1 00:00:01,590 --> 00:00:07,080 Kingsboro is your community. You are the Americans that live 2 00:00:07,080 --> 00:00:11,820 there. You are the people and your commissioners and the 3 00:00:11,820 --> 00:00:16,260 governor shall listen to the people. Kingsboro should be a 4 00:00:16,260 --> 00:00:20,760 democracy that is governed by the people of the people and for 5 00:00:20,760 --> 00:00:26,610 the people. You. It should not be a community that is governed 6 00:00:26,700 --> 00:00:31,020 of big business, by big business and for big business 7 00:00:38,700 --> 00:00:44,760 they want land owners raise their children there in I can't 8 00:00:45,240 --> 00:00:50,190 see our ancestors, letting, these people coming in and run 9 00:00:50,190 --> 00:00:56,010 us off the land. No, no, it's not slavery time. It was not 10 00:00:56,010 --> 00:01:02,610 slavery time back in 1995. We own the land and our homes. You 11 00:01:02,610 --> 00:01:05,610 cannot come in here and run us away. 12 00:01:06,030 --> 00:01:11,130 lead by the people, Kingsboro Community came together to kind 13 00:01:11,130 --> 00:01:15,570 of stop this. The efforts of big business and the white majority 14 00:01:16,050 --> 00:01:20,640 county board composed this on this community, this county. So 15 00:01:20,640 --> 00:01:24,420 it's another story of David versus Goliath. 16 00:01:24,780 --> 00:01:28,320 I came to tell you how I thought that bringing IBP to Edgecombe 17 00:01:28,320 --> 00:01:33,990 County was poison. Poison in every sense of the word, social, 18 00:01:34,050 --> 00:01:36,630 economic, and especially environmental junk. 19 00:01:37,290 --> 00:01:39,990 I want to talk as loudly as I can tonight because people are 20 00:01:39,990 --> 00:01:43,560 outside can't hear people in the hallway can barely hear. And I 21 00:01:43,560 --> 00:01:46,050 really don't think y'all have been hearing what majority the 22 00:01:46,050 --> 00:01:49,920 residents of Edgecombe County in eastern North Carolina had to 23 00:01:49,920 --> 00:01:54,030 say in the newspapers, in a telephone calls to you and 24 00:01:54,030 --> 00:01:56,880 response to general Speyer to get to his conspiracy when it 25 00:01:56,880 --> 00:01:59,400 was in the newspaper that was sent into him all of the people 26 00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:08,040 in this town are saying "no" 27 00:02:08,039 --> 00:02:12,539 when it was time to stand up, we stood up. We didn't consider 28 00:02:12,539 --> 00:02:16,079 ourselves to be activists, but there's a time for everything. 29 00:02:17,369 --> 00:02:21,419 And there's a time to [indiscernible] And the time sow, there was a time 30 00:02:21,419 --> 00:02:24,449 to come together and stand up and that's exactly what we did. 31 00:02:41,820 --> 00:02:46,380 Hello, my name is James Wrenn. I'm the Vice President of 32 00:02:46,380 --> 00:02:50,220 Phoenix Historical Society, African American History of 33 00:02:50,220 --> 00:02:54,690 Edgecombe County. And we're standing here in Edgecombe 34 00:02:54,690 --> 00:02:59,520 County, which has a long history. Before Civil War it was 35 00:02:59,520 --> 00:03:04,320 the largest cotton producing county in North Carolina. Over 36 00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:09,060 10,000 enslaved people of African descent labored from 37 00:03:10,020 --> 00:03:13,530 from can see to can't see as they said, harvesting the cotton 38 00:03:13,920 --> 00:03:20,250 to make this such a wealthy county South side here from our 39 00:03:20,250 --> 00:03:25,380 research in 1880 African Americans led by George and 40 00:03:25,380 --> 00:03:29,400 Rachel Bullock and other Bullocks begin to buy land on the south 41 00:03:29,400 --> 00:03:33,420 side of this road here. So what we stand on here was you know legacy 42 00:03:33,420 --> 00:03:38,220 of the cotton plantations of Edgecombe County. By 1840 43 00:03:38,520 --> 00:03:42,360 Edgecombe County had a majority black population and it's 44 00:03:42,360 --> 00:03:46,470 continue to have such to this time actually Edgecombe County 45 00:03:46,470 --> 00:03:50,010 today is the most populous black majority county in North 46 00:03:50,010 --> 00:03:57,120 Carolina. But in spite of that, it's it's been years after 47 00:03:57,120 --> 00:03:59,550 [indiscernible] that they have political power in this county 48 00:04:05,790 --> 00:04:08,370 My name is David Batts. My family had been in this 49 00:04:08,370 --> 00:04:13,830 community