‘Moral March’ in North Carolina Draws Thousands

The Moral March in N. Carolina this weekend touched hearts and nerves, with tens of thousands showing up for justice.

By Brentin Mock Feb 10, 2014

The tens of thousands of people who descended upon Raleigh, N.C., for the "Moral March" led by civil rights activist Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II surely touched some hearts. The scene of a multi-racial, intergenerational sea of marchers representing every major issue facing Americans from labor to voting rights to immigrant justice invoked memories of the historic civil rights marches of the 1960s 

"We are black, white, Latino, Native American," said Barber, president of the NC NAACP and convener of HKonJ. "We are Democrat, Republican, independent. We are people of all faiths, and people not of faith, but who believe in a moral universe. We are natives and immigrants, business leaders and workers and unemployed, doctors and the uninsured, gay and straight, students and parents and retirees. We stand here–a quilt of many colors, faiths, and creeds."

But the march also touched some nerves, particularly those of the more conservative brand who’ve been backing the hard right turn North Carolina took last year when lawmakers rolled back voting rights, cut aid to those of low income and shifted millions of dollars from public schools to private schools. Seeing all of the signs from marchers pushing for marriage equality and reproductive justice, the conservative North Carolina Values Coaltion said in a statement:

"The so-called ‘moral march on Raleigh’ is anything but moral. It is spearheaded by groups that support abortion and homosexual marriage. They are unhappy because the Governor and the General Assembly have enacted policies in line with mainstream North Carolinians that promote and protect marriage between one man and one woman as God created it, ban sex-selective abortion, protect the conscience rights of pro-life health care workers, require abortion facilities to meet basic medical safety standards, and prevent taxpayer-funded abortions."

Here’s what the Moral Marchers had to say: