Democracy Out Loud # 429:Protest just got suddenly more urgent

Update on the General Assembly. And now, concentration camps.

It turns out that the anti-Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) bill in the NC General Assembly (HB 171) is not on the calendar for tomorrow; this as well as the other anti-DEI bill (SB 227) have been referred to rules, where we hope they will die. Stay tuned on that.

The proposed NC Budget, however, is on the Senate calendar for tomorrow, Wednesday April 16, and NC Democrats are packing the gallery in opposition. You can get more information at this link. Try to be there by 1:30 pm; the session starts at 2 pm.

We are continuing to keep a close eye on the NC General Assembly. Meanwhile yesterday at the White House, our Attorney General, Vice President and Secretary of State found it humorous that Trump is plotting with the President of El Salvador to continue to send people to concentration camps abroad without due process, including American citizens. This was surely the most chilling scene we have witnessed so far during this coup, and the President was openly defying a unanimous order from the Supreme Court.

Timothy Snyder wrote about this meeting, “This is the beginning of an American policy of state terror, and it must be identified as such to be stopped.” He continues, “Even these most basic institutions, the ones defined by our Constitution, do not act on their own. To a very sad degree, Supreme Court justices and members of Congress are already complicit in this experiment in state terror. They might find their way back to an America in which their offices have meaning, but only with the help of we the people.”

Mass opposition to this state terror is our urgent need now. Call Senators about this.

Thom Tillis: D.C. (202) 224-6342 Raleigh (919) 856-4630 Charlotte (704) 509-9087

Ted Budd: D.C. 202-224-3154 Raleigh 984-349-5061 Wilmington 910-218-7600

You can also use 5calls.org which will help you call and give you suggested text.

I truly hope that the protests this coming Saturday April 19 will rival the ones on April 5 in size, creativity, and peacefulness. You can find one near you at this link.

The North Carolina Poor People’s Campaign is once again joining with the 50501 movement to coordinate the protest in Raleigh. You can help with their expenses for the stage and sound system at this link. Note that this protest is in a larger space than the one on April 5, in Halifax Mall.

Allison Riggs is continuing to fight Jefferson Griffin’s challenge to her election. We can read about what is happening in a lot of places; I am partial to Gene Nichols’ opinion piece. We can sign this petition in support at this link and help fund legal expenses here. Please connect with Common Cause NC for regular updates. It’s not time to cure ballots yet, but you can sign up now at this link. You can also call Judge Griffin at 919-831-3600 and ask him to concede the election. Ask to speak with Judge Griffin when you call.

We can sign up for a Senator Tillis accountability canvass in Burlington. And the Chatham County Democrats are planning to carpool to Senator Tillis’s office in Raleigh next Tuesday April 22. Sign up to carpool from Pittsboro or meet them in front of the Federal Building (310 New Bern Avenue in Raleigh) at 10:30 am.

There is so much more to write about today, but my brain can’t hold anything else. Let’s keep doing what we can do and know that none of us are alone. There are so many of us who are working hard to speak the truth, and stay centered so we can continue the fight of our lives. Each of us are limited, but as Bayard Rustin said, “What God requires of us is that we not stop trying.”

love, Karen

“In truth, however, the systems are not just collapsing. They are being actively destroyed. But the masks are off. Gaza showed us the utter venality of the empire. So now, we have only one move to make: the possibility, the necessity, of collective awakening.” - Thanissara’s Substack, April 4, 2025

“The Resurrection, which Christians celebrate one week from Sunday, is not the reversal of Christ’s crucifixion. It is its vindication. It declares that even when the empire kills truth, truth still rises. That even when justice is crucified, it does not stay buried. The Caesars among us don’t get the final word.” - Andrew Thayer, “Palm Sunday Was a Protest, Not a Procession,” New York Times, April 13, 2025 (gift article)