Hundreds of partners mobilize for NAACP's Moral March

RALEIGH, NC (WTVD) -- Saturday's Moral March through the streets of downtown Raleigh involved the thousands predicted by organizers every year. The left-leaning crowd of HK on J (Historic Thousands on Jones Street) supporters included people of many ages, genders and ethnic origins.

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Faisal Khan of the Carolina Peace Center told ABC11, "I think solidarity is really important. Communities of all backgrounds and all colors, religions, and no-religions, coming together."

They have an answer for people who wonder why the annual demonstration is so important to so many people that they bring signs and march on a gray, occasionally rainy weekend morning.

Stella Kirkendale of the Raging Grannies laughed when we asked her, and responded: "Why is it not important? Everything, our future, depends on it."

The marchers say they're pushing back against policies and views championed by the conservative Republicans who control Congress as well as the North Carolina General Assembly.

More than 200 partners call the march and rally part of their fight against what they call "extremist legislation from Jones Street."

The event is the first one not led by the Rev. William Barber.

On Friday the North Carolina NAACP's new president, the Rev. T. Anthony Spearman, said his message will not be to members of the General Assembly.

"My message is to the people that I am going to be speaking to and that message is, take your resistance to the ballot box and let's vote these individuals into oblivion. Let's vote them out of office. Let's vote them into retirement," Spearman said.

The next day a huge crowd marched down Fayetteville Street to the state capitol building. Organizers also arranged a live stream for those who could not travel to participate in the rally.

But while thousands filled the streets leading to the capitol, a truck displaying "Stop Insanity America" with other graphic messages criticizing gay people circled the blocks around the demonstration.

Some participants pointed to the truck and laughed, others ignored it. Then, as the demonstration began to wind down, some in the crowd prepared to take their message of resistance back to their communities across the state.

"My name's Samara," said one marcher, "and I'm a voter! "We're gonna be voting a lot of people out of office in November! They'd better listen to us 'cause there's power to the polls, and we're ready for them!"