for over 119 years, my father was born 1903. He would 50 00:04:13,830 --> 00:04:19,410 have been 119 now, I'm 66 years old. And we have been in this 51 00:04:19,410 --> 00:04:24,870 community all our life. Hog farming was important to most 52 00:04:24,900 --> 00:04:29,370 every family in this area because that's where they raised 53 00:04:29,370 --> 00:04:32,970 their meat for the winter. They raised their barbecues for 54 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:38,400 special occasions so we are used to the hogs. Being around hogs 55 00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:41,520 was we knew that all our life and we smelt you know all the 56 00:04:41,520 --> 00:04:45,720 small hog pens, but that was all the norm. But when this big 57 00:04:45,720 --> 00:04:48,540 industry was coming that really sort of upset us. 58 00:04:58,290 --> 00:05:00,510 African Americans gained the right to vote in 1868 and 59 00:05:00,510 --> 00:05:04,350 beginning to elect blacks to office, first time, they got a 60 00:05:04,350 --> 00:05:07,170 black majority of county commission 1876. The General 61 00:05:07,170 --> 00:05:11,130 Assembly passed a law, the county government law taking away the 62 00:05:11,130 --> 00:05:13,800 right of people to elect their own county commissioners. That 63 00:05:13,800 --> 00:05:18,810 law was overturned in 1890s due to fusion movement, but then in 64 00:05:18,840 --> 00:05:22,140 1900 they passed the law, taking away the rights of black people 65 00:05:22,140 --> 00:05:29,610 to vote. So still, you'd have a black majority until 1992, they 66 00:05:29,610 --> 00:05:31,770 finally elect the black majority to the county commission, 67 00:05:31,770 --> 00:05:36,300 immediate white backlash was organized to overturn that. So 68 00:05:36,300 --> 00:05:42,870 the election of that 1994 You had they was successfully 69 00:05:43,170 --> 00:05:48,450 unseat black county commissioners and put in white 70 00:05:48,450 --> 00:05:53,040 county commissioners who are landowners. You had a four to 71 00:05:53,040 --> 00:05:56,520 one black white majority county commission over black majority 72 00:05:56,520 --> 00:06:00,690 county. And the first thing they did was try to bring us IBP hog 73 00:06:00,690 --> 00:06:03,900 slaughterhouse to this Edgecombe Kingsboro Community. 74 00:06:03,000 --> 00:06:09,348 As an attorney, I usually read the legal ads in the newspaper. 75 00:06:09,450 --> 00:06:14,774 And I noticed in about the middle of September, as I 76 00:06:14,877 --> 00:06:20,815 recall, that an ad was in the paper for rezoning about 400 77 00:06:20,917 --> 00:06:27,061 acres in the Kingsboro area of our County Highway 64. At its 78 00:06:27,163 --> 00:06:33,102 intersection with Kingsboro road, and the significance was 79 00:06:33,204 --> 00:06:38,835 it was being rezoned from agricultural, residential, to 80 00:06:38,938 --> 00:06:45,081 heavy industry. Why would they rezone 400 acres right out in 81 00:06:45,184 --> 00:06:50,405 the middle of pristine agricultural and residential 82 00:06:50,508 --> 00:06:57,061 area for heavy industry? I went to the County Industrial recruiter 83 00:06:57,163 --> 00:07:03,102 and asked him what was the purpose of the rezoning? And he 84 00:07:03,204 --> 00:07:09,654 was reluctant to tell me because it had not been announced. But 85 00:07:09,757 --> 00:07:15,286 being rather persistent. He finally told me with great 86 00:07:15,388 --> 00:07:21,634 pride, that IBP was going to locate a giant slaughterhouse in 87 00:07:21,736 --> 00:07:27,880 the county, it was going to employ 2-3,000 people. And I say, 88 00:07:27,982 --> 00:07:34,228 well, how many hogs a day? Will it will it take? And they say 89 00:07:34,330 --> 00:07:40,678 well probably 20 but finally getting up to maybe 25 or 30,000 90 00:07:40,780 --> 00:07:47,026 hogs a day. What do you think about that? Isn't it wonderful? 