Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” – John 8:12 Today is a pretty big deal– it has been nearly 100 years since a total eclipse has moved from coast to coast across the United States. Today, tens of millions of Americans will witness the “eclipse of the century,” which will pass over 3,000 miles of land. There will not be another solar eclipse, and it will only be partial,…
In the Face of Violence
Today, Friday, August 18, 2017, South Main in Durham, NC, is closed to traffic. Civil employees have been sent home. Some banks and many businesses in the downtown area have closed early. And a group of people have gathered on the Courthouse lawn. All this because of the possibility that a group of White Supremacists would march there at noon today. That hasn’t happened yet and now the news is they will march at 4pm. The official news from City Hall is that no permit was obtained by anyone to…
Opposing the RAISE Act
Two weeks ago, the President endorsed a new bill in the Senate designed to cut legal immigration levels in half over a decade, a potentially extreme change to policies that have been in place for more than half a century in our country. The RAISE (Reforming Immigration for Strong Employment) Act would reduce the annual distribution of green cards awarding permanent legal residence to just over 500,000, a decrease of more than 1 million. These cuts would include reductions to family-based immigration programs, eliminating the ability of United States citizens…
Post-Charlottesville: What Trump Said, and When
When President Trump stepped to a White House lectern on Monday and rebuked the instigators of the deadly violence in Charlottesville, Va., that had erupted two days before, he was essentially doing what he’s said to do often on the golf course – taking a mulligan. This time, he got off a pretty good shot. But wouldn’t you know it: He shanked his next one out of bounds. So much for the brief redemption. Trump’s first drive, as it were, had landed way over yonder in the poison ivy. That…
Response to the Violence in Charlottesville
Before I came to call the great state of North Carolina home, I was a proud Virginian for the first twenty-six years of my life. I grew up in a small, rural town 90 miles south of Charlottesville and spent some of my most formative years just on the other side of the mountain at James Madison University in Harrisonburg. What happened in Charlottesville this weekend is deeply disturbing. I have walked the streets of Charlottesville with friends and family many times and this weekend white supremacists clenched torches and…
Marching Orders for New Maps
The three federal judges could have just come right out and said it: The Republicans who rule the N.C. General Assembly have elevated foot-dragging to a fine art. Their stall tactics take the cake. Instead, the trio overseeing the legislature’s efforts to draw new voting district maps seems to have angled for another prize – for understatement. Consider this masterpiece of tact from their latest ruling: “The General Assembly’s failure to comply with this Court’s August 2016 order or to take any apparent action since the Supreme Court unanimously affirmed…
Job Opening: Office Manager
The Council is hiring an office manager to work in our Raleigh office. The full job description is below and at this link. This position is open immediately and will be filled as soon as possible. 32 hours per week; $15.00 an hour to start; 3 weeks paid vacation; paid sick leave 3-month probation period Retirement benefits available when probation period concludes COUNCIL DESCRIPTION With more than eight decades of progressive activism, the North Carolina Council of Churches remains the leading faith voice for justice advocacy in North Carolina. We…
Supporting Young Immigrants’ Dreams
Five years ago, President Obama created the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) program to enable young people brought to this country as children to come out of the shadows and live their lives fully. This entailed granting them the ability to obtain a driver’s license, get a job, or pursue higher education. This newfound sense of security was transformative for the lives of thousands of young people and for their potential contributions to this country. Now, the DACA program has come under threat of repeal by the Trump Administration. If DACA is…
One Last Time…..
Even when the opportunity before you is grand, it is hard to leave a place you love. Today is my last day at the Council of Churches, after 16 years in a variety of roles from very part-time newsletter editor to full-time deputy executive director. As some of you have heard me say, when I started here, my colleagues scheduled staff meetings so that I could pick up my youngest from preschool. He is about to start his sophomore year of college, so yes, it has been awhile. I am…
Rights Advocacy At Risk
The optics, as they say, are terrible. But in a state whose motto is “To Be Rather Than to Seem,” it’s even more important to look at the substance. And the substance is worse. Think about it: In a Southern state where the legacy of race discrimination and its attendant social ills remains starkly visible, our leading public law school is on the verge of being forced to abandon the courtrooms where the struggles for civil rights have so often played out. Conservative ideologues now clustering among the leaders of…
Police Brutality is not a Joking Matter
By Andrew Hudgins, NCCC Program Associate for Operations, for The Resistance Prays News: In a speech delivered to law enforcement officers last week, President Trump seemed to endorse police brutality when he asked officers not to be “too nice” and suggested that they should hit suspect’s heads on the doors of their police cars. The White House later said he was joking. Scripture: “My friends, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take care that…
Thankful and Ever Vigilant When it Comes to Health Care
We find ourselves in a better place than we might have been when it comes to health care policy. Remaining ever vigilant and recognizing that there is still much work to be done, today should be marked by gratitude that efforts to take health care from millions have, in this moment, failed. While Sen. John McCain’s vote was welcome and crucial, let’s not forget Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, who have both been bullied for refusing to choose party over the well-being of their constituents and their country. What…
Uh-Oh – It’s the Legislature, Again
Better get used to it. The N.C. General Assembly, after an all-too-brief adjournment during July, is about to reopen for business in its marble and masonry maze on Raleigh’s Jones Street. Given this legislature’s track record so far, the big question would seem to be: How much more damage will unfold as majority Republicans seek to carve their narrow-minded agenda even more deeply into the state’s civic bedrock? Legislative sessions held during odd-numbered years – the so-called long sessions that typically begin in late January – have varied widely in…
Anti-LGBTQ Policies Impact Us All
Wednesday’s federal-policy-by-tweet announcement that children of God who are transgender could no longer serve in the military may have distracted attention from another action by the federal government. The Department of Justice, also on Wednesday, filed a legal brief in an ongoing court case in which the DOJ argued that Civil Rights protections do not extend to job discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Sit with that a moment. There is plenty to be outraged about for all who are LGBTQ. Both actions should also be read as a…
What the Senate’s Motion to Proceed Vote Means for Health Care
The U.S. Senate’s vote this afternoon moves the debate forward to potentially repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. What that will look like is anybody’s guess. Senators Burr and Tillis both voted to proceed, but it is unclear what they will be proceeding to. Every proposal to come forward this summer would leave tens of millions more of our sisters and brothers without insurance. Some hybrid of those proposals seems likely, but Senate leaders do not appear to have assembled enough votes yet for any of the plans being…