Last week, leadership in the NC state legislature called a special session to work overtime to legalize discrimination through the Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, otherwise known as HB2. This bill isn’t just about bathrooms. It is a clear and direct attack by the right wing on transgender, queer, lesbian, bisexual, and gay people who do not fit prescribed gender apperances and roles. It is intended to make us fearful in public spaces and to use us as a political platform based on resentment and fear. It is an attack on the economic security of all working class people, making it harder for many of us to keep food on the table and a roof over our heads. It is an attack on our ability to govern ourselves through local ordinances. It is an attack on our very existence and our ability to define and determine how we walk through the world. This strategy is not new but a recycled version of one employed multiple times designed to drive wedges amongst neighbors.
Immediately after Governor McCrory signed the legislation, SONG and other organizations led by transgender and queer people of color responded with mass mobilization and direct action. We helped move hundreds of people to the Governor’s Mansion in Raleigh within 24 hours of the bill being passed to make one thing clear: this is not over and we intend to fight back. Now, it is time to get in formation.
We want to come together as SONG family to hear what is on each other’s hearts and to scheme together to channel our rightful fury into shared action with smart strategy. We want to acknowledge the ways that people are resisting this hateful legislation, and we want to deepen our network of resistance and support for real safety and transformation in North Carolina and across the South. We will not let them roll back our local organizing wins for living wages, for employment protections, or for sanctuary cities. We will not let them drive us back in the closet or back into the shadows. In the time of Trump and right wing leaders escalating climates of fear that harbor hostility and violence towards our communities, we can feel in our bones, along with thousands of people across the country, that it is #time2escalate and take action for our communities, our safety, and our lives for a South and a North Carolina Free From Fear.
JOIN SONG FOR A CALL TO GET IN FORMATION!
THURSDAY MARCH 31
8PM EST*
RSVP
http://bit.ly/1UT0qX1
*This call will be in English. Additionally, we are not currently equipped with live captioning capabilities. If you cannot make the call but would still like to receive the follow-up notes please RSVP.
