This Saturday, the public is invited to join Elon University student advocacy leaders and Alamance County community leaders, including the Alamance NAACP, for a peaceful “Justice for All” rally in Burlington, North Carolina.

Organized by Elon University students, Monique Swirsky - a GLAAD Campus Ambassador - and Amy Belfer, and co-sponsored by the Alamance NAACP, this event seeks to promote community unity during this post-election period of division, disconnect, and uncertainty. Most importantly, the event will give a platform and voice to marginalized community members who may be feeling threatened or vulnerable, while simultaneously emphasizing how individuals can stand up against discrimination and against threats to the safety and security of fellow community members.

The event will be held Saturday (12/10) from 12:00 pm-2:30 pm at the Historic Train Depot & Amphitheater located at 200 S. Main St, Burlington, NC.

The rally will begin with poster-making, and will include presentations by local student and community leaders, including Monique Swirsky, before concluding with an open mic for community members to exchange concerns and support. 

Speakers will include:

• Barrett Brown, Alamance NAACP
• Pete Glidewell, recent candidate for US House of Representatives
• Shaher Sayed, Burlington Masjid
• Rev. Phil Hardy, Alamance People’s Assembly
• Nikki Manderico, Elon’s Asian-Pacific Islander Student Union
• Monique Swirsky, Spectrum (Elon’s Queer Straight Alliance)
• Kenneth Brown Jr., Elon’s Black Student Union 

Co-organizer, Monique Swirsky is a founding member of the GLAAD Campus Ambassador Program. GLAAD Campus Ambassadors are a volunteer network of LGBTQ and ally college and university students who work with GLAAD and within their local communities to build an LGBTQ movement to accelerate acceptance and end hate and discrimination.

The Campus Ambassador Program is run by GLAAD Youth Engagement Strategist, Clare Kenny. Earlier this semester, Kenny visited Elon to lead a conversation at “LGBTQIA & Politics in the South,” an event organized by Spectrum, the Elon University queer-straight alliance. In her presentation, Kenny emphasized the importance of coalition building and intersectional LGBTQ advocacy to strengthen awareness and acceptance for LGBTQ people and other marginalized communities on campus and in greater North Carolina.

Featured (L to R): Spectrum President, Monique Swirsky; Youth Engagement Strategist, Clare Kenny; Spectrum VP, Bella Salmon; Spectrum Treasurer, Bryanna Chazotte; Spectrum Secretary, Miranda Baker)

Along with her peer leaders from Spectrum, Swirsky has played a key role on campus and in her local community by organizing several events and protests to repeal North Carolina’s House Bill 2 (HB2).

GLAAD's Founding Campus Ambassadors represent a powerful source of leadership and expertise. These students have the drive to foster spaces for education and connection, ultimately propelling an inclusive and sustainable model for LGBTQ movements of the future; Monique Swirsky's recent work with the Justice for All rally is a great example of intersectional social justice advocacy at work.

To find out more about this event you can visit the Alamance NAACP website at: https://alamancenaacp.wordpress.com/2016/12/07/the-alamance-naacp-to-join-local-student-and-community-leaders-for-a-justice-for-all-rally/

You can see the event invite, RSVP, and share on Facebook by visiting: https://www.facebook.com/events/212116312568832/?notif_t=plan_admin_added&notif_id=1480700766346299