Moral Mondays’ Quest for Justice

My recent article in Truthout examines the “Moral Mondays” movement in North Carolina and how activists are fighting for their social safety net. 

Excerpt:

“Combating budget cuts and voter suppression fit within a wider agenda being pursued by Moral Mondays organizers. The coalition that created Moral Mondays, called Historic Thousands on Jones Street (and known as 'HK on J') saw the need for a progressive political agenda that could help to shore up the gains in civil rights that the state has made since the 1960s. With the Rev. William Barber, a progressive minister and state NAACP president, at its helm, HK on J developed a 14-point agenda, a deeply researched set of policy proposals that includes fully funding the state's mandate to provide a sound basic education for all children; stopping the school-to-prison pipeline for at-risk students; raising the state minimum wage and indexing it to inflation; accepting and implementing the ACA immediately and expanding Medicaid and other health care programs aimed at low-income patients; legalizing collective bargaining for state employees and better regulating workplace safety; and protecting the rights of immigrants.”

Read the full piece at Truthout here. 

Tags: affordable care act, civil rights, social safety net, labor movement, amy dean, truthout, afl-cio, civil disobedience, moral monday, north carolina, progressive activist