Advocacy and lobbying at the legislature: ‘The real difference begins with you’
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Advocacy groups lobbied at the General Assembly for specific bills.
- Students lobbied for social media privacy reforms, citing mental health harms.
- Divine 9 advocated preserving democracy and expanding health and education equity.
Good morning, and welcome to your Under the Dome newsletter, brought to you by legislative and lobbying reporter Esther Frances.
On Wednesday, two advocacy groups — the Young People’s Alliance and the North Carolina Black Alliance — descended on the General Assembly to lobby for bills important to them.
The legislative session starts April 21.
Lawmakers hear from Black fraternities and sororities
Members of Black fraternities and sororities such as Alpha Kappa Alpha and Phi Beta Sigma gathered on Halifax Mall for the North Carolina Black Alliance’s annual Divine 9 NC Legislative Day, which featured guest speakers and the chance for members to engage with lawmakers.
The Divine 9 refers to the nine historically Black fraternities and sororities that make up the National Pan-Hellenic Council.
The theme of Wednesday’s legislative day was “Forging our Future Together: Mobilizing for Maximum Impact.” Divine 9 members said they were advocating for policies that preserve democracy, expand access to health care and increase equity in education.
Among the guest speakers were former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls and North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein.
In his remarks, Stein quoted the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and told the crowd that everyone must believe “a stronger state and more perfect union is possible.”
“If you work hard, where you come from should never limit how far you can go. That is the promise of North Carolina, and delivering on that promise is what drives me as your governor, just as I know it drives so many of you in your daily lives,” he said. “We must deliver by keeping an audacious faith.”
Jermaine Kearney, a member of the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity, delivered the closing call to action.
“Today, I stand before you and I declare you matter. We matter,” he said. “The difference, the real difference, begins with you. Not next year, not when you feel ready, not when someone gives you permission, but now.”
Lobbying on social media privacy
Also on Wednesday, students from high schools and colleges in North Carolina spoke with lawmakers and their staffers about bills targeting social media privacy and affordable housing opportunities.
The Young People’s Alliance is a nonpartisan advocacy organization working to represent the interest of youth in policy. Lobby Day was part of the organization’s Declaration for a New American Dream campaign, which is mobilizing students across campuses nationwide around issues like affordability and accountability, according to the organization.
Five students met with Rep. Zack Hawkins, a Democrat representing District 31. The district includes a portion of Durham.
They discussed House Bill 860, which would require social media platforms to get consent from users to collect personal data and would prohibit using data from users younger than 18 years old in algorithmic recommendation systems. Hawkins is a co-sponsor.
The students talked about how social media can negatively affect mental health and body image.
Briana Harmon, a senior at Davidson College, gave an example of how she searched for workout routines on the app TikTok and wound up with videos of dieting and ways to “make yourself skinnier.”
She said young people are “continuously relying on social media for information more and more.”
“I think the issue is that we don’t know if it’s right or wrong, especially if we’re not specialists,” Harmon said.
Hawkins said he never had to compare himself to people living across the world when he was growing up in an analog world.
“You only had what you saw on MTV, but it’s different,” he said. “Not only who they are, how they look and how they dress, but also the lifestyle that people portray.”
What the politics team has been working on
Here are some headlines from throughout the week.
- Senate candidate Roy Cooper promises to lower costs at rally in Durham
- Senate candidate Michael Whatley says US must prevent Iran nuclear capacity
- Lawsuit over Trump’s new tariffs goes to court. NC’s attorney general signed on.
- ‘Huge celebration’ in NC for Fourth of July with Raleigh parade, America250 events
- What NC’s members of Congress said as Trump threatened to destroy Iran
- Two top NC lawmakers push back on council recommendation to legalize marijuana
- How 3 very different advocacy groups agreed on a challenge to NC’s gun law
- NC AG Jackson joins lawsuit challenging Trump’s mail-in voting restrictions
- Former UNC provost sued Board of Trustees over secrecy. Now, the case is settled
Thanks for reading Under the Dome
That’s all for now! Have a great weekend. We’ll see you right back here on Sunday.
- Ideas or feedback about our Under the Dome newsletter? Email our politics team at dome@newsobserver.com.
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- And learn more about issues facing North Carolina colleges and universities by subscribing to Higher Stakes, a weekly higher education newsletter from reporter Jane Winik Sartwell.
