Feb. 21, 2002, marks 11 years since the tragic murder of Chapel Hill activist Bob Sheldon. The political environment of over a decade ago bears some uncanny and unsettling resemblance to that of the present.
In 1991, while President Bush and the United States were engaging a Middle Eastern country in war, Sheldon and other Triangle-area activists were in the midst of organizing a peace movement through a series of teach-ins, vigils and marches.
On Thursday, Feb. 21, 1991, someone walked into the Internationalist Bookstore in its previous location on Rosemary Street, shot Bob Sheldon and walked out. The culprit was never found.
This Thursday, Feb. 21, we find ourselves in many similar positions. Again we have a Bush as "president," and the United States is engaging in combat against Islamic people. Again, peace and anti-racist actions are occurring on practically a daily basis throughout the Triangle. The success of Internationalist Books & Community Center, founded by Sheldon in 1981, is one such testimonial to Bob's activism.
The Internationalist may have seemed doomed after Sheldon's death, but a group of his friends got together and converted the store into a collective space for community resources and literature to promote social justice.
The collective has consistently supplied the community with a wide spectrum of resources, brought dozens of progressive authors and activists to speak, co-sponsored countless awareness campaigns and events and served as a hub for grassroots activity. This past December, the Internationalist made history as one of a small handful of bookstore/community centers in the United States to receive 501c3 nonprofit status from the IRS.
The loss of Bob Sheldon is still felt across the community, as well as his contribution. Friends of Bob Sheldon, supporters of Internationalist Books & Community Center, advocates of the movement for peace and social and economic justice, let us not forget the efforts of Sheldon and others in our struggle for freedom for all.
Those who wish to remember and celebrate Bob's legacy can meet at Internationalist Books, 405 W Franklin St on Feb. 22 at 5 p.m. for a short memorial. Those with bicycles can join us on critical mass bike ride to the site of the old store to lay flowers for a man whose spirit will always be with us.