91 00:07:47,129 --> 00:07:53,374 I said, I think I'm going to be sick. And that was my initial 92 00:07:53,477 --> 00:08:00,030 gut reaction. And I've never changed my mind from that point on. 93 00:08:01,590 --> 00:08:07,110 I can't remember the mayor that came to him with this 94 00:08:07,110 --> 00:08:10,470 information that had not really leaked out there, the county, 95 00:08:10,950 --> 00:08:15,780 but no one knew anything about it until he came and was telling 96 00:08:15,780 --> 00:08:19,830 my husband about they were trying to put a slaughter pier 97 00:08:20,550 --> 00:08:28,710 down in Kingsboro, and that we need to get organized. And they 98 00:08:28,710 --> 00:08:33,150 asked him if he would be in charge of it and be chairman of 99 00:08:33,150 --> 00:08:35,670 the committee. And he agreed to do it. 100 00:08:35,000 --> 00:08:41,600 I remember, I nominated Gleno Horne, who was an excellent 101 00:08:41,600 --> 00:08:48,770 spokesperson to be the chairman of the group we organized and 102 00:08:48,770 --> 00:08:54,500 decided to call “Citizens for Responsible Zoning.” And he came 103 00:08:54,500 --> 00:09:00,680 to the meeting and graciously accepted his nomination. And 104 00:09:00,680 --> 00:09:02,030 that's where it got started. 105 00:09:04,820 --> 00:09:08,210 Right now, if you look around, I'm seeing a lot of children 106 00:09:08,210 --> 00:09:10,520 here on your shoulders and whatnot, I hope that you will be 107 00:09:10,520 --> 00:09:13,280 able to leave the same kind of county for them that I grew up in. 108 00:09:14,060 --> 00:09:17,030 I realize that change will come but I believe that Edgecombe 109 00:09:17,030 --> 00:09:21,200 County can develop and bring good blue chip industry into this 110 00:09:21,200 --> 00:09:26,180 county and that we can do it and will win. The way it's going to. 111 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:30,170 I was surprised to see that we had the kind of support that 112 00:09:30,170 --> 00:09:32,810 showed up. It started out seeming like it was just going 113 00:09:32,810 --> 00:09:37,940 to be the little Kingsboro Community. It seemed larger than 114 00:09:37,940 --> 00:09:42,080 us. And so when all the people throughout the county showed up 115 00:09:42,080 --> 00:09:46,910 and some beyond the county it really registered to me that we 116 00:09:46,910 --> 00:09:50,300 have a real protest going on here. And that there is a 117 00:09:50,300 --> 00:09:52,100 possibility that we can win. 118 00:09:53,920 --> 00:10:00,460 The home owners in Kingsboro are poor people but we are good 119 00:10:00,460 --> 00:10:05,530 people. And we are hard working people. We work every day, and 120 00:10:05,560 --> 00:10:12,190 all the homes are owned by us. We work real hard. I would like 121 00:10:12,190 --> 00:10:22,240 for each one of you to put yourself in our place. How would 122 00:10:22,240 --> 00:10:26,830 you like for someone to come in your house and say, well, I'm 123 00:10:26,830 --> 00:10:33,070 gonna put this guest in your living room. But this is 124 00:10:33,070 --> 00:10:36,880 what you're doing to us in the Kingsboro Community. You're 125 00:10:36,880 --> 00:10:42,340 coming, and you're putting IBP the slaughterhosue in our 126 00:10:42,340 --> 00:10:47,890 community if you have any conscious at all. Today, 127 00:10:47,900 --> 00:10:55,100 I feel much better than I did. When I was up talking that day 128 00:10:55,130 --> 00:10:59,780 or night, whatever it was. Because at that time, I kind of 129 00:10:59,780 --> 00:11:05,330 had I don't want to say, but I didn't have a good feeling about 130 00:11:05,330 --> 00:11:12,470 the county commissioners or the county planners, because I felt 131 00:11:12,470 --> 00:11:17,300 like they were not being fair to the people in Kingsboro. And 132 00:11:17,300 --> 00:11:22,280 that they had formed their opinion that the people in 133 00:11:22,310 --> 00:11:28,040 Kingsboro, and also in Edgecombe Country was not capable of 134 00:11:28,040 --> 00:11:36,290 working at a place other than a slaughter pen. And to me, it made 135 00:11:36,320 --> 00:11:39,560 me in some other words, kind of upset. 136 00:11:42,270 --> 00:11:51,120 It affects your health, you know the water, and a lot of diseases 137 00:11:51,120 --> 00:11:58,710 and rashes and stuff come from it. You you can just barely just 138 00:11:58,710 --> 00:12:02,880 stay in your house. Because really, like I said, we don't 139 00:12:02,880 --> 00:12:06,150 have the hog [inaudible] but we do have the chicken pole right 140 00:12:06,150 --> 00:12:11,670 there off of highway extension. Certain times of the year like 141 00:12:11,670 --> 00:12:14,820 summertime, it smells awful. 