Voices of Moral Mondays: Furious by Judy Occhetti-Klohr

The NC Council of Churches is proud to publish a brand new e-book collection of testimonies from Moral Mondays. With 32 short vignettes from North Carolinians across the state, Voices of Moral Mondays tells the story of everyday folks being motivated to speak out on account of their faith. Many, though not all, of the accounts describe what it was like to engage in civil disobedience and be arrested by the authorities. Click here to download the free e-book.

By Judy Occhetti-Klohr, Lutheran Peace Fellowship, Raleigh

My husband Leo and I had made the decision to do civil disobedience on June 3 before we left for the 3 p.m. meeting at Martin Street Baptist Church. We arrived early and talked with Rev. Barber before the meeting began. When Rev. Barber ended the meeting with specifics about the rally, he asked Rev. Nancy Petty to read the names of those who would speak. To my surprise (and actually, it was shock at first), I was on the list. I was escorted to the speaker’s stand. Here is what I said:

“I’m a little old lady. I have six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. I LOVE ALL children. Most folks call me a SWEET, LITTLE OLD lady.  BUT…sweet little old ladies can get MAD…AND I AM MAD!

I am FURIOUS that too many children go to bed at night and pray that their mother will stop crying because she cannot afford to buy healthy food, they pray that their stomach ache from hunger will go away. They pray that their father will stop yelling because he feels so badly that be cannot provide financially for his family…pray that they can become CITIZENS.

These children don’t care which political party will get energized or empowered by our gathering. They don’t care if this gets covered by the national news OR only the local news. Most of them don’t know what ‘swing votes’ mean. They are praying…praying for OUR HELP.

I’m a grandmother.
I’m a voter.
I’m here for the children.
I’m FURIOUS!

These children are praying for OUR HELP.”

And the crowd shouts…AMEN…AMEN…AMEN.

And at the end of the rally, Leo and I joined with 149 others who had decided to do civil disobedience. We both agreed that it was a very empowering experience for us. We were uplifted and thankful for the support of so many others and have attended all of the following Moral Mondays to pass on the support…for all the citizens.