By Shavonne Walker

shavonne.walker@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — The Salisbury-Rowan chapter of the NAACP is sponsoring a bus to the Moral March in Raleigh in two weeks, but seat reservations are being accepted now, says chapter President Gemale Black.

This year marks the 11th annual Moral March on Raleigh and Historic Thousands on Jones Street, known as HKonJ People’s Assembly. The march will begin at 8 a.m., Feb. 11 and there will be a few speakers including the Rev. William Barber, president of the state chapter and convener of the Forward Together Moral Movement.

The event always occurs on the second Saturday in February. There is typically thousands of marchers who flood downtown Raleigh where the “HKonJ People’s Assembly” convenes and ultimately marches to the North Carolina State Capitol. It has grown from 3,500 attendees in 2007 to 80,000 in 2014, which is the latest available count.

The bus will leave at 6 a.m. from the Walmart parking lot in Salisbury. Everyone will gather in Raleigh by 8:30 a.m. and by 9 a.m. there will be a pre-rally and people’s assembly at the corner of Wilmington and South streets near Shaw University. The march will take place at 10 a.m. followed by the rally and assembly. The march is about seven blocks. The event should end by 12:30 p.m.

Black said he expects anywhere from 100 to 200 people to board the bus. He said there are plans to obtain a second bus to accommodate the larger number of people attending.

The march consists of people who’ve planned to demonstrate in support of a number of issues and causes including education equality, protection of voting rights economic sustainability, equal protection of the law and healthcare for all.

Black has participated two other times and says for those who’ve never attended this is a peaceful march, but said, “it’s a time we need to go and let our voices be heard.”

He reached out to Livingstone College and expects attendance from the college’s NAACP chapter and other students.

He said the march is an opportunity for “everybody coming together as one.”

It won’t just be NAACP chapters, but other groups including Great Women and Men United, a local group promotes and sponsors community events and workshops.

This will be the first Moral March for Chariel Dye, who is a part of the NAACP executive committee.

She said it’s important to attend to show support and because “it affects us all in some way.”

Some of the reasons she’s attending is her support of the expansion and protection of voting rights as well as increasing minimum wage so that people can take care of their families.

For more information about how to reserve a seat on the bus to Raleigh, contact Boone Carroll at 704-314-5997 or the Rev. Marcus Fairley at 704-502-0186.