Shout!

One of 900 North Carolinians arrested at Moral Mondays in Raleigh

North Carolina, my home of twenty-six years,
exquisite land of magic mountains,
birthplace of openmindedness and love.
Our government is hurting us now.
What will our people do?

Five hundred thousand will go untreated,
without medical care that could have been free.
Those in Raleigh who represent us
thumb their noses at all things Obama.
They reject Federal money for unemployment
so two hundred thousand jobless people will be cut.
What will our people do?

Teachers here in my home state, paid so very low,
are leaving, they are leaving,
or teach in classrooms so crowded,
no learning occurs at all.
What will our people do?

Health clinics are shut down.
Women, juggling too much, too much
to allow another child to be born,
will resort to the back alleys once more.

And our vote! Our right to vote!
Shorten the voting days, multiply the hoops,
allow voting lines to go around the block,
so that one after another, the people of color,
the students, the disenfranchised, the elderly
give up on the vote, their sacred vote,
give up on Democracy and just go home,
as hoped-for in Raleigh, as if following the plan.
What will our people do?

Our government is hurting us now,
killing us really,
and we must not be quiet!
No, do not be quiet!
Shout! Shout! Shout!



Annelinde Metzner
August 2, 2013


Read more about the heartless actions of the NC state government, which will have long-reaching effects on all North Carolinians, but especially the weakest, neediest members of the population.

North Carolinians are reeling from a wide-reaching onslaught of legislation by a state government newly created by ultra right-wing funding of small local elections.
 
The North Carolina NAACP has initiated "Moral Mondays" in Raleigh, which has inspired the largest protest rallies in the nation this year.   Nine hundred brave souls volunteered to undergo arrest for "trespassing" at our State Capitol. 

The movement has expanded from Raleigh to the mountains, where Moral Monday will occur in Asheville,  NC on August 5th at 5 PM in front of the city hall.

Woman arrested in Raleigh at Moral Mondays

Woman arrested in Raleigh at Moral Mondays

Reverend Barber, president of the NC NAACP,  at the NC Capitol Rotunda

Crowd at Moral Mondays

Women for health care in NC

Sign at Moral Mondays