WAYNESVILLE - The Western Chapter of the ACLU of North Carolina will hold its 2025 Annual Celebration and Award Ceremony on Saturday, May 17, 2025, from 12:30 – 2 p.m. at the Pigeon Community Multicultural Development Center in Waynesville, North Carolina, located at 450 Pigeon St, Waynesville, NC 28786. A hot catered lunch will be served.
Nassim Moshiree, Chief Program Officer of the ACLU of North Carolina, will speak at the event about recent work of the organization to bring together litigation, legislative advocacy, communications, and organizing strategies to empower communities and achieve its objectives in areas including criminal law reform, racial justice, LGBTQIA+ equality, reproductive freedom, and the rights of immigrants. In these times, when our democracy is under critical distress, it is especially important to support the movement to protect all people’s important civil rights.
This year, Western North Carolina Chapter of ACLU-NC will present the Evan R. Mahaney Champion of Civil Liberties Award to UNETE, a Latino-led, Latino-powered organization based in West Asheville that serves the needs of individuals and families in five counties in Western North Carolina. Its name stands for “Unmet Needs in Equity vs Transformational Empowerment,” and its vision is carried out through collaborative, culturally-grounded services and the Community Health Worker model. UNETE’s approach embraces the whole person and the whole community—and for UNETE, “whole” means all. Goals of the organization include: supporting and mentoring youth; fostering health, strengthening self-advocacy, and promoting wellness; promoting and facilitating access to resources; and providing a bridge between social services and the community.
Past recipients of the Champion of Civil Liberties Award include: Bruce Elmore, Jr., civil rights attorney (2024); The Racial Justice Coalition and Rob Thomas (2023); Dolly Jenkins-Mullen, Ph.D. and Dwight Mullen, Ph.D. (2022); Beloved Asheville (2021); Tyrone Greenlee (2019); Different Strokes! Performing Arts Collective (2018); Women’s March on Asheville (2017); Isaac Coleman (2016, posthumous); Building Bridges of Asheville (2015); Drew Reisinger, Buncombe County Register of Deeds, and the Campaign for Southern Equality (2014); Jim Cavener (2013); Defensa Communitaria, Latino community advocates (2012); Lotte Meyerson, (2011); and Bob Smith, Asheville Buncombe Community Relations Council (2010).
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