142 00:12:15,470 --> 00:12:19,460 So the waterways in North Carolina specifically the Tar- 143 00:12:19,460 --> 00:12:23,690 Pamlico River is hugely important to the area. Not only 144 00:12:23,690 --> 00:12:26,660 is it a source of drinking water for a whole lot of communities 145 00:12:26,660 --> 00:12:30,800 that are along the waterways, but people recreate on these 146 00:12:30,800 --> 00:12:34,220 waterways, people fish both again for recreation, but also 147 00:12:34,220 --> 00:12:37,070 for their livelihood, commercial fishing out on the Pamlico and 148 00:12:37,070 --> 00:12:40,370 Pamlico Sound is huge. So there's a wastewater, there 149 00:12:40,370 --> 00:12:43,760 would have been wastewater from IBP. And that wastewater would 150 00:12:43,760 --> 00:12:46,940 have contained high levels of fecal bacteria, would have 151 00:12:46,940 --> 00:12:49,730 contained high levels of nitrogen and phosphorus, which 152 00:12:49,730 --> 00:12:53,630 really impacts the health of the whole ecosystem. But this 153 00:12:53,630 --> 00:12:58,100 wouldn't have been just an issue for that local community. Those 154 00:12:58,100 --> 00:13:01,370 impacts would have traveled all the way downstream. When 155 00:13:01,370 --> 00:13:04,220 waterways contaminated, you know, it's not just that one 156 00:13:04,220 --> 00:13:07,580 area, it impacts everything downstream. And there's a whole 157 00:13:07,580 --> 00:13:11,000 lot of downstream from the Kingsboro area from where IBP 158 00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:11,660 would have been. 159 00:13:12,590 --> 00:13:17,030 I started my career in this in this work as a River Keeper on 160 00:13:17,030 --> 00:13:21,530 the Neuse River. So I was directly on the ground boots on 161 00:13:21,530 --> 00:13:26,690 the ground, so to speak. I started another program on the 162 00:13:26,690 --> 00:13:29,810 east coast, but then came back to to work directly for 163 00:13:29,810 --> 00:13:33,110 Waterkeeper Alliance in North Carolina. People would say well, 164 00:13:33,110 --> 00:13:37,220 what's changed? Unfortunately, not enough. We have had some 165 00:13:37,220 --> 00:13:40,160 successes. We've had moratoriums, we've had bans on 166 00:13:40,160 --> 00:13:44,930 new facilities being installed. But we still got the same 167 00:13:44,930 --> 00:13:50,420 roughly 2,400 lagoons, facilities and I don't call them farms. I 168 00:13:50,420 --> 00:13:53,390 call them facilities because they're not farms. We still have 169 00:13:53,390 --> 00:13:57,560 those same 2,400, polluting the waters and polluting the 170 00:13:57,560 --> 00:14:03,740 communities, primarily African American, Hispanic, low income 171 00:14:03,740 --> 00:14:07,100 families, Native American families and communities. 172 00:14:07,960 --> 00:14:12,430 IBP did not inform us of the environment, but there was 173 00:14:12,430 --> 00:14:17,980 someone from out of state that came to Edgecombe County, and he 174 00:14:18,460 --> 00:14:22,450 met with us and he explained the houses and everything of the 175 00:14:23,110 --> 00:14:26,740 strong opinions that were created in our community. 176 00:14:27,730 --> 00:14:29,350 IBP never told us. 177 00:14:31,420 --> 00:14:34,270 Nobody ever said to me, well, we want to put a hog plant there. 178 00:14:34,900 --> 00:14:37,960 Maybe it would be better if you would relocate somewhere else. 179 00:14:39,250 --> 00:14:44,320 And we will make that possible. There are some things that I 180 00:14:44,320 --> 00:14:48,670 guess through eminent domain that needs to happen, but it 181 00:14:48,670 --> 00:14:52,900 needs to happen the right way. Not running over people, not 182 00:14:52,900 --> 00:14:56,140 throwing people out the door. Not saying well go somewhere 183 00:14:56,140 --> 00:15:00,430 I don't care where you go. That was the attitude that it seemed 184 00:15:00,430 --> 00:15:04,780 like to me that they had. You're small, you're little, we're doing a 185 00:15:04,780 --> 00:15:08,680 bigger thing. And this is going on. This has ramifications of 186 00:15:08,680 --> 00:15:12,190 what's going on throughout the country in the world today, some 187 00:15:12,190 --> 00:15:13,750 things just can't coexist. 188 00:15:13,000 --> 00:15:22,660 It's pretty evident that those who seek to make profit, choose 189 00:15:22,660 --> 00:15:29,920 areas where they think the population will provide less 190 00:15:29,920 --> 00:15:34,600 resistance to whatever negative negative impacts might come of 191 00:15:34,900 --> 00:15:40,360 their production, whatever it might be. It could be making 192 00:15:40,360 --> 00:15:45,520 Boats. It could be raising hogs. Either way, often there are 193 00:15:45,730 --> 00:15:49,330 pollutants that come as a result of this production process. And 194 00:15:49,330 --> 00:15:53,170 they put profit before people. And our job is to put the people 195 00:15:53,170 --> 00:15:57,550 first and make sure that they have the tools to fight back and 196 00:15:57,550 --> 00:16:01,270 prevent these industries from coming into their communities. 