What is RACE TO THE BALLOT?
Over a five-week period, from January 27, to March 2, 2012, Protect NC Families Communications Director Jen Jones, trailed by a team of campaign organizers, social media street teams, and documentarians, will run 322 miles across the state of North Carolina, from the mountains of Asheville, N.C., to the coastal city of Wilmington, N.C., to raise awareness about the harms of the Amendment. Along the way, the RACE team will stop at designated voter registration events on major college campuses, spotlight the state’s most enlightened employers, shed light on important historical human rights perspectives, stay late with lock-ins among the state’s many fair-minded faith communities, and, in the process, kick-off a campaign goal to have “1 Million Conversations” with North Carolinians about the impacts of this discriminatory measure. The RACE team will also capture the entire experience, traveling with filmmakers prepared to film, edit, and upload RACE stories—in real time—to provide the full participatory experience, allowing the state, the nation and the world to RACE “with the campaign.”
Students and non-students alike can interact with RACE TO THE BALLOT via an unprecedented array of social media resources, including live tweets @racetotheballot, posts and sharing at facebook.com/racetotheballot, RACE’s location check-ins via FourSquare, and photo updates on Instagram. The RACE YouTube account will also be updated nightly with a video diary of the day’s events, as well as regional digests from the road. Less an organized race, more a RACE to organize the electorate, this campaign will be a never-before-seen step in highlighting one state’s work, focus and collective fight to turn the tide of discrimination in the South and beyond.
RACE TO THE BALLOT | RACE STOPS
Friday, January 27, 2012
Sylva & Cullowhee, N.C. | Western Carolina University (college kick-off)
In the RACE to the Ballot college kick-off, we’ll highlight the amazing anti-amendment work of Western Carolina University’s own LGBT student group, UNITY, with a day-long, on-campus voter registration drive capped with a night of UNITY-sponsored activities.
- WATCH VIDEO "Meet the Team"
- WATCH VIDEO "First Night With The Kirbys"
- WATCH VIDEO "Marilyn Jody, Professor Emeritus, Western Carolina"
- WATCH VIDEO "Western Carolina Voter Registration"
- WATCH VIDEO "Chris Wilcox, Owner, City Lights Bookstore"
- WATCH VIDEO "Martin Adams, Manager, Soul Infusion Tea House & Bistro"
Saturday-Sunday, January 28-29, 2012
Asheville, N.C.| RACE TO THE BALLOT launch event
Following a night in Jackson County, we’ll head to Asheville, N.C. for a day-long voter registration drive with students from UNC-Asheville and Warren Wilson, events with local coalition partners, followed by an evening anti-amendment fundraiser as well as awesome concert events.
- WATCH VIDEO "Is Jen Jones Ready to Race?"
- WATCH VIDEO "First Night in First Congregational UCC, Asheville, NC"
- WATCH VIDEO "Day One Run"
- WATCH VIDEO "Rev. Joe Hoffman on Amendment One"
- WATCH VIDEO "Rev. Shannon Spencer's Sermon"
Monday, January 30, 2012
Bakersville, N.C. | Mitchell County GSA Town Hall Meeting
This panel discussion and town hall meeting will provide a unique opportunity for discussion about Amendment One. Panelists include representatives from Equality NC, The People's Alliance for American Liberty in Boone, N.C., The Campaign for Southern Equality, the Mitchell County Gay Straight Alliance, and local faith leadership. Residents of Mitchell County and surrounding areas are invited to attend and participate in this moderated discussion welcoming all who want to learn more about Amendment One.
- WATCH VIDEO "Running Through Bakersville"
- WATCH VIDEO "Ice Bath Misery"
- WATCH VIDEO "Bakersville Town Hall Meeting"
Wednesday-Thursday, February 1-2, 2012
Arrive in Boone, N.C.
The RACE team arrives in beautiful Boone, N.C., to awaiting students from Appalachian State University as we capture the amazing work of local groups such as The People’s Alliance for American Liberty, an anti-amendment political action committee, largely run by college undergraduates teamed with local politicians.
- WATCH VIDEO "Running the Blue Ridge Parkway"
- WATCH VIDEO "Vote Against Comes to Appalachian State"
- WATCH VIDEO "Storming Downtown Boone"
- WATCH VIDEO "Hospital Visitation Harms, Boone, NC"
- WATCH VIDEO "Boone Mayor Loretta Clawson Opposes Amendment One"
- WATCH VIDEO "Amendment One Fails "the Justice Test"
Friday, February 3, 2012
Taylorsville, N.C.
Next we trek to Taylorsville, rural home to the multi-million-dollar home furnishings force Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams. Here we highlight the amazing financial infusions to the North Carolina economy from openly-gay business leader Mitchell Gold, and the enlightened employment practices that make this furniture-maker famous.
Saturday-Sunday, February 4 & 5, 2012
Hickory, N.C.
