Blog
Dawn Blagrove: Raleigh’s Young People Deserve Real Solutions, Not Curfews
When communities face difficult challenges, the answer should be to invest in young people—not simply restrict them. That was the message from Emancipate NC Executive Director Dawn Blagrove in a September 17 ABC11 story examining Raleigh’s proposed teen curfew. The...
Check Your Voter Status Today—And Share Our Voter Rights Quiz
Your voice matters. Make sure you’re ready to use it. Emancipate NC is reminding everyone to check their voter registration status today and make sure their information is current. Whether you’ve moved, changed your name, or simply haven’t checked your registration...
Dawn Blagrove Teaches the Next Generation of Election Defenders
On September 26, 2026, Emancipate NC Executive Director Dawn Blagrove joined young organizers, students, and community members in Greensboro for GenVote’s “Power Back: A Movement School for Election Defense.” Hosted at the International Civil Rights Center &...
Emancipate NC Brings “Don’t Plead to Weed” to UNC Law
Emancipate NC Organizer Dedan Waciuri and attorneys Jaelyn Miller and Dillon Sharpe recently joined Emancipate NC Strategic Director Elizabeth Simpson’s UNC School of Law class, Social Justice Lawyering, to discuss the real-world impacts of marijuana convictions and...
Executive Director Dawn Blagrove Raises Concerns about the Rise of Surveillance in Raleigh
In a recent article in The Nubian Message, “Flock Cameras in Raleigh: The Ever-Growing Rise of the Surveillance Society in North Carolina’s Capital,” Emancipate NC Executive Director Dawn Blagrove spoke out about the growing use of surveillance technology and its...
Get Trained to Defend Our Communities and Protect Our Elections
Voters should pick our leaders—not the other way around. But across the country, some people in power are working to make it harder to vote, control our elections, and hold onto power. We won’t let them decide our future or define what democracy looks like for our...
Are you in North Carolina with a conviction record? Learn your VOTING RIGHTS in just 15 seconds.
Your voice matters—and protecting your right to vote starts with knowing your rights. Emancipate NC encourages everyone to check their voter registration status and make sure their information is current. Changes to your address, name, or other registration details...
Pro Bono Criminal Record Expungement Clinic
Emancipate NC will be at King Solomon Lodge No. 1 for a Pro Bono Criminal Record Expungement Clinic designed to connect eligible community members with free legal assistance and information regarding criminal-record relief. 📅 Saturday, November 7, 2026 🕙 10:00 a.m. 📍...
Raleigh’s Proposed Teen Curfew: Criminalizing Young People is Not the Answer
An ABC 11 story, “Raleigh leaders plan to vote on teen curfew next month as police chief cites 'trend of violence'” by DeJuan Hoggard and Michael Perchick, explains that Raleigh city leaders are considering a new teen curfew following incidents of violence and large...
Executive Director Dawn Blagrove Honored
Watch as Executive Director Dawn Blagrove accepts March on Washington Lifetime Legacy Award from The National Black Leadership Caucus Watch now→
Emancipate NC Leaders Elizabeth Simpson and Toia Potts to Present at 2026 National Parent Representation Conference
Emancipate NC is proud to announce that Strategic Director Elizabeth Simpson and Organizer Toia Potts will be presenting at the 2026 National Parent Representation Conference, co-sponsored by the ABA Center on Children and the Law and the National Alliance for Parent...
A Step Forward in Tyrrell County: Challenging Racist Government Speech in Our Public Spaces
By Attorney Jaelyn Miller The Tyrrell County monument was erected in 1902, decades after the Civil War and during the era when white supremacist governments were consolidating power across the South. The monument's largest text is a massive panel with the inscription...
From Don’t Plead to Weed to Local Decriminalization: Emancipate NC Supports Hate Out of Winston’s Campaign
By Attorney Jaelyn Miller For years, Emancipate NC’s Don’t Plead to Weed campaign has challenged the criminalization of marijuana in North Carolina—and the lasting harm that a marijuana charge can cause to people and families. Now, that work is connecting with a...
Opening Doors to Second Chances: Emancipate NC Joins Community Expungement Clinic
By Attorney Jaelyn MillerA criminal record can create barriers to employment, housing, education, and other opportunities long after a person has completed their sentence. That’s why access to expungement and second-chance resources is so important.Emancipate NC was...
Dawn Blagrove Joins Walk Together, Convening to Discuss Protecting Democracy and Defending the Vote
Emancipate NC joined movement partners from across the state at the Walk Together: A 2026 Movement Building Convening for Voter Protection, hosted by Forward Justice, North Carolina Asian Americans Together, and the North Carolina Black Alliance on July 23–24, 2026,...