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<h1>What’s Next for Moral Mondays?</h1>

<div><div><div><p><span>This article originally appeared at <a href="http://www.southernstudies.org/2013/08/whats-next-for-moral-mondays.html">Facing South</a>, and is reprinted here with permission.</span></p>  <p>This week's Moral Monday protest in Raleigh, N.C., was the 13th and last of this year's legislative session, which ended last week. It was also the biggest     protest yet against the ultraconservative agenda of the Republican-controlled state legislature, drawing as many as 10,000 people to the capital's downtown     streets. Many of the participants were red-clad public schoolteachers and their supporters, who were upset over education cuts and voucher schemes.</p>  <blockquote>"This is no momentary hyperventilation or momentary protest. This is a movement."</blockquote>  <p>Though the legislature has adjourned, the anger that fueled the NAACP-led demonstrations and resulted in the arrests of over 900 people for nonviolent     civil disobedience since late April continues to grow&mdash;and organizers are drawing on it to take the protests to communities across the state.</p>  <p>"Don't make no mistake, North Carolina," NAACP state president Rev. William Barber said in a <a href="http://vimeo.com/71482711">fiery speech</a> delivered     to Monday's crowd. "This is no momentary hyperventilation or momentary protest. This is a movement."</p>  <p>The first action planned outside Raleigh will take place in Asheville on Aug. 5 and is being billed as    <a href="http://mountainmoralmonday.wordpress.com/">Mountain Moral Monday</a>, with Rev. Barber as a featured speaker. Organizers are not planning any     civil disobedience but say they want to let western North Carolina residents add their voices to the protests.</p>  <p>"This event will give people in our part of the state a chance to stand up for justice, democracy, and moderation," said Mountain Moral Monday spokesperson     Valerie Hoh.</p>  <p>Asheville found itself a target of conservative lawmakers this year. Early in the session, Republicans introduced a    <a href="http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/BillLookUp/BillLookUp.pl?Session=2013&amp;BillID=H34">bill amending the state's indecent exposure law</a> to expand     the definition of "private parts" to include "the nipple, or any portion of the areola, or the female breast." The bill&mdash;a response to topless rallies     promoting women's equality held in Asheville&mdash;did not pass.</p>  <p>But lawmakers were successful in passing a    <a href="http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/BillLookUp/BillLookUp.pl?Session=2013&amp;BillID=h488&amp;submitButton=Go">bill</a> that takes control of the     municipal water system away from Asheville and hands it over to a state-chartered regional authority without compensating the city for the loss. The     measure, which opponents <a href="http://ashevillewater.blogspot.com/p/summary.html">say</a> is theft by the state and would harm regional economic     development efforts, is the subject of a lawsuit set to begin next month. Save Our Water WNC, a group opposed to the takeover, is among the organizers of     Mountain Moral Monday.</p>  <p>There is also a Moral Monday protest    <a href="http://www.wcnc.com/news/Moral-Mondays-Action-NC-kicking-off-Charlotte-protests-217859261.html">planned for Charlotte</a> on Aug. 19, and     organizers are expected to announce actions in other communities across the state soon.</p>  <p>The Moral Monday protest movement has gotten a lot of attention nationally. It's also spurred solidarity actions by people in other states -- including     this song "Forward Together" by the Madison Song Circle in Wisconsin, another hotbed of grassroots activism against a conservative legislative turn that North Carolina has been compared to in recent months. "Forward together, not one step back" has been the motto of the Moral Monday protests and the broader    <a href="http://www.advancementproject.org/pages/north-carolina-forward-together">Forward Together movement</a> they're a part of.</p>  <hr style="width: 50%;" width="50%"><p><b>Read more:</b></p>  <ul><li>  </li><li>  </li><li>  </li></ul></div><!-- <img src="b2bd016252894cabb775ac71d6f2750e"> --></div><!-- <p><img src="233a43024814458498472b115c34a541">Sue Sturgis wrote this article for <a href="http://www.southernstudies.org/2013/08/whats-next-for-moral-mondays.html">Facing South</a>, a project of the Institute for Southern Studies.</p> --></div><!-- <a href="resolveuid/5a9a67f3a86c35de1032dc76b99c42a8">North Carolina&#8217;s Fight for Marriage Equality Continues</a> --><!-- <a href="resolveuid/cf7825f10970374d61ed86923ef61dc6">3 Lessons for Appalachia&#8217;s Post-Coal Economy</a> --><!-- <a href="resolveuid/f70f1d6b91121b1b7884b293cd42c50a">RNC Demonstrators Defy Expectations of Violence</a> -->