Hickory, N.C., is a welcome next stop on the RACE to the Ballot tour, as we head into town with NPR reporter John Biewen to speak with local community and faith leaders who've taken a strong stand against Amendment One. While in Hickory, we “focus on the family,” with visits to Hickory’s very active PFLAG chapter as well as a visit with the organization OUTright Youth of Catawba Valley during their inaugural fundraiser honoring local leader Mitchell Gold.
- WATCH VIDEO "Making it Rain in Hickory"
- WATCH VIDEO "Rev. Dr. T. Anthony Spearman Puts Faith Into Action Against Amendment"
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Shelby/Boiling Springs, N.C.
Next up we head down to Gardner-Webb University, a private, Christian, Baptist-affiliated university, where we’ll address faith concerns about the amendment. While there, we’ll host a panel discussion with coalition partner Neighbors for Equality, an anti-amendment group formed from students of Gardner-Webb as well as concerned community members in the hamlet of Boiling Springs.
- WATCH VIDEO "RACE-ing Through Gardner Webb"
- WATCH VIDEO "In a Nutshell: Why Should I Vote Against Amendment One?"
- WATCH VIDEO "It's Fun to RACE at the YMCA, Shelby, NC"
- WATCH VIDEO "Brewing Business Harms of Amendment One, Shelby, NC"
- WATCH VIDEO "Fighting Amendment One With Neighbors for Equality's Tyler McCall"
- WATCH VIDEO "Professor Dale Guffy, Shelby, NC, Talks Amendment One Harms to her Community"
- WATCH VIDEO "Shelby Town Hall Meeting"
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Davidson, N.C. to Charlotte, N.C.
Join us on the campus of Davidson College as we begin our trek to the Queen City for the first of three nights of events designed to educate Charlottteans and the surrounding citizenry about the harms of Amendment One.
- WATCH VIDEO " Jennifer Roberts, Commissioner at Large, Mecklenburg County Talks Amendment One Harms"
- WATCH VIDEO "Day 15: Davidson, Charlotte, and LaWana Mayfield
Friday February 10, 2012
Charlotte, N.C.
We begin a two-day stand in Charlotte educating Queen City voters about the harms of Amendment One. Following the recent NC Episcopal Diocese resolution opposing Amendment One, Bishop Gene Robinson, the country's first openly-gay ordained Bishop in a major Christian Denomination, joins the RACE to the Ballot tour for a discussion of Amendment One and the screening of his all-new film, fresh from Sundance, "Love Free or Die."
- WATCH VIDEO "Johnson & Wales Rally"
- WATCH VIDEO "Bishop Gene Robinson on Amendment One"
- WATCH VIDEO "Travel Blessings from Charlotte's Temple Beth El"
Saturday February 11, 2012
Raleigh, N.C. | HKonJ March
On Saturday morning, February 11, we’ll suspend the regular RACE route for a day and head up to Raleigh for the annual Historic Thousands on Jones Street (or “HKonJ”) march, in which we’ll join with coalition partner, the NAACP-NC, to celebrate the diversity of our anti-amendment cause. All fair-minded folks are encouraged to attend this unprecedented march to defeat the Amendment.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Charlotte, N.C.
Think Amendment One won't strip protections from North Carolinians and tarnish the state's reputation? Think again. Join our RACE TO THE BALLOT for a panel discussion and Q&A ("On the Harms of an Amendment") from Charlotte, N.C.'s own Unity Fellowship Church and the Freedom Center for Social Justice on the harms of these types of discriminatory measures from the states that know it best. Leaders from state equality groups from across the south participate in a discussion of how the consideration and/or passage of similar legislation hurt their own home states alongside national PFLAG representatives sharing harms to U.S. families caused by amendments like the one North Carolina faces on May 8.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Salisbury, N.C.
In Salisbury, RACE to the Ballot will be running downtown, having conversations with local citizenry about Amendment One. The RACE culminates on the campus of Catawba College, where Catawba GSA members will be doing voter registration and education. At 2 pm, there will be a public town hall meeting at the Tom Smith Auditorium with speakers from Protect NC Families, the faith community and other citizens of Rowan County. Afterwards, the panelists will entertain questions from the audience. The night caps with a fundraiser full of Salisbury supporters of the fight against Amendment One, beginning at 6 pm.
- WATCH VIDEO "PFLAG Parent Mike Clawson on the Harms of Amendment One"
- WATCH VIDEO "Day 18: RACE-ing in Salisbury"
- WATCH VIDEO "Catawba College Amendment One Town Hall Meeting"
- WATCH VIDEO "Linda Stroupe, Southeast Regional Dir., PFLAG on Amendment One"
Monday, February 13, 2012
Winston-Salem, N.C.
