Busses stop on Columbia Street

Busses stop on Columbia Street stopping for protestors, march 29, 2016

On March 29, 2016, anti-HB2 protesters filled downtown Chapel Hill for hours. The protesters had marched west on Franklin Street, ending in the middle of the intersection of Franklin and Columbia Streets, which is the center of Chapel Hill's downtown. They formed a large circle in the middle of the intersection. Buses stopped in both directions (north and south on Columbia Street). This photo was taken from the southern end of the protest circle, facing south at the stopped buses. The fascinating part about the whole event was that police, bus drivers, and everyone else supported the protest. My understanding is that the Town of Chapel Hill had instructed officers to allow the protesters to continue as long as they wanted. The buses emptied out. In the other direction (east-west on Franklin Street), streets were closed for several blocks in each direction. This continued until about 9 pm.

Lori Carswell

2016/03/29