The North Carolina Amnesty International State Meeting will be held at Appalachian State University on March 1 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and will be hosted by Appalachian’s chapter of Amnesty International.
The conference, which will be held in Anne Belk Hall Room 11, will include discussions on the death penalty, poverty and human trafficking, according to a university news release.
“With these conferences, I really want to inspire people to go out and do something,” said Amanda Moore, Amnesty International’s North Carolina meeting coordinator. “I want people to feel inspired and realize that there are people and organizations out there that they may become really interested in helping.”
Darryl Hunt, a Winston-Salem resident who spent almost 20 years in prison after being wrongly convicted of murder, and Tarrah Callahan from the North Carolina Coalition for
Alternatives to the Death Penalty will serve as guest speakers, according to the university news release.
The death penalty is a topic that Appalachian’s Amnesty International chapter has had specific interest in, including the chapter’s adviser, Matthew Robinson, professor of Government and Justice Studies, who has done extensive work regarding the death penalty, Moore said.
Other speakers include Edith Garwood, a country specialist on Israel and Palestine from Charlotte, Red Flag Campaign and the N.C. Dream Team.
Red Flag Campaign, a campus-based social marketing campaign designed to raise awareness and educate people to be active bystanders, will provide training to the audience concerning interpersonal violence, according to redflag.appstate.edu.
“I contextualize Red Flag Campaign on a bigger level than just interpersonal violence,” Moore said. “I look for red flags in other areas of my life and that is what I want people to take away from the event – to look for red flags all throughout their lives and society.”
The N.C. Dream Team is an organization that is composed of undocumented immigrant youth and allies, according to the university news release.
Registration will be open to the public as well as any students interested in attending. The fee is $20, which will include admission to all of the event’s meetings, lunch provided by the F.A.R.M. Café and membership to Amnesty International – USA, according to the university news release. Registration can be completed at aincstatemeeting.weebly.com.
Moore prefers to have most of the registration completed by the last week of February, but said registration will remain open until the day of the conference. Appalachian’s chapter is also encouraging attendees to bring canned food items, which will be donated to the Hospitality House of Boone.
Ebony Brickhouse, the Appalachian chapter’s field organizer from the Amnesty International Southern Regional Office, will be in attendance at the conference and serve as the official representative of Amnesty International, Moore said.
The state meeting was held at UNC Charlotte in 2013, and Appalachian’s Amnesty International chapter was the largest in attendance, Moore said.
The Appalachian chapter has reached out across the state to all of the UNC system universities, as well as local and state media and organizations about attending the conference.
Moore started the Appalachian chapter of Amnesty International in April 2012. Sophomore anthropology major Christina Fasanello serves as the current president of the chapter.
Amnesty International works to protect human rights worldwide with approximately 3 million supporters, activists and volunteers, according to amnestyusa.org.
Story: Gerrit Van Genderen, News Reporter