For Immediate Release

Contacts:

Serena Sebring, SONG Campaign Organizer 919.597.9043  serena@southernersonnewground.org
Jade Brooks, SONG Member Leader 831.588.3463 jadembrooks@gmail.com
Caitlin Breedlove, SONG Co-Director 865.310-1463 caitlin@southernersonnewground.org

January 17, 2015

Durham, NC – On Saturday, January 17 at 5:00pm, Southerners on New Ground (SONG) will host a launch event announcing the “Free From Fear” campaign, at The Pinhook (117 W Main St, Durham, North Carolina 27701).  Free From Fear seeks to pass an ordinance to prevent discriminatory policing and police profiling of LGBTQ people and people of color, and to address the harmful effects of these patterns on the local community. The campaign’s central goal is the passage of a local anti-profiling ordinance,  “The Durham Community Safety Act,” which would ban police profiling and discrimination based on race, immigration status, gender, gender identity and sexual orientation. Southerners on New Ground is a regional LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, + queer) organization made up of people of color, immigrants, undocumented people, people with disabilities, working class and rural and small town people in the South.

“So many LGBTQ people face daily fear in our homes, workplaces, families, homes of worship, and in the streets. So it makes so much sense for LGBTQ people to work for a Community Safety Act that benefits everyone in Durham.” -Caitlin Breedlove, SONG Co-Director

“As a resident of Durham for many years, and a queer black mother raising three kids, I want to see my LGBTQ community take a lead in making Durham safer for my kids, LGBTQ youth, youth of color and everyone.” -Serena Sebring, SONG Organizer

“We know that Durham has been a hub of LGBTQ organizing for years, we defeated Amendment One here by over 70%! But not all of our community is treated equally by the police or the legal system. As a white queer woman, my commitment to my black and brown family means that I have to join this fight. ” -Jade Brooks, SONG member

The event is free and open to the public, and will feature a program of live music by local musicians, and speakers: Caitlin Breedlove (SONG, Co-Director), Serena Sebring (SONG, Campaign Organizer), Jade Brooks (SONG, Member Leader), Sendolo Diaminah (Durham Public Schools Board Member), among others. Light refreshments and childcare will be provided.