December 07, 2013

Picket on Monday, December 9th

Dear Democracy Advocates,

Art Pope, owner of the Roses and Maxway stores and Gov. McCrory’s Budget Director, is the poster child of what one extremely wealthy individual can do to twist an entire state’s public policy in a racially divisive, ultra-conservative direction. Read more here.

Worse, Pope literally depends on the black community to finance his political operation; African-American shoppers at his stores supply a large share of his income, which he then uses to promote policies that keep them too poor to shop elsewhere. In reality, he’s a poverty creator more than a job creator. See our new handout here.

Many of his workers are also trapped – they’re paid less than a living wage, with few benefits, and they wind up relying on public assistance to support their families. In reality, Pope’s business is heavily subsidized by government funds, yet he uses his profits to promote an elitist, anti-government agenda – against voting rights, against public education, against campaign reform.

That’s why Democracy North Carolina is joining the NAACP and other members of the Forward Together Movement to coordinate educational pickets near Pope-owned stores (Roses, Maxway, etc.) across the state during the Holiday Season.

Organize or Attend a Picket Near You

Check out the list of planned pickets below and RSVP to let us know which picket you hope to attend. We can then follow up with more details.

If you don’t see an event near you on the list below, then organize one yourself! Let us know if you are interested and we will send you a local organizer’s kit and help with local media outreach and publicity.

REMEMBER: We are not calling for a boycott of Pope-owned stores at this time. These are informational pickets only!

Upcoming Educational Pickets (partial list)

Monday 12/9: Durham (4pm)
Wednesday 12/11: Charlotte (11am)
Friday 12/13: Goldsboro
Saturday 12/14: Winston-Salem (11am), Fayetteville (1pm), and Belmont (12 noon)

Onward,