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Thousands gather in downtown Raleigh for 10th annual Moral March

About 5,000 people packed downtown on Saturday for the 10th annual Moral March on Raleigh.

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RALEIGH, N.C. — About 5,000 people packed downtown on Saturday for the 10th annual Moral March on Raleigh.

The march—also known as the “Historic Thousands on Jones Street”—is organized by the NAACP.

With voter identification law taking effect, voting rights was a focal point of the march on Saturday.

Leah Wilson-Hartgrove, of Durham, was with her son, Nathan, and marched for hours in the cold.

“It’s something we strongly believe in,” she said.

Muslim profiling, immigration reform and saving black lives were also issues discussed by the crowd in on Saturday.

Demonstrators said they’re marching because they see regressive policies from Gov. Pat McCrory and the Republican-led legislature.

“It’s really cool and interesting to see how everyone is coming together for something they’re interested in for a bigger change,” said demonstrator Nekesa Shutte.

The topic of climate change brought Shutte and Senith Berhane, both 17, to partake in the march.

Dallas Woodhouse, executive director of the state Republican Party, said the legislature has a proven track record with voters.

“But our good policies of lower taxes, lower regulation, photo ID; more freedom for the people of North Carolina—that will be the best get out to vote tool, and we will be utilizing that,” he said.

Woodhouse said North Carolina voters have rejected the agenda of the Moral March movement in recent years and that demonstrators on Saturday did not represent the current concerns of most North Carolinians.

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