Heralding a revolution in N.C. for jobs and freedom
On August 28th as thousands of people attended thirteen simultaneous rallies across North Carolina to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s historic "I Have a Dream" speech, between three and four hundred people gathered outside the Wake County Courthouse in downtown Raleigh, where state AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer, MaryBe McMillan, delivered a powerful call to action that began with the words of A. Philip Randolph, who opened the March on Washington fifty years ago with these words:
"Let the nation and the world know the meaning of our numbers. We are not a pressure group. We are not an organization or group of organizations. We are not a mob. We are the advanced guard of a massive, moral revolution for jobs and freedom." -- A. Philip Randolph
Randolph's statement was necessary because politicians in 1963 didn't understand the significance of the March on Washington, MaryBe said, just as many politicians in North Carolina today don't understand the significance of Moral Monday or Taking the Dream Home rallies.
"Here in Raleigh, our governor and our legislators may not get it, but the rest of the country understands that we are not outsiders, morons, or troublemakers. They understand that instead, we are the advanced guard of a massive, moral revolution for jobs and freedom. Freedom, not only for us as individuals, but freedom for us as a people from the tyranny of greed that threatens our democracy and our humanity. Brothers and sisters, if ever a place needed a moral revolution, it is here in North Carolina." -- MaryBe McMillan, 8/28/2013
Watch video of MaryBe's speech at Taking the Dream Home to Raleigh: