BY TODD SCOTT

Several members of the Statesville Branch NAACP attended the National Call for Moral Revival at the State Legislature Building ln Raleigh on Saturday.

Led by Rev. William Barber II, the event drew about 5,000 people. Different speakers demanded action on important issues like poverty and healthcare. They shared real stories about people who work hard all day, sleep for a little while in their car and then go to another job.

North Carolina workers deserve a livable wage. Members of the U.S. House of Representatives are paid $174,000 annually and receive free health insurance. Meanwhile, the minimum wage in North Carolina remains $7.25 an hour. (This has not changed since 2009.) That adds up to $15,080 a year. You cannot afford a place to live on that. And what if you need childcare?

During Saturday’s event, Frank Johnson and I carried a coffin representing all of the poor people who have died due to poverty. The names of these North Carolinians were read aloud and participants observed a moment of silence in their honor.

North Carolina is home to nearly 3.5 million poor and low-income eligible voters who make up 41.45 percent of the electorate. We won’t be silent anymore. The minimum wage should be no less than $15 an hour.

We have the power to change in North Carolina if 18 percent of poor people would vote.

There are many obstacles to full Democratic Participation, including:

• The Supreme Court gutting the Voting Rights Act in 2023 and the Senate blocking a bill to restore these rights by two-vote margin in 2022; and

• Between 2020 and 2023, North Carolina lawmakers introduced 22 bills to restrict voter access

Also, political campaigns rarely speak to the issues impacting poor and low-income voters. Some 4 million workers in our state do not have paid leave.

This movement for change is a resurrection and not an insurrection. Our votes matter. We are coming, North Carolina!

Todd Scott is the president of the Statesville Branch NAACP.

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