By Jordan Meadows
Staff Writer
Hundreds of members of historically Black fraternities and sororities filled Halifax Mall in downtown Raleigh on Wednesday, turning the North Carolina Black Alliance's annual Divine 9 Legislative Day into what organizers called the largest such gathering in more than a decade.
The event, themed "Forging Our Future Together: Mobilizing for Maximum Impact," drew more than 500 attendees from the nine organizations that make up the National Pan-Hellenic Council, along with an array of prominent speakers who touched on redistricting, voting rights, public education, and elections.
"Usually we don't see this type of turnout in a non-presidential election year," said Marcus Bass with the NC Black Alliance. "For this many people to show out for a midterm cycle speaks to how important what's happening in this building is.”
The program opened with an invocation delivered by Rev. Paul Anderson of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity before giving way to a full roster of elected officials and civic leaders. Among those who addressed the crowd were state Senator Natalie Murdock and state Representative Robert Pierce.
The day's keynote address came from former Illinois U.S. Representative Jesse Jackson Jr., who delivered his first television interview in North Carolina since the death of his father. Jackson trained particular fire on gerrymandering, condemning the most recent mid-decade redistricting map drawn to unseat Representative Don Davis of North Carolina, one of three Black members of Congress from the state.
"When we do lose 73% Black districts, we lose the voice of John Conyers—the voice of Maxine Waters," Jackson said. "When these lines change and we have to campaign on all sides of town, other than just our own, the history is lost, and the quality of our voices are affected by that process."
He also took on the state Supreme Court's recent dismissal of the Leandro school funding case, and warned the crowd that foundational democratic norms were under strain.
"The norms are being broken. Faith and support in the Constitution is being shattered," Jackson said.
After his keynote, Jackson accepted a posthumous Order of the Longleaf Pine—North Carolina's highest civilian honor—on behalf of his father. Both men attended North Carolina A&T and were members of Omega Psi Phi.
"He took people who did not believe in themselves and told them they were somebody," Jackson said of his father. He added that he looked forward to presenting the award to his mother, now 82, who had introduced Jesse Jackson Sr. to the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi and the American civil rights movement during their time together at A&T.
North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls, one of two Democrats on the state's highest court, spoke at the event. She is seeking reelection and framed the stakes of judicial elections in stark terms, noting that in 2020, then-Chief Justice Cheri Beasley lost her seat by only 401 votes.
Governor Josh Stein also addressed the crowd, tying the work of Divine Nine organizations to the promise of the state.
"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," Stein said.
The event also featured a legislative panel of Democratic lawmakers focused on voting rights and education access, with attendees raising concerns about the removal of polling places from college campuses across the state.
Nadine Vargas Stewart, the Mid-Atlantic Regional Director of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, framed the legislative day as part of an ongoing advocacy effort on issues she said continue to shape everyday life for communities across the region.
"Let us remember that the work continues until every citizen has access to quality healthcare, until affordable housing is truly affordable, and until we have representatives at every level of government who genuinely serve the interests of the people who elected them," Stewart said.
AKA members had attended both the Divine 9 Legislative Day on Halifax Mall and a reception held at the Governor's Mansion, featuring Shamieka Rhinehart, a Durham County Superior Court Judge, and Demetria Buie—both served on the Divine 9 Legislative Day Planning Committee.
Rhinehart also spoke at the event: "Even though we all wear different colors, today we are united. We understand we are stronger together," she said.
