Scores of retired 1199ers from North and South Carolina joined tens of thousands of people February 8 in Raleigh, North Carolina, to protest the far-right policies of the state’s Republican government.

The "Moral March" was an outgrowth of last year’s "Moral Mondays" protests, 13 weeks of actions against the Republican assault on workers, the poor, the unemployed, voting rights, education, the environment, healthcare and women’s rights. During last year’s Moral Mondays, close to 1,000 demonstrators – including 1199ers – were arrested for acts of civil disobedience.

The march commemorated the 54th anniversary of student anti-segregation sit-ins and the eighth anniversary of the Historic Thousands on Jones St. (HKonJ) People's Assembly, a coalition of some 150 organizations.

“It was the largest demonstration I’ve ever seen in the South,” said Clifton Broady, an 1199SEIU retiree who brought three busloads of retirees and others from Rockingham, North Carolina. Another two buses made the trip from South Carolina. 1199SEIU President George Gresham led a delegation from New York.

“If we had more time, we could have filled even more buses,” said Broady. “People are beginning to understand the evils of the anti-labor right-to-work laws and the benefits of having a union. They see that we 1199ers have pensions, healthcare insurance, a secure retirement and other benefits that non-union workers don’t have. They also see that we have a culture of fighting for working people and against discrimination.”Broady was inspired by the diversity of the marchers. “This not just a movement of Black people. It’s people of all races and all ages,” he noted. He said that he and others also were inspired by the words of the Rev. William Barber, president of the North Carolina NAACP and the leader of the Moral Monday movement.

“This Moral March inaugurates a fresh year of grassroots empowerment, voter education, litigation and non-violent direct action,” Rev. Barber said at the rally. He warned that what is happening in North Carolina is a reflection of what is happening across the U.S. He noted that Moral Monday spinoffs have begun in South Carolina and Georgia.

“Rev. Barber gave us a history lesson,” Broady said. I’ve never seen him better. He seemed to gain strength from the size of the crowd.”

Broady said that on the way back to Rockingham after the march, the participants were moved by the day’s events. “Those who had been active before were reinforced and those who were participating for the first time said they were enlightened.”

At the end of the Raleigh rally, the marchers representing different races, ethnic groups, ages and movements, joined hands and sang “We Shall Overcome.”