolina’s restrictive new […]
Shifting Tactics, Moral Monday Movement Launches a New Freedom Summer
Fifty years after the murders of Schwerner, Chaney and Goodman, North Carolina activists move from civil disobedience to big voter mobilization push.. Originally published in The American Prospect. All photos © 2014 by Jenny Warburg. “I NORMALLY WEAR CUFF LINKS,” the Rev. William Barber II told the 75 activists, black and white, who filled the […]
