Peace and Justice Plaza

Occupy Chapel Hill/Carrboro - clean up, press conference, general assembly, dance party

Ruby Sinreich — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 10:33:09 -0600

Official news from Occupy Chapel Hill/Carrboro:

On Tuesday, January 10, 2012, Occupy Chapel Hill/Carrboro will make history by becoming one of the very few, longstanding Occupy encampments in the country to peacefully and voluntarily transition to a new phase in its evolution.
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Chapel Hill is occupied... kinda

Ruby Sinreich — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 14:51:28 -0500

I spent about 6 hours downtown yesterday participating in the kick-off of Occupy Chapel Hill/Carrboro (a.k.a. #occupyCHC). It was a great event with well over 100 people participating. I'm sure there would have been way more if not for the football traffic and parking situation.

At at 2:30 we held a very participatory consensus-based meeting called the General Assembly. This is part of the extensive organizational structure including organized working groups and decision-making processes developed at Occupy Wall Street in New York (a month old tomorrow!) and passed along to the massive diaspora of occupations including "over 1,500 cities globally and over 100 US cities." For now General Assemblies are scheduled for 6pm daily at Peace & Justice Plaza, although this could change.

Caring for Northside's past and future

dbell4ch — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 18:34:01 -0500

Mary Norwood Jones, along with three others, will soon be remembered with a dedication at Chapel Hill’s Peace and Justice Plaza for her civil rights work in Chapel Hill. I knew her as the person who took care of Northside. When I first moved to Northside in 2002, I would often see Mrs. Jones out picking up cans, paper and other debris that littered the street our homes shared. I find myself following her example picking up trash as I walk through the neighborhood with my daughter. Mrs. Jones also had a beautiful yard with huge hydrangea bushes and a tidy lawn. It was again following her example that had me up on Saturday mornings pushing my lawn mower when I would rather be sleeping in and experimenting with what plants my brown thumb could keep alive in my front flower beds. While my yard still has far to go, I keep at it, thinking about the approving words she would give me if she found me kneeling in the dirt trying to beat back crabgrass to make room for some newly planted perennials. Along with planting tips, Mrs. Jones talked about the importance taking care of the young people and keeping the neighborhood looking nice.

Happy Martin Luther King Day!

Ruby Sinreich — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 22:59:00 -0600

I'll be starting it as I always do for the last decade or two: with a rousing rally at the Chapel Hill Post Office Peace and Justice Plaza in an attempt to remember that Dr. King made an impact because he was ready to say unpleasant things and put his whole ife on the line for a vision of community that was fierce and just and a kind of love that was strong and scary. This year is my son's first MLK Day and he will be marching along Franklin Street with us.

It's great that people have started to see MLK Day as "a day on, not a day off," and there are also wonderful volunteer opportunities around the Triangle, some of which can be found at http://www.mlkday.gov.

So how are you spending your 2010 Martin Luther King Day?

Peace and protest, justice and injustice: marking Chapel Hill's sacred space

Guest Author — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 19:34:34 -0500

[I read this entry by Chapel Hill Town Council Member Sally Greene on her blog and asked for permissionto cross-post it here. She graciously agreed. Tomorrow the Town will unveil the stone marker at Peace and Justice Plaza. =Ruby]

A little-known fact: grass used to grow around the flag pole in front of the old post office on Franklin Street. That's why those red brick pavers are there--as filler. It was only in latter times, probably since 1979 when the town purchased the property from the federal government, that the space was paved over.

Luckily for these four young men, it was grass during Holy Week in 1964 when they decided to fasten themselves to this place 24 hours a day, fasting in protest of the Town of Chapel Hill's refusal to pass a public accommodations ordinance.

Pat Cusick, LaVert Taylor, John Dunne, James Foushee (in the photo) and countless other activists will be remembered this Sunday at 3 p.m. as we unveil and formally dedicate the Peace and Justice tribute marker at the site we've named Peace and Justice Plaza.

Peace and Justice Plaza tribute

Ruby Sinreich — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 14:27:15 -0500

To celebrate the recently-named Peace and Justice Plaza (formerly known at the square in front of the downtown Post Office on Franklin Street where we always have rallies and community events) the Town and the local NAACP are having a rally today and a reception on September 20th when they formally unveil the public marker there. I'm going to try to swing by this when I get off the bus today.

From the Town of Chapel Hill's press release:

Chapel Hill and NAACP Honor Nine Community Activists on the Anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington
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New Priorities Vigil

Ruby Sinreich — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 14:45:51 -0500

Tomorrow is the FIFTH anniversary of the Iraq War! MoveOn.org is organizing vigils across the country. Here's ours...