Dine Out for Democracy kicks off event for new nonprofit in Asheville

From Just Us United:

Across the state this week and next, concerned citizens will be gathering at one of 8 events across NC to support the newly formed organization, Just Us United. The organization was formed in early September by concerned citizens and committed organizers. These individuals were inspired by the Moral Monday movement to put our state back on the right track. Just Us United is a nonprofit dedicated to fighting for the policies that support North Carolina families. We are organizing in communities that are often overlooked to make sure our schools are fully funded, affordable health care is accessible, safe energy alternatives are promoted, tax reform benefits the middle class, and divisive social politics are a thing of the past.

Rev. William Barber and the Moral Monday movement have shown the resistance that prevails in our communities to the divisive tactics and failed objectives of the NC legislature. We want to pick up the torch and turn the energy this movement fostered into direct action. Formed by experienced organizers and concerned citizens, we are reaching out to communities often ignored by progressive organizations, using time-tested organizing techniques to ensure our capability to build community, advocate for justice, and win elections. Our focus on regions that are often overlooked by mainstream organizations, our skills in community and election organizing, and our focus on issues that unite North Carolina’s “silent majority” make us the ideal candidate for promoting change in these dark times.

To kick-off the work we are doing in North Carolina, Just Us United has organized 8 events throughout the state. One of these events is Dine Out for Democracy, coming up in Asheville, NC on October 26^th. Local restaurants will be donating a percentage of their proceeds to support Just Us United’s work in the Asheville community. Our main event will be held at the Westville Pub in West Asheville. Our organizers and board members will gather there to hold an informal presentation. There will be live music and tables set up with information about Just Us United. We would like to invite the Asheville community to join us for these events.

BACKGROUND

• Just Us United believes North Carolina has strayed down the path of extremism. Our public school system, once the envy of the south has been slashed with massive cuts to teaching assistants, cuts in school funding, and cuts to teacher pay. Over the strong objections of rural communities, this legislature supports the invasive, dangerous fracking scheme, while refusing to hold Duke Energy accountable for the coal ash spills and repealing important tax credits for alternative energy. They refused to accept the federal money to expand Medicaid, leaving hundreds of thousands of North Carolina families without access to health care, shuttering our hospitals, and blowing our budget out of the water. In addition, while they preached “tax reform,” this legislature has increased taxes on 80% of NC families, repealing the Earned Income Tax Credit and Tax Free Weekend, increasing sales taxes and fees, and slashing important investments in infrastructure, including unemployment, infrastructure, education, and health care.

• This extremism was done to effect a “Carolina Comeback,” spurring economic growth in the Old North State. This project has catastrophically failed. Job growth is anemic, wages are stagnant, new businesses are reluctant to relocate here, and poverty is as terribly debilitating as ever. Businesses are understandably reluctant to move here; the entire McCrory program is the antithesis of what a corporation would want to relocate. Cuts to education indicate a poorly trained workforce; cuts to Medicaid put employers on the hook for employee health insurance; cuts to infrastructure mean higher costs of doing business; lower standards of living mean a less secure customer base. McCrory and his gang have acted in exactly the fashion you would want, if you wanted to drive business from your state and worsen the quality of life of your citizens.

• In an attempt to redirect attention from these failures, the NC legislature has attempted to divide North Carolinians over contentious issues. The Raleigh gang supports frivolous lawsuits over marriage equality and unconstitutional “personal conscience” laws that allow county clerks to defy the law whenever it suits them. They passed radical restrictions to women’s health, mirroring the extremist legislation from Texas, intended to keep women from necessary medical services. They supported among the most restrictive voter suppression laws we’ve seen in the United States; and in case this wasn’t enough, they redrew our districts to attempt to ensure a permanent stronghold.

• Please check out our website: www.justusunited.org or our facebook for more information