FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

Identity

'A Movement Toward Greater Humanity': How Protests Around the US Are Connected

Charlotte Uprising formed in response to the fatal shooting of Keith Lamont Scott by a Charlotte police officer in September. We talked to organizer Gloria Merriweather about how the group is now advancing social justice causes not only in their city...
Photo courtesy of Gloria Merriweather

In September, when 43-year-old Keith Lamont Scott was shot and killed by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) officer Brentley Vinson, activists in Charlotte began protesting to demand justice. In the days that followed, they formed a new coalition of organizers and community members, Charlotte Uprising, as a "direct response to sustained police and vigilante violence against Black people in this city and across the country," according to their website. The group has become a force in the community, advocating not only for an end to police brutality but also on behalf of other causes, like the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's efforts to block the Dakota Access Pipeline and anti-Trump rallies and protests.

Advertisement

Twenty-four-year-old Gloria Merriweather has been an activist in the Charlotte area for about three years, campaigning, organizing, and protesting for causes that include Greenpeace, LGBTQ rights, and ending police brutality; they have protested North Carolina's anti-trans "bathroom bill," HB2, and worked with organizations like the Southeast Asian Coalition in Charlotte and the Charlotte Queer and Trans People of Color Collective. (Merriweather prefers the pronouns they/them.) It was natural that they become involved in the Charlotte Uprising movement.

We spoke with Merriweather during the Charlotte protests in September, but they and the movement have been very active since, expanding Charlotte Uprising's reach beyond the immediate needs of the protests surrounding Keith Lamont Scott's death. After the protests, Merriweather also received warrants for felony inciting a riot and misdemeanor assault on a government official or employee, and they turned themselves into the authorities. (Regarding the charges, Merriweather told Al Jazeera, "It doesn't mean I'm guilty; it means the police were hurt by what I did.") But that doesn't mean they're slowing down. We caught up with Merriweather to talk about their role as an organizer now, how Charlotte Uprising works with other social movements happening around the nation, and what they think Trump's presidency means for activists.

Read more: 'I'm Afraid for Black Lives': The Women of Color Organizing to Take Down Trump

Advertisement

BROADLY: How did you get involved with Charlotte Uprising, and what is your role as an organizer and activist?
Gloria Merriweather: I got involved with Charlotte Uprising pretty much through the nature of my role as a community organizer in Charlotte. I work toward economic and social equity for communities of color. When the police kill people, that's also when I tend to show up.

As an organizer, I serve as an entity asking for police accountability and respect for the family. I ask for transparency in what happened, and I ask what the body-cam footage is going to show.

How does Charlotte Uprising fit into the greater Black Lives Matter Movement?
I believe that Charlotte Uprising and Black Lives Matter are kind of part and parcel to one another. At the very least, we are both saying that [people of color] are humans and that our humanity ought to be recognized. I think the movement for black lives is a movement toward greater humanity. We are both saying that the system is broken when a certain community is suffering police brutality at a very, very high rate. When people continue to turn away from what is happening, I think both of our entities serve to highlight those injustices.

America was constructed through fear politics, racism, sexism, and theft. The "president-elect" seems like the perfect guy to carry such a legacy.

You're going to Standing Rock to protest the Dakota Access Pipeline, a direct threat to the reservation's only water supply. How does that tie in to the work you do in Charlotte?
I think Standing Rock and Charlotte Uprising are intrinsically linked. We talk about intersectionality—look at safe drinking water and what communities suffer the most when water isn't safe. We can look at places like Flint, Michigan, and Belmont, North Carolina, which both have a lot of poor black folks. Both had contaminated water. So when we're talking about water accessibility and the movement for black lives, Flint, Michigan, is a place that will show you exactly how those two things are tied.

Advertisement

In terms of indigenous resistance, the United States absolutely stole everything from the indigenous population [living here] and then forced another population, from an entirely different continent, to come build the nation. So the struggle of black and brown folks in this nation is forever tied to that of indigenous people.

Can you tell me about the charges that were brought against you?
These are trumped-up charges that very similar what is happening in Standing Rock. It's pretty much how the police retaliate when they do not want folks to exercise their civil rights by asking for [the police] to be held accountable.

The struggle of black and brown folks in this nation is forever tied to that of indigenous people.

How can people who aren't in Charlotte help your movement from across the country and world?
That is a multilayered question. In terms of how to get involved in Charlotte Uprising and the Movement for Black Lives, a political analysis of oneself that needs to take place. One of the greater issues we need to focus on is changing the rhetoric concerning black people and black lives. That's going to happen through a lot of conversations. I certainly encourage people to take part in some fantastic Black Lives Matter reading lists. CharlotteUprising.com also gives some really direct links you can use to plug into the work of this particular movement in Charlotte.

We would love your monetary donations, but a monetary donation that gets one person out of jail when millions are being criminalized over and over is really not the most effective way to make change. We're going to need to see a complete perspective shift societally. That's going to require a lot of education and really trusting the leadership of black folks. Even more specifically, we need to listen to trans people of color, and those people who live at very violent intersections of society. Those people can more directly see how we're being attacked, and their voices need to be heard.

For More Stories Like This, Sign Up for Our Newsletter

What's your opinion on the results of the American election, and what does a Trump presidency mean for activists?
The election is reflective of the ideologies of the American people. America was constructed through fear politics, racism, sexism, and theft. The "president-elect" seems like the perfect guy to carry such a legacy. The results mean nothing for me, personally. Folks will continue to mobilize and will continue to hold folks in power accountable.