Our Legal Director Crystal Richardson attended the NAACP People’s Moral Legislative Advocacy Day in Raleigh, NC last week. Read about her experience, why the people must hold legislators accountable and how.
On March 21, 2017, I traveled nearly three hours to our state capitol, to attend the NC NAACP’s 11th Annual People’s Moral Legislative Advocacy Day. It was important for me to be visible and vocal about the trauma that our community is currently facing post-HB2/post-Trump Administration. I was there to hold legislators accountable to Article I, Section 2 of the NC Constitution, which states: “all political power is vested in and derives from the people. All government of rights originates from the people and is founded upon their will only and his instituted solely for the good of the whole.”
In less than 100 days, the current Administration has invoked a travel ban against Muslims, motivated hate groups to attack Jewish Communities, and tried to take away transgender rights from students. And many LGBTQ advocates are literally on pins and needles waiting for an Executive Order that will rescind rights of LGBTQ people. Statewide, LGBTQ people are suffering tremendously from heightened levels of harassment, violence, suicide attempts, poverty, low wages and numerous other social, physical, and psychological issues, particularly since passage of HB2. LGBTQ people are under political attack from our U.S. and State Government and the only way to change it is to keep showing up and demanding them to divest their power back into the People, in which they serve.
As a supporter of the Forward Together Moral Movement, I attended Advocacy Day to engage with elected officials around various issues concerning the LGBTQ community, including civil rights, education, employment, living wages, poverty, healthcare, and criminal justice. I am a part of a movement of people that continuously mobilizes people to the North Carolina General Assembly to have their voice heard. No longer are marginalized people willing to be ignored and overlooked by legislators that are supposed to be representing our best interest, but the Forward Together Movement is built on the premise that legislative work should be in the best interests of the people, and abide by the spirit and the dictates of the state constitution – advocates are showing up and demanding to be heard.
The day started off with a Clergy Press Conference at 8 a.m. Afterwards, we headed over to Halifax Mall to be briefed on the issues. We gathered about 100 people under a white tent on that beautiful sunny day. Then, we were divided into eight teams based on region to conduct the legislative visits. I attended with members of the Freedom Center for Social Justice, representing Mecklenburg County, the county where we all live. The day started off slow, as we did not get to meet many of the legislators. We knocked on the office doors of our state representatives and senators, hoping for a few minutes of their time. Most were out of their offices in meetings, however, our team was able to sit down and meet in-person with at least five legislators, all of which we did not have set appointments. The legislators we met with listened to our concerns about education, healthcare, employment, among other issues. We needed to explain that our community is not one a dimensional community and we cannot continue to have legislators not representing our voice in voting chambers. Our voice matters just as much as any other constituent, and we were there to remind them of that.
After our legislative meetings, we regrouped for lunch under the tent. Of course, no Advocacy Day is complete without an encouraging word from Dr. Reverend Barber, II. Dr. Barber reminded us that we must be firm and hold steady to our mission – no matter how many people laugh or joke about what we are doing. He reminded us that there were advocates before us who sacrificed their blood, sweat, and tears, and it is up to us to continue to fight for what we know is morally right.
These legislative talks are critical now more than ever. There are a number of anti-LGBTQ legislative bills across the country that are just as bad or worse than HB2 in North Carolina or HB1523 in Mississippi. These bills keep festering and becoming more and more insidious in nature. And the worst part is that the States are learning from one another how to draft bigger, badder de facto discriminatory bills with each small victory we gain in the courts. We need legislators to stop playing games with our lives and create bills that are for the People, all People. With continued engagement, we believe that these conversations will translate to legislators passing legislation that is supportive of all North Carolinians, including LGBTQ North Carolinians.
