Charlotte, NC – On the night of Sept. 21 protesters gathered in uptown Charlotte for the second night of militant protests after the murder of Keith Lamont Scott by Charlotte police (CMPD). Protesters called for the arrest of the officers involved and an end to police crimes in the city.

Protesters first pushed up Elizabeth Avenue after a short demonstration in front of the CMPD headquarters. They then occupied the Epicentre shopping and entertainment complex. The protesters reached as far as the Omni Hotel until an African American man was shot in front of riot police. Some protesters at the scene say they saw the police shoot the man. When the shot was fired the only guns visible were in police hands.

“They won’t stop killing us!” a protester shouted shortly after.

Then riot police used tear gas and rubber bullets to continue to push the protesters back down Elizabeth Avenue. People then spread out across the city and some briefly occupied a portion of Interstate 277.

Throughout the night the police escalated the situation, taking advantage of calm breaks in the protest to shoot tear gas and rubber bullets. Before the end of the night, police arrested 44 protesters.

Despite the deployment of North Carolina National Guard troops to Charlotte, protests will continue until there is justice for Keith Lamont Scott.

#CharlotteNC #PoliceBrutality #CharlotteRebellion #KeithLamontScott

Charlotte, NC – On March 4, 30 activists from across Charlotte united to march against the ongoing abuse of power and racist violence employed by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) and various police departments across the state.

They demanded justice for Akiel Denkins and Malcolm Glenn Elliott. The protest comes days after the fatal shooting of Akiel Denkins, age 24, by Raleigh Police in broad daylight on Feb. 29, and the surfacing of a video in Charlotte of Malcolm Glenn Elliott Jr, 26, being brutally beaten by an officer while on the ground, as six more officers and a state trooper stood by and watched.

The march consisted of around 30 people from the Black Lives Matter movement, the newly formed Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) Charlotte chapter, and various local independent activists. It began at Marshall Park in uptown Charlotte and continued down South Davidson Street before converging on the CMPD headquarters. On the steps, speakers shared their frustration, disappointment and weariness with the continuing epidemic of police brutality.

“We demand to be treated like human beings, before arrest, after arrest and while being detained, and to live so that we may be able to stand before a jury of our peers,” activist Ashley S. Williams stated before the CMPD headquarters.

Earlier in the year, a study by MappingPoliceViolence.org found that 14 police departments in the U.S. were guilty of exclusively killing black people in 2015. CMPD and Raleigh police made up two out of the 14.

“I have five sons and the first thing I thought was, ‘Why would they do that?’” said protester Kelle Pressley in an interview with WBTV.

Before the march was over, the organizers promised to protest city council meetings. They will continue to fight for justice against CMPD and a change to the cities' compromised citizen’s review board. This board, in the recent past, has worked for the police interests and not that of the people. After leaving the CMPD headquarters, the march continued back to Marshall Park, chanting cries against racism and police brutality.

The night closed with a quote from Assata Skakur, delivered by Ashley Williams: “It’s our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win. We must love each other and protect each other. We have nothing to lose but our chains.”

#CharlotteNC #StudentMovement #StudentsForADemocraticSociety #SDS #PoliceBrutality #Antiracism #AkielDenkins #MalcolmElliott

Charlotte, NC – On July 17, the day of Uriel Alberto’s scheduled meeting with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement and likely deportation, Alberto received a phone call and was told his order of ‘Stay of Removal’ had been approved.

What started off as a simple demonstration against reactionary anti-immigration policies, turned into a year-long struggle against Uriel Alberto’s ICE-enforced deportation process. In Raleigh, on Feb. 29, 2012, immigrant rights group El Cambio crashed a House Committee meeting on immigration issues, resulting in Alberto standing up and ripping off his outer shirt, revealing an undershirt reading, “Undocumented and Unafraid!”

Alberto was detained for his actions, sparking a ten-day hunger strike against his imprisonment. He was eventually released, but from then on ICE has been scheduling a year-long process in deporting him back to Mexico because of his unwillingness to do so voluntarily.

On July 4, what many in the United States mark as their Independence Day, Alberto launched a hunger strike against his scheduled deportation in front of the ICE office here in Charlotte. A petition was subsequently launched, calling for the U.S. House of Representatives to call off their hunt, reaching over 400 signers.

As was suggested by friends and family, Alberto began calling for an order of ‘Stay of Removal’ as July 17 kept getting closer and closer. Since then, it’s now been approved. A ‘Stay of Removal’ isn’t a permanent solution, but it would allow Alberto to remain in the country until the immigration court is able to sort out any legal issues and then bring back up his deportation case. For now, his deportation has been postponed.

When asked of the campaign’s temporary success, Alberto said, “Well I feel blessed with all the support from loved ones and strangers alike. Though I also feel some remorse because I feel there are others a lot more deserving perhaps, that have not been as lucky as I am. I’m glad to be able to stay in the country, but this “Stay of Removal” does not allow or give me any rights. This is part of the new immigrant working class that the Federal Government is creating, but it is a small victory in a long battle, and I’m ready to put it behind me and keep moving forward. Hopefully we will be able to apply for DACA now, because previously the government had advised us to not apply.”

Given the nationwide struggle for immigrant rights, and the subsequent call for ‘Legalization for All’, Alberto wished to speak to all those who are fighting the same struggle. “My one piece of advice to everyone,” he says, “is to fight until the end. To not give up, to not self-deport, but to fight your cases until the end!”

#CharlotteNC #deportations #ImmigrationAndCustomsEnforcementICE #immigrationRights #ElCambio #legalizationForAll #UrielAlberto

Charlotte, NC – On July 4, father and head of household Uriel Alberto sat in front of Immigration and Customs Enforcement office here to partake in a hunger strike against his scheduled deportation on July 17. The hunger strike was temporarily suspended for him to join his family and friends in Winston-Salem who demonstrated against his deportation, but will return to Charlotte on July 8 to continue his hunger strike.

What started off as a simple demonstration against reactionary anti-immigration policies, turned into a year-long struggle against Uriel Alberto’s ICE-enforced deportation process. In Raleigh, on Feb. 29, 2012, immigrant rights group El Cambio crashed a House Committee meeting on immigration issues, resulting in Alberto standing up and ripping off his outer shirt, revealing an undershirt reading, “Undocumented and Unafraid!”

Alberto was detained for his actions, sparking a ten-day hunger strike against his imprisonment. He was eventually released, but from then on ICE has been scheduling a year-long process in deporting him back to Mexico because of his unwillingness to do so voluntarily.

Alberto has been in this country since he was seven. He’s the father of two children and provides for them financially. His deportation won’t just affect him as an individual with rights, it will affect his whole family, if the reactionary rightists get their way.

Giovanna Vargas, member of Yadkinville chapter of El Cambio, has started a petition, calling for the U.S. House of Representatives to end the hunt against undocumented immigrants, and in particular Uriel Alberto. The petition can be accessed here: http://www.change.org/petitions/john-morton-luis-guti%C3%A9rrez-help-stop-the-deportation-of-devoted-father-and-head-of-household

Giovanna says in relation to the current situation, “Uriel's case is one of many. Families are torn apart every day; perfectly good parents are taken from their children. Their children are then placed into institutions, when they actually have parents who love them and want to care for them. This immigration reform makes the system worse – it further criminalizes those families who want nothing more but a safe and better future.”

She continues, “North Carolina legislators have a huge fight on their hands, because organizers like myself, and more people from our communities are watching, we are resisting and we will keep fighting against the powers that be.”

So show your solidarity to Uriel Alberto by signing the petition, sharing it amongst friends and family, and join with Alberto in Charlotte, in front of the ICE office, in hunger strike against his deportation.

No more deportations! Legalization for all! ¡No a las deportaciones! ¡Legalización para todos!

#CharlotteNC #deportations #ImmigrationAndCustomsEnforcementICE #immigrationRights #ElCambio #legalizationForAll #UrielAlberto

Charlotte, NC – Organizers estimate that more than 2500 people from throughout the South and across the U.S. braved the heat, filling the streets of Charlotte on Sept. 2 for the March on Wall Street South. The demonstration confronted the banks and corporations headquartered in Charlotte that are wreaking havoc on communities throughout the country and raised a people’s agenda for jobs and justice as the Democratic National Convention convenes here.

Participants came from cities throughout North Carolina, including Winston-Salem, Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, Rocky Mount, Greenville, Asheville, Fayetteville, Greensboro and Wilmington. Many traveled hours from cities such as Baltimore, Maryland; Atlanta, Georgia; Greenville, Mississippi; Washington, D.C.; Tampa, Florida; Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and New York City. A bus of more than 40 people, many of whom are being foreclosed on by Bank of America and who are unemployed, spent 15 hours traveling from Detroit, Michigan.

#CharlotteNC #DNC2012 #antiwar #CoalitionToMarchOnWallStreetSouth

Charlotte, NC – Over 60 activists converged here, April 14, holding a conference at the Charlotte School of Law to discuss the upcoming week of protest at the Democratic National Convention (DNC). Charlotte, a prominent center of banking, will be hosting the convention where Democratic Party elites and delegates will establish the party platform and select Barack Obama as their candidate for President of the United States. The DNC will be held Sept. 3-6.

Conference attendees traveled from all over the country to help plan the activities which are expected to include a “March on the Wall Street of the South,” among other events. So far over 50 organizations have endorsed the protests, and the number is steadily growing.

Also attending the conference were a group of activists from Florida from the Coalition to March on the RNC who are preparing to protest the Republican National Convention which will be held in Tampa, Florida, Aug. 27-30. Mutual support and goodwill was shared between the two coalitions planning the DNC and RNC protests.

The protests at the DNC are making use of the Charlotte Principles, a set of guidelines that will help the diverse and growing number of groups planning activities to work positively and powerfully together.

Conference attendee Sarah Buchner of Asheville, North Carolina, from the Committee to Stop FBI Repression said, “I believe we accomplished a lot here today. The fight for the permit to march is important and there are issues surrounding new city new ordinances and expected police repression. There is a lot of work left to do, but everyone is excited and determined.”