<p>This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org">Yes! Magazine</a> at <a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org/social-justice/2013/08/02/what-s-next-for-moral-mondays">https://www.yesmagazine.org/social-justice/2013/08/02/what-s-next-for-moral-mondays</a>.</p><link href="https://www.yesmagazine.org/social-justice/2013/08/02/what-s-next-for-moral-mondays" rel="canonical"/><p>Yes! Magazine is a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of ... . Learn more at <a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org">Yes! Magazine</a></p><img id="republication-tracker-tool-source" src="https://www.yesmagazine.org/?republication-pixel=true&post=11992&ga4=G-74QJNNY44Z" style="width:1px;height:1px;">

What’s Next for Moral Mondays?

This article originally appeared at Facing South, and is reprinted here with permission.  This week's Moral Monday protest in Raleigh, N.C., was the 13th and last of this year's legislative session, which ended last week. It was also the biggest     protest yet against the ultraconservative agenda of the Republican-controlled state legislature, drawing as many as 10,000 people to the capital's downtown     streets. Many of the participants were red-clad public schoolteachers and their supporters, who were upset over education cuts and voucher schemes.  "This is no momentary hyperventilation or momentary protest. This is a movement."  Though the legislature has adjourned, the anger that fueled the NAACP-led demonstrations and resulted in the arrests of over 900 people for nonviolent     civil disobedience since late April continues to grow—and organizers are drawing on it to take the protests to communities across the state.  "Don't make no mistake, North Carolina," NAACP state president Rev. William Barber said in a fiery speech delivered     to Monday's crowd. "This is no momentary hyperventilation or momentary protest. This is a movement."  The first action planned outside Raleigh will take place in Asheville on Aug. 5 and is being billed as    Mountain Moral Monday, with Rev. Barber as a featured speaker. Organizers are not planning any     civil disobedience but say they want to let western North Carolina residents add their voices to the protests.  "This event will give people in our part of the state a chance to stand up for justice, democracy, and moderation," said Mountain Moral Monday spokesperson     Valerie Hoh.  Asheville found itself a target of conservative lawmakers this year. Early in the session, Republicans introduced a    bill amending the state's indecent exposure law to expand     the definition of "private parts" to include "the nipple, or any portion of the areola, or the female breast." The bill—a response to topless rallies     promoting women's equality held in Asheville—did not pass.  But lawmakers were successful in passing a    bill that takes control of the     municipal water system away from Asheville and hands it over to a state-chartered regional authority without compensating the city for the loss. The     measure, which opponents say is theft by the state and would harm regional economic     development efforts, is the subject of a lawsuit set to begin next month. Save Our Water WNC, a group opposed to the takeover, is among the organizers of     Mountain Moral Monday.  There is also a Moral Monday protest    planned for Charlotte on Aug. 19, and     organizers are expected to announce actions in other communities across the state soon.  The Moral Monday protest movement has gotten a lot of attention nationally. It's also spurred solidarity actions by people in other states -- including     this song "Forward Together" by the Madison Song Circle in Wisconsin, another hotbed of grassroots activism against a conservative legislative turn that North Carolina has been compared to in recent months. "Forward together, not one step back" has been the motto of the Moral Monday protests and the broader    Forward Together movement they're a part of.  Read more:

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