197 00:16:01,690 --> 00:16:05,020 And if they are there already, to see if they can mitigate the 198 00:16:05,020 --> 00:16:08,380 different consequences of these industries. 199 00:16:09,450 --> 00:16:13,170 It's really easy for a project like that to come up in a place 200 00:16:13,200 --> 00:16:16,800 and to think that the actions of individuals or a small community 201 00:16:16,980 --> 00:16:21,090 will never be able to impact the outcome against a large 202 00:16:21,090 --> 00:16:25,830 corporation. And we see time and time again. And our organization 203 00:16:25,830 --> 00:16:29,610 is founded on this idea that engagement by people in their 204 00:16:29,610 --> 00:16:32,970 local communities actually can and does make a difference. 205 00:16:36,260 --> 00:16:40,160 One of the things and this happened later on in the 206 00:16:40,160 --> 00:16:45,470 process, and I believe this was the key thing that tipped the 207 00:16:45,470 --> 00:16:51,800 scales in favor of opposing getting the county commissioners 208 00:16:51,800 --> 00:16:56,900 to change their mind. And that was they had overwritten every 209 00:16:56,900 --> 00:17:00,320 effort we had made up that point. They had voted for the 210 00:17:00,320 --> 00:17:07,610 rezoning. We had brought a lawsuit, the Kingsboro Community 211 00:17:08,540 --> 00:17:13,400 Citizens Association brought a suit trying to delay action, 212 00:17:13,910 --> 00:17:18,170 because they were owners of property within so many feet of 213 00:17:18,170 --> 00:17:24,530 the new plant. But the lady that I was in contact with, told me 214 00:17:25,250 --> 00:17:30,140 that they may say they want 3 million gallons of water a day 215 00:17:30,620 --> 00:17:36,590 with this plan. But they really want and will need 6 million 216 00:17:36,590 --> 00:17:41,600 gallons. Well, we had already determined when they were 217 00:17:41,600 --> 00:17:45,890 talking 3 million gallons of water a day, I had gotten in touch 218 00:17:45,890 --> 00:17:51,680 with two expert hydro geologist from East Carolina 219 00:17:51,680 --> 00:17:57,560 University. And they testified, signed affidavits and testified 220 00:17:57,560 --> 00:18:03,650 at these public hearings that at times 3,000 gallons would exceed 221 00:18:03,650 --> 00:18:07,970 the flow of the Tar River two or three times a year when the 222 00:18:08,480 --> 00:18:13,610 water level got low. So I could just imagine that I projected 223 00:18:14,360 --> 00:18:19,310 what it would be like at 3,000, 3 million gallons of water a day 224 00:18:19,310 --> 00:18:25,280 coming into this plant being mixed with all of the fluid that 225 00:18:25,280 --> 00:18:30,950 would be added by all of the unmentionables that come through 226 00:18:31,370 --> 00:18:37,820 a hog operation. That would be a byproduct of waste. And they had 227 00:18:38,900 --> 00:18:43,670 several 1,000 gallons of water into the water that would in 228 00:18:43,670 --> 00:18:46,190 turn be put back in the Tar River. 229 00:18:46,080 --> 00:18:50,047 I attended most all the meetings here at Antioch Church. And I 230 00:18:50,111 --> 00:18:53,694 came [inaudible] Tarboro, because I was out on the road 231 00:18:53,758 --> 00:18:57,853 trucking. But the most memorable meetings here, when the lawyer 232 00:18:57,917 --> 00:19:01,629 told us say this is a very significant thing for that to happen 233 00:19:01,693 --> 00:19:05,532 to y'all if y'all don't stand up. This is important. This is 234 00:19:05,596 --> 00:19:09,499 not for y'all to sleep on. So we need to galvanize and gather 235 00:19:09,563 --> 00:19:13,019 community, for us to get together, stand behind it and 236 00:19:13,083 --> 00:19:16,794 support it. Because if y'all don't support it, it can fade 237 00:19:16,858 --> 00:19:20,250 away. And y’all are gonna be stuck with a hog operation. 238 00:19:25,390 --> 00:19:31,990 they spent time communicating with our neighbors to get people 239 00:19:31,990 --> 00:19:36,820 to come to the meetings and public hearings and to raise 240 00:19:36,820 --> 00:19:43,300 the anti IBP signs, to put bumper stickers on cars, to help make 241 00:19:43,300 --> 00:19:46,840 the signs but mainly it was showing up at the public 242 00:19:46,840 --> 00:19:51,610 hearings and being enthusiastic. I mean, I could provide a lot of 243 00:19:51,610 --> 00:19:56,380 information. But there were so many people that provided the 244 00:19:56,380 --> 00:19:58,570 enthusiasm and the animation. 