Advocates and protestors at 1898 Memorial Park formed a fortress of colorful signs that expressed their disdain for the Trump administration’s government attack on DEI initiatives and its dismantling of several federal agencies.
“When we’re under attack, we fight back,” chanted the crowd.
The protestors also opposed Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who heads the newly established Department of Government Efficiency, an advisory body that has slashed thousands of jobs in the last two months, and was not approved by Congress.
North Carolina Democratic Senator Natalie Murdock, who represents Chatham and Durham counties, spoke out about Musk’s cuts:
“Did I miss — was I confused when I saw an election of Elon Musk? Was he elected to anything? Unelected billionaire and all this talk about DOGE and efficiency and saving money. You know how we can save money, roll back the 38 billion — with a B — contracts he has received from the federal government.”
“We see these reckless cuts of them firing federal employees that are doing nothing but simply doing their job,” she said.
Murdock also talked about the launch of Governor Josh Stein’s new website where displaced federal employees can apply for state jobs.
One Ukrainian advocate also spoke to the administration’s response to the war in Ukraine.
“We have not seen anything like this since World War II, but what we're seeing now is atrociously unheard of,” they said. “There's an effort when it comes to our global security as well as our national security. If we don't have that, then there's a lot that will just fall into place and will not be very good for the country as well as for the world. We need stability. We need to support democracies. We need to support people who are fighting for their freedom.”
The protest was peaceful, but as the Director of the New Hanover County chapter of the Black Leadership Caucus and lead speaker at the rally, Sonya Patrick, pointed out this civil unrest runs deep and speaks volumes:
“Let's strive for a future where compassion and unity wage, preventing history from repeating its darkest moments,” Patrick said. “We stand right here on the grounds of 1898 where the only successful and the last successful coup took place right here in the United States. Today, we are uniting and standing up for America. We will Resist!”