The city council of Charlotte recently passed a long and vague ordinance, obviously meant to curtail freedom of speech and assembly during the DNC. It allows the city manager to unilaterally declare an “extraordinary event” in a given area of the city. This will ban a startling array of objects like water bottles, backpacks, bicycle helmets and various lengths of string and wire. It will give police sweeping abilities to search and detain protesters, observers and neutral passers-by. Legal challenges are already in the works but it is expected that the ordinance will stand through the DNC.

Demands for the DNC protests include: Good jobs for all! Economic justice now – make the banks and corporations pay for their crisis! Money for education, healthcare, housing and all human needs, not for war and incarceration! Justice for immigrants and all oppressed peoples! Stop the raids and deportations!

To learn more about the Coalition to Protest at the DNC please visit: protestdnc.org To learn more about the Coalition to March on the RNC please visit: marchonthernc.com

#CharlotteNC #DemocraticNationalConventionDNC #2012RepublicanNationalConvention #RepublicanNationalConvention2012

Charlotte, NC – An energetic crowd of almost 300 came together at Marshall Park in Charlotte, North Carolina, Nov. 5. Protesters marched to Bank of America and Wells Fargo, as Occupy Winston-Salem joined in solidarity with Occupy Charlotte in support of Bank Transfer Day.

The protest urged people to transfer their money from big corporate, for-profit banks to local non-profit banks. Local protesters also held signs against the U.S. war and occupation in Afghanistan and the Middle East and in support of public education and teachers. As the activists made their way between Wells Fargo and Bank of America, a dozen police officers met them outside Wells Fargo Bank.

The protest built upon the mass opposition to big banks introducing ‘account fees’ in the last few months and the growing awareness of these very same banks’ hand in the economic financial crisis since 2008. Everyone cheered the news that 650,000 people transferred their money from Bank of America to non-profit credit unions as a result of the Bank Transfer Day effort by Occupy Wall Street. It is estimated that there is a loss of $4.5 billion for the 1% and a gain for the 99%.

Ghali Hasan of Occupy Winston-Salem stated, “Today was a great day for Occupy Winston-Salem, coming down and joining forces with Occupy Charlotte to show real solidarity to the cause. And I believe, overall, we’re going to be making a difference in Winston-Salem and the state as a whole, with today being proof of that.”

At Bank of America and Wells Fargo, chants were heard many blocks away in every direction, ranging from “Stop the wars and corporate greed! Give the people what they need!” and “Money for books and education, not for banks and corporations!” When the bosses and managers at Wells Fargo started staring out their glass door and windows, everyone pointed towards them and chanted, “Tell me what hypocrisy looks like. This is what hypocrisy looks like!”

After the two-hour event ended, everyone marched back to Occupy Charlotte outside Old City Hall and held a General Assembly. When asked of the possible eviction from the park by police, Yen, an activist in Occupy Charlotte responded, “I believe, like every other Occupy movement throughout the nation, the powers that be are starting to see the true essence of this movement; the true power that it can have. So they’re now beginning to threaten those who participate in true democracy. Whatever may happen, nothing will stop this occupation.”

#CharlotteNC #OccupyWallStreet #OccupyWinstonSalem #OccupyCharlotte #BankTransferDay

Josh Sykes, a spokesperson for Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) Asheville, outlined the plans for the march.

“We will bring together thousands of people to oppose the wars on Afghanistan and Iraq,” says Sykes. “We will march to the site of the convention with a clear message: It is time to end the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, and to bring the troops home now. We demand money for education, not occupation.”

Plans for a massive demonstration at the DNC are getting backing from around the country. Meredith Aby, a lead organizer of the massive protests that took place at the 2008 Republican National Convention in Saint Paul, Minnesota, states, “We will charter buses from around the country to travel to Charlotte to protest the wars on Afghanistan and Iraq. We in the peace movement insist that politicians who support these wars are held accountable and we will travel from every point in the country to make that point.”

Demonstrators at the DNC will be raising the slogans, “U.S. out of Afghanistan and Iraq – now!” “Foreclose the war, not people’s homes,” “Bail out the people, not the banks and corporations!” and “Jobs or income now!”

Jeremy Miller, of Asheville SDS stated, “The wars and occupations need to come to an end. We are getting a great response from student activists around the country who want to come here and protest the war.”

#CharlotteNC #AntiwarMovement #StudentsForADemocraticSociety #ProtestRNC2008 #SDS #DemocraticNationalConvention #DNC

Charlotte, NC – Chanting, “The banks got bailed out, and the workers got sold out!” and “Bail out the workers and not the banks!” more than 20 people gathered here for a spirited rally in front of the Bank of America corporate headquarters. Called by UE Local 150, the action was in solidarity with the workers of UE 1110 who have occupied the Republic Windows and Doors factory in Chicago. Participants marched together into the office building to deliver a letter to Kenneth Lewis, Bank of America chairman and CEO, demanding that the Bank of America use some of the $25 billion bailout funds to provide credit to save the jobs at the Chicago plant.

#CharlotteNC #ImmigrantRights #News #UE1110 #ChicanoLatino #UELocal150 #RepublicWindowsAndDoors #BankOfAmerica