Winston-Salem, the next stop on the RACE, is home to many colleges and universities. Winston-Salem is also home to an active PFLAG chapter and multiple faith communities that are excited to have the RACE in their “City of the Arts.” We have two spectacular events lined up for our Winston-Salem friends!
- WATCH VIDEO "Day 19: Salem College Rally Against Amendment One"
- WATCH VIDEO "Winston Salem Students Pledge to Vote AGAINST Amendment One"
Tuesday February 14, 2012
Greensboro, N.C. | Valentine’s Day
RACE to the Ballot stops in the heart of the state on Valentine's Day, for an evening of events designed to win hearts and minds on the harms of Amendment One. Make defeating this discriminatory measure a part of your night's plans.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Greensboro N.C. to Elon, N.C.
After a day-long voter registration drive, Elon University opens its doors for a night of amazing A Capella action and anti-Amendment One activism.
- WATCH VIDEO "Bob Page Addresses the Impact of Amendment One"
- WATCH VIDEO "Day 21: Replacements Ltd. on Amendment One"
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Chapel Hill, N.C.
RACE TO THE BALLOT begins its three-day tour of the Triangle region with events on the campus of UNC-Chapel Hill and beyond, including Vote Against photoshoots, bands, voter regsitration, fundraisers, and rally runs.
- WATCH VIDEO "Day 22: UNC - Amendment One: The Musical 'Flash Mob'"
- WATCH VIDEO "Carrboro Business Owner Talks About Amendment One Impact on Students"
- WATCH VIDEO "Local Business Owner Margot Lester Outlines the Economic Harms of Amendment One"
Friday, February 17, 2012
Durham, N.C.
In our "Running of the Bulls" event, RACE to the Ballot takes Durham, N.C., by storm on Friday, February 17, with day (and night)-long campus and community Bull Fight 2012 events designed to draw attention to the Bull City's collective efforts to defeat Amendment One.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Raleigh, N.C.
RACE TO THE BALLOT quite literally rolls into our capital city with day-long events designed to engage both campus and community--and even the Carolina Rollerg Girls--on the harms of Amendment One!
- WATCH VIDEO "Day 24: Nine Events in Nine Hours in Raleigh"
- WATCH VIDEO "NCSU Students Speak at Wake County Commissioners Meeting"
- WATCH VIDEO "Wake County Student Addresses Board of Commissioners on Amendment"
Sunday-Monday, February 19-20, 2012
Oxford, N.C. to Drewry, N.C.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Rocky Mount, N.C.
Rocky Mount opens its arms to RACE TO THE BALLOT for an evening discussion and community Q&A about the harms of Amendment One.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Elizabeth City, N.C.
We head far East to Elizabeth City to check in with students and advisor at Elizabeth CIty State University about mobilizing student groups against Amendment One harms.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Greenville, N.C.
Following a day of voter registration and education, Equality NC, the Coalition to Protect NC Families, and the East Carolina GLBT Student Union are hosting an event February 23rd to oppose Amendment One. As you know, this amendment is detrimental to students, faculty, staff, and East Carolina University as an institution. Therefore, we want to invite everyone to the event! It will be held in Wright Auditorium on February 23rd. The event will start at 7pm and is completely free to everyone; community members are also welcome.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Fayetteville, N.C.
- WATCH VIDEO "N.C. Senator Eric Mansfield on Amendment One"
- WATCH VIDEO "Day 29: Storming Through Fayetteville, NC"
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Charlotte | HRC Gala & NC Baptists Against Amendment One
- WATCH VIDEO "Toe Triage"
- WATCH VIDEO "NC Baptists Against Amendment One"
- WATCH VIDEO "Amendment One Falsehoods (Business)"
- WATCH VIDEO "Amendment One Falsehoods (Constitution)"
- WATCH VIDEO "Amendment One Falsehoods (Impact)"
- WATCH VIDEO "Amendment One Falsehoods (Faith)"
- WATCH VIDEO "Amendment One Falsehoods (Impact to Marriage)"
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Pinehurst, N.C.
The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Sandhills, in partnership with the UU Congregation of Fayetteville, will screen “Choosing Absalon” and “Marriage Equality: Byron Rushing and the Fight for Fairness” (27 minutes and 15 minutes, respectively) on Sunday, February 26 at 7 p.m. at the Whispering Pines Community Building, 1320 Ray’s Bridge Road, Whispering Pines. An open discussion will follow with a focus on exploring the impact and consequences (intended and unintended) that would result should the proposed Constitutional Amendment be passed by the voters on May 8 of this year.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Morehead City, N.C.
In Morehead City, RACE TO THE BALLOT caught up with coastal citizens concerned about Amendment One's potential harms to domestic violence laws in NC.
Wednesday-Thursday, Feb. 29-March 1, 2012
Final Long Run to Wilmington, N.C.
Friday, March 2, 2012
Arrive in Wilmington, N.C. | RACE FINALE
