The population of Warren County in 1980 was 16,232. And even though a significant number of residents participated in the landfill struggle, organizers understood the need to expand the fight beyond the county to sustain pressure on the State.
Leaders hoped to mobilize college students across North Carolina to bring renewed energy to the movement. Cohorts of students from local HBCUs, Duke University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill joined marches and organized in support of the people. Students held solidarity rallies in the Pit at UNC and in front of the Bryan Center at Duke, featuring speakers from Warren County.
From October 9-12, 1982, activists walked to Raleigh to rally in front of the capitol. The action recalled other recent marches to the capital city, including a 1970 demonstration after the murder of Henry Marrow in Oxford or a 1973 journey in support of the Tuscarora Nation (both led by Golden Frinks).
Flyer, "Stop PCB Dumping in Warren County," September 1, 1982
FEDERATION FOR PROGRESS, CHAPEL HILL, NC
John "Yonni" Chapman, the North Carolina state coordinator for the Federation for Progress, organized in solidarity with the Warren County people. Chapman was arrested in Afton on September 15, 1982 while participating in the first "human blockade." Chapman and UNC Chapel Hill student Ted Johnson organized a rally on September 22, 1982 at the Pit on the UNC campus, which featured Rev. Leon White.
"Alumni, graduate student arrested for PCB protest," September 23, 1982
THE CHRONICLE, DURHAM, NC
Duke University students were involved in the direct-action phase of the landfill fight. This article in The Chronicle (the Duke student newspaper) reports that four Duke alumni and one current graduate student were arrested in Afton on September 22, 1982: Les Field, Mary Margaret Graham, Grace Nordoff, Ruffin Slater, and Ruth Ziegler.
Jenny Labalme files, Bob Hall Papers
Southern Historical Collection