245 00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:02,830 Well when the Citizens for Responsible Zoning discovered 246 00:20:02,830 --> 00:20:07,420 that there was an application in play to rezone part of Kingsboro 247 00:20:07,450 --> 00:20:11,020 in order to facilitate this brand new massive 248 00:20:11,020 --> 00:20:15,940 Slaughterhouse, what they showed were two fundamental, important 249 00:20:15,970 --> 00:20:19,630 lessons for all communities. One is it's critically important to 250 00:20:19,630 --> 00:20:24,580 have some zoning in place, everywhere. And this is one of 251 00:20:24,580 --> 00:20:27,520 the things that was missing in North Carolina. And these were 252 00:20:27,520 --> 00:20:30,730 areas where black and brown communities, indigenous 253 00:20:30,730 --> 00:20:34,450 communities have been living for generations, and the county 254 00:20:34,480 --> 00:20:38,230 commissioner infrastructure, white dominated infrastructure, 255 00:20:38,410 --> 00:20:43,720 left that unzoned area in place. But what we see in Kingsboro is 256 00:20:43,720 --> 00:20:48,760 this great example of residents coming together, recognizing the 257 00:20:48,760 --> 00:20:54,580 value of zoning as a tool for controlling land use in a way 258 00:20:54,580 --> 00:20:57,220 that protects residents of the community. 259 00:20:58,050 --> 00:21:02,640 I mentioned attorney Marvin Horton, I didn't know him before 260 00:21:02,640 --> 00:21:06,780 that time. But it was just interesting to see him come out 261 00:21:06,780 --> 00:21:12,330 here and sit in this church as a white man and help us organize 262 00:21:12,660 --> 00:21:17,070 for his own interest. He really didn't come for our interest 263 00:21:17,070 --> 00:21:21,180 any more than his own interest. And I think that's something 264 00:21:21,180 --> 00:21:25,410 that we ought to remember that this was something that was 265 00:21:25,410 --> 00:21:31,260 going to hit him personally. And he was willing to come out here. 266 00:21:32,520 --> 00:21:37,710 I remember he. It seems strange to him, though, the way that he 267 00:21:37,740 --> 00:21:43,380 moved and acted, but he talked to us. And he calmed down. I 268 00:21:43,380 --> 00:21:48,600 mean, to be a lawyer. He had to really calm down and talk to us. 269 00:21:49,050 --> 00:21:52,140 But he did and he found out I believe, and I'm talking for 270 00:21:52,140 --> 00:21:57,660 him, that we were just ordinary people. And he sort of made us 271 00:21:57,690 --> 00:22:02,610 understand what we were looking at. And he stuck with us and we 272 00:22:02,610 --> 00:22:03,150 stood with him. 273 00:22:07,530 --> 00:22:14,430 Life is no. Our jobs are bore. Others actions. Just make us 274 00:22:14,430 --> 00:22:20,580 sore. No one leads. No one follows. All we do is sit and 275 00:22:20,580 --> 00:22:28,230 holler. If all we do is vegetate, pretty soon it’s way too late. To 276 00:22:28,230 --> 00:22:34,290 take a stand, to be a man, to save our land. Now's the time for us 277 00:22:34,290 --> 00:22:41,730 to rise. Take the blindfold from our eyes, stretch our brains and 278 00:22:41,730 --> 00:22:48,210 realize now's the time to energize and yesterday I added 279 00:22:48,210 --> 00:23:05,190 this in the words of Sharon, “Stand alone, naked in a field, to 280 00:23:05,190 --> 00:23:21,000 proclaim and never yield I believe I believe.” I just lost 281 00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:32,880 her in July. Join our hands, gather around, cherish your 282 00:23:32,880 --> 00:23:40,920 friends we have found, generate a positive sound. Celebrate our 283 00:23:40,920 --> 00:23:47,250 Common Ground. If we do we're sure to find happiness and peace 284 00:23:47,250 --> 00:23:54,720 of mind. True wealth will flow into our hands. Whereas scram to 285 00:23:54,720 --> 00:24:02,010 other lands. With search rewards if we activate why do we ever 286 00:24:02,010 --> 00:24:11,730 hesitate to make a start, to have a heart, to do our part? Remember 287 00:24:13,260 --> 00:24:15,960 Kingsboro 1995, 1996. 