Protestors target state budget director’s retail empire
Budget Director Art Pope.
canada goose factory sale The North canada goose parka outlet uk Carolina NAACP, canada goose factory outlet montreal Democracy NC and the Institute for Southern Studies are leading pickets throughout the state canada goose trillium uk at stores owned by Pope’s Variety Wholesalers, Inc. Protestors at Roses stores in Charlotte, Durham and Fayetteville are also being targeted. canada goose factory sale
canada goose store “We’re not boycotting the stores we’re just boycotting Art Pope’s decisions and we want him to help reverse some of the extremist laws and policies that were passed by the North Carolina General Assembly back in the 2013 session,” said S. Wayne Patterson, president of the local NAACP chapter. “We just want Art Pope to be a good neighbor. We just want Art Pope to realize that the people who support him as a businessman, he needs to support them also.” canada goose store
canada goose uk outlet The pickets are part of the months long NAACP led Forward Together Moral Movement a collaborative of more than 180 organizations that has included a series of rallies held across the state to condemn laws and budget cuts pushed through by the Republican controlled General Assembly. Organizers say the store pickets are being held to bring awareness to the connection between Pope, who was appointed by Gov. Pat McCrory as the state’s budget director in January, and the role they say he has played in the state’s “avalanche of extremist, regressive policies.” canada goose uk outlet
canada goose uk black friday Like the Maxway at Northside, many of Pope’s stores are located in low income, minority communities and many employ a high number of black employees. In a statement earlier this week, NC NAACP President Rev. Dr. William Barber II railed against Pope for using the funds he has secured from these communities to fund political candidates and policies that canada goose on black friday Barber says are ultimately designed to hurt them. canada goose uk black friday
canada goose coats “This holiday season we will be picketing to inform North Carolinians who shop at Pope owned discount stores the very people who have made Pope tremendously wealthy that he is behind the vicious public policies that adversely affect their lives,” Barber said.[pullquote]”The Forward Together Movement is letting Pope know that he cannot come for poor people’s money by day, and then use his political power to pass laws that crush their economic survival, limit their opportunities to healthcare and education, and restrict their right to vote. These untenable actions must be exposed.”[/pullquote] canada goose coats
In a letter response to Barber, Pope took exception to the group’s claims and criticized the tactics of Barber and other leaders.
“I am shocked that you and your allies would demand any public official to support your political positions by threatening a business which is not part of state government,” he cheap Canada Goose wrote. “It would be wrong for me to respond to your demands as state budget director because you are carrying out your threats against my company and our employees”
According to the NAACP, Pope “personally helped draw a set of racially discriminatory maps for new General Assembly and Congressional canada goose victoria canada goose outlet uk districts which packedAfrican American voters into a canada goose 3xl uk small number of districts, weakened their political influence in the state, and maximized Republican control.” Accounts linked to canada goose online uk Pope made up for 75 percent of spending by independent groups in NC’s 2010 state legislative races, and more than 80 percent of the candidates he backed won, the NAACP reports. The legislature Pope helped to put in office has been responsible for a bevy of cuts that hurt poor and working families, including that of earned income tax credits, unemployment benefits and Medicaid expansion, Barber https://www.baertakreation.de says.
Canada Goose Parka “Art Pope holds one of the most powerful positions in North Carolina, and is arrogantly using his influence to promote practices that are diametrically opposed to the future of hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians,” he stated. “With his refusal to reverse his regressive agenda against the very communities that line his pockets, he leaves us no choice but to vocally oppose it, day after day. His customers should know how their consumer dollars are being used against them.” Canada Goose Parka
In his letter, wherein Pope states that he is responding as president of Variety Wholesalers Inc. and not as budget director, canada goose outlet montreal Pope denied the group’s claims that he does not support voting rights and that he is bankrolling canada goose outlet sale candidates for his own political gain. Both he and Moral Movement leaders share the “common goal of alleviating poverty,” Pope said.
Canada Goose sale “In a free and small ‘d’ democratic society, every citizen should be free to support the candidates of their choice and advocate the policies they believe in, without retaliation,” he wrote. leader. She said the budget director’s actions speak far louder than his words. Canada Goose sale
buy canada goose jacket cheap “I’m sure the budget director had a lot of say so in the budget, and the budget is full of cuts to services that the poor more than anyone else utilize,” she noted. “It sounds good for the press, but I don’t believe this is the case, or his actions and deeds might be different. If that was the case, he could’ve fought against the budget, even if the governor and legislators wanted to cut funding for everything.” buy canada goose jacket cheap
uk canada goose Though Pope eluded to the fact that the protests could hurt members of the black community, many of whom have economic ties to Variety Wholesalers retailers, Sutton disagrees. uk canada goose
“We’re not boycotting his stores. We just want to educate the communities around those stores to know the facts of the owner and how he uses his money,” she remarked. on Saturday. Pat, is recognized for her commanding, soothing voice when sharing a story. Stepney has been a storyteller all of her life.
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State of Community sheds light on city’s problem areas
The City of Winston Salem has made great strides in several focus areas such as poverty and economic development since 2010, but there is still a lot of work to be done to ensure equity for all citizens.
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