Weekly Digest: November 18th
Hello and happy Monday y’all! We hope your weekends were restful (and that y’all got to see the super moon). Below are some announcements, events, and mutual aid from around the Triangle we’d like to uplift:
First, Operation Stop CPS will be holding a press conference this Wednesday, November 20th at 3:30pm in front of the Durham County Courthouse. Their organization’s work centers around dismantling the family policing system (including Durham County Department of Social Services and Child “Protective” Services) and bringing awareness to the issues Black families in Durham face at the hands of the state. This press conference will also be used to share information about the lawsuit recently filed by the Civil Rights Corps and Operation Stop CPS against Judge Doretta Walker and Sheriff Clarence Birkhead. Please come out and show support and check out their Instagram, @operationstopcps for more information! Also, join them for a team meeting tonight at 7pm at the People’s Solidarity Hub in Durham!
In relation to the family policing system and the failure of local government, the Outside Agitator has also written an article recounting the Durham County Commissioners meeting last week. During this meeting, the co-founder of Operation Stop CPS was disrespected and singled out by one of the commissioners, Chair Nida Allam. Additionally, the commissioners were planning on voting to approve a $16 million cop city in Durham. Read more here!
Calls to Action
The UNC Board of Governors (BOG) are considering creating a policy for protests on public campuses across all UNC system schools. This decision seems to be linked to the encampment and the continued pressure (right on!!!) from organizers like UNC SJP. The policy draft includes the following:
- Prior approval to use campus spaces
- Restricting gatherings within 50 feet of classroom entrances
- Making campus public safety officials the “final decision makers” for gathering reservations
- Mandating that if a student breaks the conduct code while on another campus, they face punishments at their campus
- Violations of state or federal law are also considered violations of student conduct
- Requiring student conduct processes to be handled by professional staff instead of being peer-led
This policy is one that aims to stifle the pro-Palestinian movement, and other liberation-centered movements on NC college campuses. Keep your eyes on the BOG; their next meeting is in January!
Events
Please join the Southern Student Action Coalition (SSAC), the Black Student Movement (BSM), the NAACP – Chapel Hill chapter, and CJAA for a vigil honoring the life of James Cates Jr. on November 20th at 12:30pm. James Cates Jr. was a UNC student was was murdered by white supremacists in the Pit, one of the main hubs on UNC Chapel Hill’s campus. Every year, organizations come together to host a vigil for him in the very spot he was murdered. More information can be found here: https://www.instagram.com/p/DCST8bRv3MR/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
RUMAH Events!
Mutual Aid
