The Moral Monday protests that brought out thousands in Asheville last year return Aug. 4. Leslie Boyd, a local health care advocate and protester, writes about why she participates.
Above: North Carolina NAACP leader Rev. William Barber and other Moral Monday speakers at the first ‘Moral March to the Polls’ rally in Winston-Salem July 7. Photo by Leslie Boyd.
I met Rev. William Barber two years ago at a gathering in Hendersonville, and after hearing me speak about the importance of access to health care, he asked if I would speak at the annual HKonJ rally the following February.
I knew about HKonJ (Historic Thousands on Jones Street), a coalition of groups across the state working for social and economic justice, and I accepted eagerly. I had no idea how that rally would morph into a huge people’s movement that would stand up to power and would grow in strength, rather than be intimidated by arrests and smear campaigns.
Health care became my passion when I lost my son in 2008 because he couldn’t get health insurance and subsequently was denied care. He did nothing to deserve this fate, and neither did the other people who were dying at the rate of one every 12 minutes in this country before the Affordable Care Act became law.
Before 2013, Rev. Barber and others in the HKonJ coalition met frequently with lawmakers, many of whom were on opposite sides of the issues. But they would meet and they would negotiate.
Once the GOP gained a veto-proof majority, however, the meetings stopped. Rev. Barber and others – including me – tried to get meetings with legislative leaders, but they refused to see us.
In March of 2013, Rev. Barber and several dozen others tried to deliver letters to Speaker of the House Thom Tillis. Rev. Barber went into the office first, leaving the rest of us waiting in the hall, and within moments, Tillis burst out the back door of his office, purple with rage.
“Let’s go,” he shouted to two aides, and the three of them ran down the hall.
Rev. Barber emerged and told us we could deliver our letters to an aide, then he told me he believed we would have to resort to “direct action.”
I couldn’t make it to the first two Moral Mondays, but I got to the third, on May 18, 2013, and decided to go into the General Assembly building, carrying a photo of my late son.
The assembly had already voted to reject Medicaid expansion, a move that condemns to death five to eight people every day in North Carolina – up to 2,800 a year.
I joined 48 others in praying, chanting and singing. We were told to leave, but I was — and still am — desperate to be heard. People’s lives are at stake and I take that very seriously, even if our legislators do not.
So, I stayed and was arrested. Two of the three charges were dropped later because they were found to be unconstitutional. The only charge still standing is second-degree trespass, a misdemeanor, but I am fighting it because I believe I have a constitutional right to be heard by legislators.
So far, 1,004 people have been arrested in Moral Monday demonstrations. I have been to nearly every rally. Last year I went from the rally to the jail each week to wait for people to be released. I offered my services as a notary for first-appearance waivers; others offered rides back to people’s cars or to one of the churches that participated for food and fellowship.
Every week I left for Raleigh at 11 a.m. and returned at 5 the next morning. It has been worth the long drive and the fatigue because I believe we are making a difference.
This truly is a people’s movement. Although Rev. Barber is our leader here in N.C., the movement is not about him. He rarely appears alone because he wants people to know that this is a movement of the people.
My passion is health care access, but I share the stage with people who are equally passionate about education, the environment, food stamps, unemployment benefits, workers’ rights, a living wage, voting rights and more.
These issues are all woven together. A child won’t do well in school if he’s hungry or if his parents are sick and can’t get care. We can’t pull people out of poverty without a living wage, and we can’t put people in safe neighborhoods without affordable housing.
We all must work together to make change. My issue doesn’t have to be in the fore all the time because these other issues are just as urgent.
Moral Monday has brought together people who are passionate about all these issues: young and old, gay and straight, students and teachers, union workers and CEOs, Republicans, Democrats and Green Party members, people with disabilities and people with able bodies, people of faith and people of conscience, black and white – the diversity is remarkable.
We have forged friendships with each other from all parts of the state, and we stand together for social and economic justice. At each Moral Monday, we embrace and catch up and meet new people.
A recent poll showed our favorability rating at about double that of the General Assembly, so we are getting our message out.
On Aug. 4, we in Asheville will host our second Moral Monday. Last year’s event was the largest of all the Moral Monday crowds, with some 10,000-plus people. We hope to have even more this year.
We’re asking everyone to register and vote, and if you’re already registered, register others and make sure they get to the polls.
Moral Monday has morphed into the Moral March to the Polls.
Be there on Aug. 4 to find out how you can help.
—
Leslie Boyd is the founder and president of WNC Health Advocates.
The Asheville Blade is entirely funded by its readers. If you like our work, support us directly on Patreon. Questions? Comments? Email us.