Charlotte-Area Moms Drive to Action - Charlotte Magazine

A pair of local moms lead a march on Raleigh—and, they hope, the polls

Photos by A.M. Stewart

Grace McLain and Scarlett Hollingsworth are volunteers for the North Carolina chapter of Moms Demand Action, an organization that supports stronger gun legislation. So why were they marching in downtown Raleigh on Saturday, March 2, in conjunction with the Rev. William Barber’s Poor People’s Campaign?

It was part of a planned “40 weeks of action” to spur people to vote in the November election, and also the first Moral Monday “people’s assembly” in four years. They used to be regular events in the state capital, but COVID ended them. The March 2 rally was meant to re-establish them and unite progressive advocacy groups that support a range of causes, says Amy Stewart, a Mount Holly resident and photographer. Stewart accompanied a group of about 40 from the state capitol to the General Assembly building, where Barber and others spoke.

“I think it’s very important that we talk about gun violence prevention. It concerns my family and everyone else’s,” says Stewart, a 41-year-old mother of three school-age children. Stewart says she wants to “see and elevate stories of women who are trying to create real change.”