Protesters call for better pandemic response, more aid to working poor

Activists held a Monday afternoon protest in downtown Raleigh, calling on state and national leaders to do more to help combat the coronavirus pandemic.

The protest was part of the Poor People’s Campaign, which is led by Rev. William Barber. People caravanned past the Legislative Building on Jones Street to protest the quarter-million U.S. deaths due to the virus and the lack of a national response strategy.

Several dozen cars circled the Legislative Building for an hour, honking their horns to draw attention.

Protesters called for another economic relief package aimed more at working people than corporations, a smooth transition of power to President-elect Joe Biden's administration and a coherent public health strategy to combat the pandemic.

"We’ve got a whole country – a whole world – that’s sick, and we think it’s time to go to the doctors and ask them, 'How do we fix this?'" said John Chase, who had a sign on his car that read “Give Science a Chance.”

The protesters also called for action by state lawmakers, including expanding Medicaid to about a half-million low-income people in North Carolina.

Republican legislative leaders have refused to consider Medicaid expansion for years. The next legislative session starts in January.