288 00:24:18,510 --> 00:24:22,230 I believe that very clear that this was an environmental 289 00:24:22,410 --> 00:24:25,560 activist group for environmental justice, whether they knew it or 290 00:24:25,560 --> 00:24:29,640 not. I would also say that there were people who were working on 291 00:24:29,640 --> 00:24:32,640 environmental consequences of this, that were not thinking 292 00:24:32,640 --> 00:24:36,120 about environmental justice, and were still working as allies. 293 00:24:36,450 --> 00:24:39,540 But I also think it's really important to recognize now 294 00:24:39,540 --> 00:24:43,050 looking back on it, that environmental justice requires 295 00:24:43,050 --> 00:24:46,830 us now to be thinking about what are the systemic problems that 296 00:24:46,830 --> 00:24:50,580 gave rise to this? Why is it that Edgecombe County was 297 00:24:50,580 --> 00:24:54,240 thought to be a suitable place for more or less a sacrifice 298 00:24:54,240 --> 00:24:57,630 zone? And that's where I think the important lesson that we 299 00:24:57,630 --> 00:25:01,560 have in the past is that many of the heroes who stood up for 300 00:25:01,560 --> 00:25:04,650 this, including all of the activists who were associated 301 00:25:04,650 --> 00:25:08,910 with Kingsboro fight, were blazing a trail. They didn't 302 00:25:08,910 --> 00:25:12,750 necessarily know what to call it. But they were doing it. 303 00:25:12,000 --> 00:25:17,910 I was born and raised in Kingsboro. And I heard about 304 00:25:18,120 --> 00:25:21,630 what was going on about the slaughter pen and in the 305 00:25:21,630 --> 00:25:27,180 community, and I commend all of those who participated in the 306 00:25:27,180 --> 00:25:31,800 protests, and what they had to say about it. And just getting 307 00:25:31,800 --> 00:25:36,510 out talking to the people, because I knew one day, I wanted 308 00:25:36,510 --> 00:25:41,010 to come back to my community where I was raised. And I'm just 309 00:25:41,010 --> 00:25:45,990 so thankful I commend them over and over again, because today, I 310 00:25:45,990 --> 00:25:49,920 would be smelling the hog pen, if I you know, because it's 311 00:25:49,920 --> 00:25:52,440 right across the woods from where I live now. 312 00:25:52,830 --> 00:25:59,850 And if those people, those warriors had stood together, and 313 00:25:59,850 --> 00:26:06,570 spoke, so forceful, anything could happen. So I'm proud of 314 00:26:06,570 --> 00:26:08,880 it. They left a legacy. 315 00:26:09,540 --> 00:26:13,140 So one of the byproducts of standing together like that was, 316 00:26:13,770 --> 00:26:17,700 we found out that we're not alone. And that we have a common 317 00:26:17,700 --> 00:26:22,380 cause. And that we are capable of caring about each other. That 318 00:26:22,380 --> 00:26:25,230 was one of the things that cemented it. It was you could 319 00:26:25,230 --> 00:26:29,310 feel that people cared about each other, which we might have 320 00:26:29,310 --> 00:26:33,960 suspected, but we didn't really know. We saw each other before 321 00:26:33,960 --> 00:26:37,530 that, I think as being distant. We didn't know and what you 322 00:26:37,530 --> 00:26:42,570 don't know you can be afraid of. But that moved that barrier out 323 00:26:42,570 --> 00:26:47,190 of the way. And we were singing together and, and praying 324 00:26:47,190 --> 00:26:48,690 together and hoping together. 325 00:26:50,490 --> 00:26:55,620 It feels good to be back in this building, where we began our 326 00:26:56,400 --> 00:27:00,000 demonstration or protest, whatever you want to call it. It 327 00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:04,410 was a close knit community and most of everybody that was in 328 00:27:04,410 --> 00:27:12,540 this attended the church was relatives. And everybody knew 329 00:27:12,540 --> 00:27:12,960 each other. 330 00:27:14,070 --> 00:27:19,050 Well, in any official capacity, I guess it's been 20 years that 331 00:27:19,050 --> 00:27:24,870 I was here, but I've been in the garden and peeked through the door. But 332 00:27:24,870 --> 00:27:28,110 just to come in here, but I grew up coming into this church, 333 00:27:29,580 --> 00:27:33,270 I used to stand in the yard next door and listen to the sermons. I 334 00:27:33,270 --> 00:27:34,770 didn't want to come inside the church. 335 00:27:35,130 --> 00:27:39,090 I am going to read the letter that my husband wrote to the 336 00:27:39,090 --> 00:27:43,740 people in the community concerning the IBP slaughter 337 00:27:43,740 --> 00:27:51,000 plant that was going to be built in Kingsboro. Dear friends, 338 00:27:51,600 --> 00:27:57,390 my sympathy and compassion goes out to families who have lost 339 00:27:57,420 --> 00:28:03,270 loved ones, but those who suffer death, there is nothing else one 340 00:28:04,890 --> 00:28:04,980 human being can do for another. 