April 13, 2021

Two presenters reviewed efforts to activate North Carolina’s black voters, and to organize joint action with Latinex and other groups to pursue political reform and improvements in the lives of all North Carolinians.

For a Mecklenburg audience, it might have been particularly illuminating to hear Marcus Bass, a native of the rural East but now executive director of NC Black Alliance, discuss how community organizing in rural areas differs so from what Mecklenburg people pursue, and why rural African-American communities might be far more organized than they appear. Bass also said leaders statewide need to “unpack” what it means in rural areas for African-Americans to live down the road from descendents of their family’s enslavers, or pay a utility bill to the former plantation’s family.

 

 

During the Forum session, participants shared a number of links and other information. Among them:

• The Caucus website is here.
• Data from the 2020 Census may be available Sept. 30.
• Carol Sawyer announced that the CMS Board of Education, at its April 13 evening meeting, would vote on “the guiding principles of our redistricting plan.” More information is here.
• The Mecklenburg Democratic Party holds its convention Saturday, April 17, at 11 a.m. Register here. Cynthia Wallace wrote that Democrats could socialize in virtual breakout rooms from 11 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.
• Rick Mitchell sent in the e-mail address of the Mecklenburg Democratic Party’s African American Caucus.

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The following are screenshots of slides shared in the video above by Marcus Bass, executive director of NC Black Alliance.