Happy Insurrection Day?

The progress that small town organizers are making in rural NC.

In 2020, local activists in Graham, NC projected messages onto the Confederate monument in front of the local courthouse. Local community members have been increasing their presence and their vocal opposition to the local sheriff, county commission, and other seats of power in the county over recent years. Photo by Devin Ceartas.

Observations written by Devin Ceartas.

How did you celebrate the failed coup? I believe there were some other rallies throughout North Carolina and I heard there may be a right-wing rally in Durham this weekend, though I don’t know the details.

I attended a small rally from 6:00 to 6:30 PM in Graham, NC. Graham is a small town in a rural county that has seen significant far-right backlash to a changing community. Over the last few years, Black Lives Matter protests and protests against the town’s Confederate statue have been met with large counter-protests of neo-Confederates yelling racial slurs and flying their flags. But no one at all showed up to counter the small pro-democracy rally and the reaction from passing cars was surprisingly even. Even the neo-Confederate locals who went to the Stop the Steal rally last year were surprisingly absent from downtown that day.

Pro-democracy protestors in downtown Graham on January 6, 2022. Photo by Devin Ceartas.

Someone in a sheriff’s car drove by at least three times to keep an eye on us, but compared to the reality a couple of years ago a student of recent history could really see the difference.

In Graham, the room for political expression has been opened significantly by the hard work and sacrifices so many dedicated activists and organizers have made in recent years in this town, the county seat of Alamance County.

What we have achieved, in making a peaceful impromptu rally of this sort possible in Graham, where it had been literally illegal to gather two or more people without a permit, does bring me hope. I support further efforts to make sure everyone with progressive politics can express their views here or anywhere, no matter how small, rural, and conservative a place may seem to be. Graham is evidence that pushing back against the Confederate flag-waving thugs and racist good-ole-boy cops creates space and I think it’s an important part of the recipe for bringing liberation to those who live there. Where it happens, the life of the town adjusts and I believe the potential for political violence is lessened.

So what do we make of the lay of the land on Jan 6th, one year out from the events at the Capital? I hear from those who know that the far-right continues to organize in rural communities throughout NC. The “big lie” has been kept alive in many people’s minds through propaganda and political fundraising far longer than election news normally stays in the news cycle. We can be fairly certain that within a year or two there will be further incidents of political violence in the US. What it means to me and what I do about it, well, that depends.

When violence does pop up, I intend to pay close attention to who is being targeted. It’s not my role as a grassroots organizer and support person to put my body in between the insurrectionists and the federal or state government, in most cases. I’m glad the people I know were not in DC last year and I don’t believe our presence would have done much other than get ourselves hurt. But I know the coalition of people who make up these insurrectionist crowds, and I know what their agenda is. I do think community safety organizing has a role to play when people in our neighborhoods and towns are threatened with anti-Black, anti-Immigrant, anti-Jewish, anti-Asian, and other forms of targeted violence.

Alamance County residents have been organizing against Sheriff Terry Johnson, the unpopular sheriff who has held uncontested power in the county for years. Johnson came under national scrutiny first for racist practices targeting immigrants and people of color, and later for his role in the violent attack on a March to the Polls days before the 2020 election. Photo by Devin Ceartas.

Where the focus of hate falls changes over time; right now good people in both Orange and Alamance Counties (and elsewhere in rural NC) are deciding not to run again as incumbent school board members, after what they have been put through this past year. This is unfortunate; not only do we lose sane voices where critical decisions are being made, but we all know letting bullies win encourages them to get worse. I hope all the people concerned about ensuring the safety of our kids and the diversity (and honesty) of their education will not only vote, donate to candidates, door knock, etc, but also contribute energy and resources to keeping the school board members they care about, and their families, protected as much as possible.

It is clear to me that the state’s political and law enforcement resources are not being (and will not be) used adequately to give these people the sense of safety they need to take on these roles. The community needs to be ready to step up and confront the violence where it occurs.

A version of this essay can be found here.

Devin Ceartas is a anti-racist activist, community member, and writer in North Carolina. You can find more of his writing and thoughts here.

Devin also organizes Triangle Mutual Aid. Learn more here.