341 00:28:06,870 --> 00:28:10,260 We may not have had the name for it, but I believe environmental 342 00:28:10,260 --> 00:28:13,200 justice has a richer history. And I certainly believe that 343 00:28:13,200 --> 00:28:18,150 this particular group and this particular fight is a keystone 344 00:28:18,150 --> 00:28:19,170 moment in that history. 345 00:28:20,200 --> 00:28:26,590 My request, my plea would be young people, do your homework, 346 00:28:26,590 --> 00:28:32,530 get educated on why this issue is so huge. Why it's huge from 347 00:28:32,980 --> 00:28:37,120 the standpoint of environmental justice. But why it's important 348 00:28:37,120 --> 00:28:41,290 from the standpoint of the environment. Also why it is that 349 00:28:41,290 --> 00:28:44,500 each one of us has a responsibility for this. Stand 350 00:28:44,500 --> 00:28:45,670 up and let your voices be heard. 351 00:28:47,880 --> 00:28:53,490 Now, our community is faced with a threat that requires action 352 00:28:53,700 --> 00:29:01,080 now. It would be too late for sympathy and regret later. Our 353 00:29:01,080 --> 00:29:06,150 county commissioners, they determine to allow a giant 354 00:29:06,150 --> 00:29:12,120 slaughterhouse to be built at Kingsboro. It was all to 355 00:29:12,120 --> 00:29:20,010 [indiscernible]. We have the same certainty as death. But we will 356 00:29:20,040 --> 00:29:21,960 be living to regret. 357 00:29:22,649 --> 00:29:27,299 Ordinary history ought to be in our history books and taught to our 358 00:29:27,299 --> 00:29:32,189 children as nearly as possible, according to the way that it 359 00:29:32,189 --> 00:29:36,899 happened. And nobody has anything to lose by the by 360 00:29:36,899 --> 00:29:37,859 knowing the truth. 361 00:29:37,000 --> 00:29:45,040 Not only a slaughter of 15 to 20,000 hogs a day, but they will 362 00:29:45,040 --> 00:29:51,640 have a sewage plant as big as Tarboro’s, their own electricity 363 00:29:51,670 --> 00:29:56,770 power plant, and an incinerator to burn their waste and the 364 00:29:56,830 --> 00:30:01,540 methane gas given off by their sewage [indiscernible]. 365 00:30:02,470 --> 00:30:08,260 Another real concern is that our production farms will increase in 366 00:30:08,260 --> 00:30:16,420 the area. Duplin County had 800 square miles in it and 800 hog 367 00:30:16,450 --> 00:30:24,370 farms. Now is the time to fight this clear and present danger. If 368 00:30:24,370 --> 00:30:30,640 we hold back our protest now, we'll be holding our nose later. 369 00:30:31,300 --> 00:30:36,550 We can do better. Sincerely, Gleno Horne, Chairperson 370 00:30:36,000 --> 00:31:29,220 First of all I'd like to remember those who are with us, 371 00:31:29,820 --> 00:31:35,970 or that and that well that night, and the names of those 372 00:31:35,970 --> 00:31:41,970 who have since gone on to glory and are no longer with us. But 373 00:31:42,390 --> 00:31:46,800 as I looked at the list of people, I can't believe that all 374 00:31:46,800 --> 00:31:51,300 of them are gone. Because it seems like just yesterday that 375 00:31:51,300 --> 00:31:57,060 this was taking place. Anyway, we would like to honor Annabelle 376 00:31:57,060 --> 00:32:02,670 Bullock, very active in all of the protesting and parade that 377 00:32:02,670 --> 00:32:07,170 was here that night. Sir Robert Sharpe better known to my 378 00:32:07,170 --> 00:32:14,370 family as Nate Sharpe. In [indiscernible], Gleno Horne as was 379 00:32:14,370 --> 00:32:18,960 mentioned earlier, he was sort of spearheaded this gathering. 380 00:32:19,740 --> 00:32:24,690 Mr. Colin Powell, was very instrumental in getting this 381 00:32:24,810 --> 00:32:29,310 group together and bringing them together in his church. And his 382 00:32:29,310 --> 00:32:34,980 wife, [Stars] Powell. James Hinton's here, [indiscernible] Brazell 383 00:32:34,980 --> 00:32:46,110 Senior, Leo Smith. Howard Booth was my uncle. Leo Smith, 384 00:32:46,620 --> 00:32:53,610 Jamie Sharpe, I believe the wife of Nate Sharpe. Marvin Sharpe, 385 00:32:54,210 --> 00:33:02,730 Sharon Hinton, Milton Batts and Esteem Batts. And of course, a 386 00:33:02,730 --> 00:33:06,450 key figure here that night still living is Marvin Horton, 387 00:33:06,900 --> 00:33:11,220 attorney Marvin Horton, he's still with us. Thank God.