Graham will be one of two venues for a pair of Halloween-weekend protests organizers hope will break attendance records.
This is according to Rev. Gregory Drumwright, who is one of the primary organizers of the I Am Change Legacy March to the Polls. On Wednesday, Drumwright held a press conference on the steps of the Alamance County Courthouse to give details about the upcoming event.
"Let me tell you why we have chosen the courthouse steps to announce our march,” Drumwright said, before referring to a recent court case, spearheaded by local activists and NAACP members, that allows demonstrations on the steps of the courthouse. “A few weeks ago we couldn’t stand here. A few weeks ago we were not welcome to stand on this public property.”
I Am Change is a two-day event, first in Greensboro on Oct. 30 and again at 11 a.m. Oct. 31 in Graham.
Billed as one part demonstration and one part get-out-the-vote initiative, Drumwright compared his expectations for “I Am Change” to another mass protest that occurred July 11.
“Alamance County has been the source of state, local and national attention around the advocacy work of many organizations that are relentless in our pursuit of change right here in Graham, North Carolina,” Drumwright said to the crowd Wednesday. “As many of you may recall, our organization Justice for the Next Generation convened the Alamance/Burlington March for Unity and Justice on July 11, which made history, right here.”
During that July protest, a little over 1,000 people occupied the courthouse grounds, which led to many arrests. This time around, Drumwright urged law enforcement officials to not only be less prone to make arrests but to join in on the march.
"This is a non-partisan march,” Drumwright said. “This march is encouraging people to go to the polls and vote for change. As a matter of fact there are candidates who have already expressed their support for change in Graham.”
Drumwright touched on the symbolism behind the march.
“We are going to march down these streets with Skittles in our hand, in honor of Trayvon Martin. We are going to march down these streets with hoodies on our head. We are going to march down these streets with George Floyd’s name on our back.”
Quenclyn Ellison, an official of local group Alamance Alliance for Justice, expressed her support for the event and Drumwright’s advocacy within the town. Ellison said, with Drumwright’s help, her organization has managed to collaborate with a number of like-minded groups.
“We’ve worked with Forward Motion Alamance, Down Home, People for Change, those have been some great organization to help build what we are trying to do here in Graham and what we are trying to do is push change,” Ellison said, adding that oftentimes she and her people go unheard from local and county officials. “How can the constituents of this county talk to you about how we feel if we are being oppressed? So it’s important for you guys to want to be part of this change.”
Pastor Dwayne Griffin of Morgantown Baptist Church echoed Ellison’s sentiments.
“We are here in support, we are here in prayer and change will take place,” Griffin said. “We are here to let the world know that, in the words of the Great Muhammad Ali … ‘I shook up the world.’ After Nov. 3, after the ballots have been cast, we can stand and say, in unity, we shook up the world.”