Civil Liberties

Perhaps because of the large number of outspoken and thoughtful people in our community, we have often found ourselves at ground zero in battles over civil liberties. In the 1980's Chapel Hill elected the first openly-gay elected official in the state, but Carrboro bested that by electing North Carolina’s first out mayor a decade later.

More recently, Chapel Hill grappled with free speech issues in the wake of 9/11, approved and then dismantled red light cameras in 2003-4, and was challenged by fundamentalists over support for gay marriage in 2005.

December Political Prisoner Letter Writing Night

Join Internationalist Books and the Internationalist Prison Books Collective for December's Political Prisoner Letter Writing Night, Wednesday December 15!

Come and write a birthday card to political prisoners whose birthdays fall in the month of December. They're sure to need some love during the Holiday season!

 This month we will be writing:

Ed Poindexter - an ex-Black Panther targeted by FBI's COINTELPRO,

Tsutomu Shirosaki - a Japanese national accused of being a part of the Japanese Red Army,

Zolo Ahona Azania - a former Black Panther convicted of a bank robbery,

Fred Burton - an innocent man convicted in a sham trial for killing a cop, and

Jerome White-Bey - an anarchist prison activist who has helped to fight slave labor in prisons by organizing the Missouri Prison Labor Union.

For more information, check out www.internationalistbooks.org, or www.prisonbooks.info

<!--break-->

Date: 

Wednesday, December 15, 2010 - 2:00pm to 3:30pm

Location: 

Internationalist Bookstore and Community Center, 405 W Franklin St, Chapel Hill

Jess Sundin, Antiwar Activist Targeted by FBI Raids, Speaks Out

Target of FBI Raids, Jess Sundin, Will Speak in Chapel Hill on Nov. 30

Event is part of a national week of actions in solidarity with those being targeted by the FBI

Please join us Tuesday Nov. 30 from 7:00pm - 8:30pm, at the Chapel Hill Public Library (100 Library Drive, Chapel Hill NC). Minneapolis antiwar activist Jess Sundin, one of the people targeted by the Sept 24 FBI raids, will be speaking in Chapel Hill about the raids and the growing movement to defend those being attacked by the FBI.

On September 24, the FBI raided the homes of 14 well-known anti-war and human rights activists in Chicago and Minneapolis. They also raided the office of the Minnesota Anti-War Committee. That same day, two activists in Durham, NC were visited by the FBI. According to the FBI, the goal of the raids was to investigate alleged “material support for terrorism". These activists have done nothing wrong, yet face secretive Grand Jury trials, jail time and fines. Their freedom is at stake, along with everyone's freedom to speak our minds and to organize against war and occupation.

Come learn about the past and current history of FBI attacks on social movements in the US, and to understand your rights and what you can do to stand in solidarity with those being targeted! The event is FREE. Donations will be collected for the Minneapolis and Chicago's activists' legal defense fund.

RSVP:
e-mail: ncstopfbi@gmail.com
facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=135341999853167

Hosted by NC Committee to Stop FBI Repression - stopfbi.net

Date: 

Tuesday, November 30, 2010 - 2:00pm to 3:30pm

Location: 

Chapel Hill Public Library, 100 Library Dr, Chapel Hill, NC

75th Anniversary of Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Triangle Branch

Date: 

Sunday, December 5, 2010 - 12:30pm

Location: 

Community Church Chapel Hill Unitarian Universalist, 506 Purefoy Rd.

Why Are Police Stifling First Amendment Rights in Carrboro?

On November 15th, around four p.m., local Earth First! activists gathered outside of the Royal Bank of Canada in Carrboro to protest the bank's investment in the world's most destructive project, the Canadian Tar Sands.  We were holding signs, banners, and doing some chanting.  The police arrived and told us that we could not stand anywhere on the sidewalk at all.

Prayer and Rec. League Football

It has come to my attention that some coaches in the Chapel HIll Parks and Rec. football league are requiring their players to say the Lord's Prayer before and after their games.  This is in direct violatoin of separation of Church and State.  I  contacted the P and R dept. in September and Mark Troutman replied that he would "address this issue with the coaches."  Well, it is mid October and the team is still saying the prayer!  I'm not anti-religion but since this is a government sponsored league and we have a very diverse population, it seems like this activity is inappropriate at the least and possibly uncomfortable for any Jewish, Muslim, Buddist, etc family that chooses to participate in Rec. League football.  What do others think?

Pages

 

Community Guidelines

By using this site, you agree to our community guidelines. Inappropriate or disruptive behavior will result in moderation or eviction.

 

Content license

By contributing to OrangePolitics, you agree to license your contributions under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License.

Creative Commons License

 
Zircon - This is a contributing Drupal Theme
Design by WeebPal.