Thousands March in Greensboro as Part of National “Hands Off” Protest
Honking, chanting, and even some cowbells filled the air downtown Saturday as thousands crowded sidewalks as part of a nationwide Hands Off! protest against the administration of President Donald Trump.
“It’s very important for people to speak out about what’s happening in D.C.,” said Pat Levitin, one of the Greensboro protest’s organizers. “We had to have a national protest so that our Congress will take back their powers.”
Describing itself as a grassroots movement, “Hands Off!” organized more than 1,200 demonstrations in all 50 states and a handful of countries in a non-violent “national day of action.” The Greensboro Police Department and city officials estimated the crowd at around 2,000 at its height.
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— Aria Heyneman
Guilford Legislators Hear Pushback Against Anti-DEI Bills
Four members of Guilford County’s state legislative delegation came to the Melvin Municipal Office Building last week to hear from Greensboro residents. They were greeted with anxiety and anger about a series of conservative bills filed in the North Carolina General Assembly—particularly those targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.
Gerry McCants of the Greensboro Business League and statewide NAACP said he’s worried about the impacts of House Bill 171, which would prohibit DEI in state agencies, and Senate Bill 227, which would target DEI in public schools.
“It goes back to Jim Crow 101,” McCants said of the legislation.
“We have 138,000 African American businesses in North Carolina,” he said. “Billions of dollars in revenue generated in the state, over 6,000 employees who are paid and 70,000 employed by African American businesses statewide. And that bill speaks against everything these companies and firms have worked for across the last several decades in North Carolina.”
North Carolina State House Representatives Tracy Clark (D), John Blust (R), and Amos Quick (D) were joined by State Senator Gladys Robinson (D) at the Thursday meeting. Representatives Pricey Harrison (D), Alan Branson (R) and State Sen. Michael Garrett (D) all said they had conflicts that prevented them from attending.
Branson is a sponsor of House Bill 171. He was unable to attend Thursday’s Guilford delegation meeting as he was at a Moms for Liberty event with Katharine Gorka, a conservative author, analyst, and former advisor to President Donald Trump.
“Probably best I wasn’t there,” Branson told The Thread of the Guilford delegation meeting. “ I understand it was a liberal bitch session.”
DEI might have begun as an admirable goal, Branson said. But he believes it has become divisive, pitting people of different races against each other and making a liberal political worldview mandatory.
“That right there needs to go by the wayside, period,” Branson said.
The three Democratic lawmakers spoke in favor of DEI efforts and against bills that would target them, while Blust largely avoided the topic.
“When you talk to people who are against diversity, try to educate them,” Robinson said. “Because I think a lot of it is ignorance. A lot of it is intentional because it’s coming from Washington. And North Carolina is trying to replicate it. And we are better in North Carolina than that.”
Quick agreed.
“The America we fought for is worth fighting for again,” Quick said. “And all of these things that threaten the safety, the upward mobility, and the life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness of Americans and North Carolinians are worth fighting for. Specifically, I can say House Bill 171 is unAmerican. America is diverse.”
“To say you are anti-DEI says you are anti-diversity in a diverse society,” Quick said. “To say that you are anti-DEI says that you are anti-equality in a country that says that all men are created equal. To say you are anti-DEI says that you are anti-inclusion in a country that’s founding documents say that all have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
“We can’t allow anti-DEI to be separated from what it actually means,” he said. “True patriots—not those who call themselves patriots of pretend to be patriots—fight for diversity, equity, and inclusion and not against it.”
— Joe Killian
Read this newsletter online or contact The Thread team with tips and feedback at greensboro@theassemblync.com.
RiverRun International Film Festival returns to theaters this week
This year’s RiverRun International Film Festival, April 11-19, will present 177 films from 34 countries, narrowed down from nearly 2,000 submissions.
But this Triad tradition didn’t start in Winston-Salem.
In conversation with The Thread, Interim Co-Executive Directors Mary Dossinger and Tiffany Jones walked through the festival’s history and impact on the region.
Read the full story here.
– Gale Melcher