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Thunderstorms likely this evening. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms overnight. A few storms may be severe. Low 64F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%..
Thunderstorms likely this evening. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms overnight. A few storms may be severe. Low 64F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%.
Updated: May 8, 2024 @ 6:20 pm
On what should have been their final evening of protests, grassroots organization Occupy Graham decided to continue their evening demonstrations in downtown Graham.
"We will be here until our demands are met," said Carey Griffin, one of Occupy Graham's main organizers.
Occupy Graham, which began protesting at the Court Square roundabout the day after the Jan. 6 Capitol Hill riots that resulted in the deaths of five people, had a number of demands. While some, like the removal of former president Donald Trump, has come to pass, others like the resignation of District 13 Rep. Ted Budd have yet to occur.
Budd was one of the lawmakers who voted against the certification of the presidential election. On Jan. 14, members of Occupy Graham marched to Budd's Graham office to voice their displeasure.
"Ted Budd has spoken to the newspapers, but he hasn't really addressed what happened on Jan. 6," Griffin said. "We would love to further sit down with him, possibly."
In a statement, Budd addressed what happened on the 6th.
“What I and more than 120 of my colleagues were doing on January 6th was engaging in a Constitutional process of debating issues related to the integrity of our elections," Budd said, via a spokesperson. "People are welcome to express their opinion, but I’m going to continue standing for what I believe is right.”
Another reason the group plans to continue its nightly demonstrations is what they describe as the successes they have experienced thus far.
"I think this week was effective in several ways," Griffin said. "We're continuing to build unity within our community and it feels like we have a platform. On the one hand, this was a response to Jan. 6. On the other, it's a multi-layered demonstration."
One of those layers was helping the community deal with food insecurity. About a week after they had begun their demonstrations, Occupy Graham began collecting food to supply pop-up pantries in areas throughout Alamance County.
"We collected so much food," Griffin said. "We are able to fully stock our first mobile food pantry."
Occupy Graham will continue to take donations of both food and hygiene products, like toothbrushes, at the evening demonstrations.
Griffin and other said they feel relief now that Trump is out of office, but added that institutional racism is still a part of daily life in Alamance.
"It takes a village," Griffin said of continuing the demonstrations. "At the end of the day we are empathetic. We want to move forward and we want to uplift the message of justice, equity and equality in all that we do."
This article originally appeared on Times-News: Occupy Graham to continue evening protests
