Chapel Hill Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt joined five other community leaders and social justice activists — ranging from the president of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro NAACP to the president of the UNC Black Law Students Association — Sunday, April 29 for a panel discussion on the evolution of social justice activism and the impact it’s had on the community.

The round-table talk, titled “From Counters to Camps: Social Justice Activism in a Changing World,” was held at the Hargraves Community Center and organized by the town’s Justice in Action Committee and Chapel Hill Public Library.

The panel discussion, which featured a slideshow of former social justice campaigns launched in Chapel Hill, centered around the way residents’ understanding of civic engagement, civil disobedience and political protest has changed. Former Chapel Hill Town Council member Sally Greene moderated the back-and-forth dialogue.

Greene kicked off the discussion by explaining past struggles she faced as a member of the town council, including the eventually successful bid to rename Airport Road in honor of the late Martin Luther King, Jr.

“All of that consternation brought to some of our attention, for the first time, what happened in the 60s,” she said. “Chapel Hill’s [1960s civil rights] story did not make the national news, and that’s due, in part, because it was handled so much better.”

Panelist Al McSurely, an NAACP lawyer and social rights activist, said he’s no stranger to fighting social injustice or exercising civil disobedience.

“[Back then] I disobeyed the law by suggesting that black and white people have a lot of things in common,” he said. “I have seen the situation we are in today at an earlier stage, and there are very many similarities to the reaction of the second reconstruction — from Brown vs. Board in 1954 to 1968 when Nixon won the presidency — to the movement today to reach out and open up new allies and friendships and cross out old stereotypes,” he said.

Kleinschmidt said his history with social justice activism is long and complex, but one with deep roots in Chapel Hill.

“I was a teaching fellow, largely because that’s how I paid for my college, and was fortunate enough to come here to Carolina to get my teaching degree,” he said. “I became very committed to education, and the experience of being a UNC student was extraordinary — you’re exposed to activism on an array of issues; it’s a special kind of exposure.”

Kleinschmidt, who said the five years he spent teaching at West Mecklenburg High School in Charlotte, N.C. opened his eyes to social injustices facing students, said he ran for town council with the intent to use the position as a soapbox.

“But one of the things I learned on the council is that government is limited in creating change,” he said. “I still try to use my position [as mayor] as a soapbox and to talk about important issues and influence other politicians who have the power to make the changes that I can not.”

Panelist and Occupy Chapel Hill supporter Steven Peterson said he embraced social justice activism later in life.

“For many years, my only kind of involvement was at the voting both….My feelings changed dramatically after my kids were born, and [I] saw the direction our community was going in as mean-spirited and alienating,” he said. “I see civil disobedience as a constructive way to create fast change in our society — it can engage the heart of the community, and by definition, it’s going to mean breaking laws….but the rest of us benefit greatly from the public discussion that comes as a result.”

Panelist Maya Handa, a senior at Chapel Hill High School, said she thinks there are two big problems limiting youth involvement in social justice campaigns.

“The first problem is [that] highschoolers tend to do things that will get them the most social acceptance at the least cost,” she said, “and the second problem is information bias — the key to getting students involved in social justice is to create a movement they can participate in with their friends.”

Panelist Jeremy Collins, a student at UNC’s School of Law, is the president of the UNC Black Law Students Association.

Hargraves Community Center, located at 216 North Roberson St., played host Sunday, April 29 to a panel discussion on changes in social justice activism. The center borders Chapel Hill's historically black Northside neighborhood. (Photo by Tyson Leonhardt)

“I’m a law student, and of the 270 students in my class, about 20 of us are African-American,” he said, “and many of my non-African-American and African-American friends don’t recognize we are still in a struggle.”

Collins stressed the importance of walking the walk in addition to talking the talk when it comes to social justice activism.

“We shouldn’t be disillusioned against our struggle, but it’s a different struggle than the one my parents were up against,” Collins said. “I think that the mentality of my father’s generation…. [they] came from the perspective of, ‘It can’t get much worse, and I’ll do whatever it takes to get it done,’ where now, we have to convince people that things can still get better, make those connections and be willing to spend a little more time educating.”

Handa, who works at Franklin Street’s Internationalist Books & Community Center and serves as vice president of the Chapel Hill Youth Council, said she thinks it’s key to motivate young people to get involved social justice campaigns.

The Rev. Robert Campbell, president of the local NAACP chapter and the event’s final panelist, stressed community collaboration.

“We must tell our story; we must speak out against the injustice with a loud voice,” he said. “When we speak as a collective voice and come together, we can create change.”

The reverend and long-time community activist said it’s imperative people become informed of social justice struggles going on in their backyards before lasting change can come about.

“There are visible fences, and then there are those invisible fences, that are out there, but which no one wants to talk about,” he explained. “My social disobedience became more of a dialogue, speaking to the injustice and also working on policies to bring forth resolution.”

Addressing the future of the Occupy Chapel Hill movement, Peterson said the group’s long-term outlook is unclear.

“I believe [the movement] is going to expand as it comes more apparent how wealth is accumulating at the top and our resources run out and people start saying, ‘Hey, this affects me.”

Kleinschmidt, who was criticized by several members of the audience for the town’s response to the Nov. 11, 2011 invasion of the former Yates Motor Company building, reminded the audience that the Chapel Hill Police Department has apologized and asked for their patience and understanding that he doesn’t pull all the strings in government.

“One of the problems with government is that it often can’t respond as quickly as people really need it to — the power of the people is what creates the real change,” he says. “But policy changes began immediately, and things are still going on.”