Chapel Hill tied to history of activism, protest movements

Police action against the Occupy movement only recently drew national attention to Chapel Hill, but the town’s ties to protest movements can be traced back for decades.

Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt, who has faced criticism in recent weeks for the town’s handling of protestors occupying the former Yates Motor Company, was an active protestor himself as an undergraduate at UNC.

And Kleinschmidt said he believes Chapel Hill’s long history of protests is a testament to its progressive atmosphere.

He said the town works to facilitate the rights of protesters by closing streets for marches and rallies.

Chapel Hill and Carrboro are unique in that many residents, and even town officials, participate in activism, Kleinschmidt said.

“The people in Chapel Hill and the students at the University have been involved in transformative activism,” he said. “We should be proud.”

He said for him, some of the most memorable protests in Chapel Hill were those against the Iraq War in 2004, which drew large crowds of protesters.

Earlier this year, the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom and the Elders for Peace assembled in front of the East Franklin Street post office to protest the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan once again.

Juanita Donaldson, a member of Elders for Peace, participated in the peaceful protest.

She said the groups obtained a protesting permit from the town and asked people to sign an anti-war petition.

“It was very pleasant,” she said. ”We talked to people, and they either agreed or disagreed.”

But not all protests in Chapel Hill have been so calm.

Greenbridge, a mixed-use development in Chapel Hill, has been controversial since it opened in October 2010.

The development has drawn criticism because of its location next to the historically black and low-income Northside neighborhood — a factor some believe increased housing costs and drove traditional residents away.

This summer, three people were arrested at a Greenbridge protest in connection with vandalizing the building.

Chapel Hill residents also held a rally officials called disruptive at a March Town Council meeting to protest the firing of sanitation workers Kerry Bigelow and Clyde Clark. The “Sanitation 2” felt they were wrongly terminated for race-related reasons in October 2010.

Kleinschmidt said he expects Chapel Hill residents to continue protesting, especially with a ban on same-sex marriage on the table for voters in the 2012 election.

“It’s such an important part of what it means to be an American.”

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