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Signs In Protest On ‘A Day Without Immigrants’

By design protest signs and the people who carry them are the most visible part of any rally, demonstration or march. They pull the eye and, yes, camera lenses to focus on what often is a simple message. But those messages have meaning not just to those who took the time to scroll them out by hand, they also reflect the beliefs of a community.

The ‘A Day Without Immigrants’ protest in Marshall Park in uptown was full of just such signs.

Take this sign equating the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department and ICE, the federal agency charged with enforcing U.S. immigration policy. The CMPD says it does no such thing. You can hear Charlotte Talks Host Mike Collins talk with CMPD Chief Kerr Putney about this here.

Credit Tom Bullock / WFAE
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WFAE
Just one of the signs equating the CMPD with ICE, the federal agency tasked with enforcing immigration laws

There was more than one “CMPD is ICE” sign in the crowd – it is clearly an issue Charlotte’s immigrant community takes seriously. And they feel the CMPD needs to do more to make them feel safe.

But it wasn’t just the CMPD called out in protest signs. The bulk of the signs on display at Marshall Park focused on what immigrants bring to the country economically, socially and culturally. More than one sign pointed to history; America is a nation of immigrants.

Credit Tom Bullock
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Tom Bullock

This man decided to make that argument local and personal. 

Credit Tom Bullock / WFAE
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WFAE

There was a third category of sings on display, a powerful one held by the smallest protesters. There were children and families throughout this crowd holding signs. The wording was varied but the message was clear. Please don’t deport their parents.

Credit Tom Bullock / WFAE
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WFAE

Tom Bullock decided to trade the khaki clad masses and traffic of Washington DC for Charlotte in 2014. Before joining WFAE, Tom spent 15 years working for NPR. Over that time he served as everything from an intern to senior producer of NPR’s Election Unit. Tom also spent five years as the senior producer of NPR’s Foreign Desk where he produced and reported from Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Haiti, Egypt, Libya, Lebanon among others. Tom is looking forward to finally convincing his young daughter, Charlotte, that her new hometown was not, in fact, named after her.