SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
The Poor People's Campaign held events on Monday in more than two dozen states and Washington, D.C. (Photo: Poor People's Campaign)
Decrying 'Dog-Eat-Dog System,' #PoorPeoplesCampaign Kicks Off 40 Days of 'Moral Action'
"We are witnessing an assault on the poor, on immigrants, on black and brown people, and on the Earth, and we can't let it happen any longer."
Feb 05, 2018
In Washington, D.C. and more than two dozen states across the country on Monday, supporters of the Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival gathered to kick off 40 days of "moral action" to highlight "the human impact of policies which promote systemic racism, poverty, the war economy, and environmental devastation."
Led by co-chairs Rev. Dr. William J. Barber and Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis--and inspired by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s original Poor People's Campaign in the late 1960s--the campaign, which was announced last year, livestreamed a press conference from D.C. and delivered to lawmakers a letter outlining their demands for policy changes.
Watch:
Barber, in a series of tweets, denounced rampant voter supression, systemic poverty, a lack of living wages, ecological devastation, and "Christian nationalism," emphasizing an urgent need for sweeping changes in public policy on a national scale.
\u201cToday we serve notice that there must be a change in our moral narrative & public policy. #PoorPeoplesCampaign\u201d— Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II (@Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II) 1517851793
"We are tired of a dog-eat-dog system of life," declared Rev. Saeed Richardson, director of policy for the Chicago Renewal Society.
"We are witnessing an assault on the poor, on immigrants, on black and brown people, and on the Earth," said Rev. Joan Javier-Duval in Vermont, "and we can't let it happen any longer."
"This is about fighting injustice anywhere so that we don't let ourselves lose the vision of what America can be," noted Diana Martinez of the pro-immigrant Kansas/Missouri Dream Alliance. "Because when racism and nativism become the rule of law it hurts all of us."
Participants from events across the U.S. shared on social media messages, photos, and videos depicting the goals of the #PoorPeoplesCampaign:
\u201cThe #PoorPeoplesCampaign aims to build a broad and deep national moral movement \u2013 rooted in the leadership of poor people and reflecting the great moral teachings \u2013 to unite our country from the bottom up.\u201d— Repairers of the Breach (@Repairers of the Breach) 1517844477
\u201c\u201cWe are going to change the narrative in this state and in this country... It\u2019s not a sin to be poor, but poverty is a sin.\u201d #PoorPeoplesCampaign\u201d— Southern Poverty Law Center (@Southern Poverty Law Center) 1517846845
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
In Washington, D.C. and more than two dozen states across the country on Monday, supporters of the Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival gathered to kick off 40 days of "moral action" to highlight "the human impact of policies which promote systemic racism, poverty, the war economy, and environmental devastation."
Led by co-chairs Rev. Dr. William J. Barber and Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis--and inspired by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s original Poor People's Campaign in the late 1960s--the campaign, which was announced last year, livestreamed a press conference from D.C. and delivered to lawmakers a letter outlining their demands for policy changes.
Watch:
Barber, in a series of tweets, denounced rampant voter supression, systemic poverty, a lack of living wages, ecological devastation, and "Christian nationalism," emphasizing an urgent need for sweeping changes in public policy on a national scale.
\u201cToday we serve notice that there must be a change in our moral narrative & public policy. #PoorPeoplesCampaign\u201d— Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II (@Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II) 1517851793
"We are tired of a dog-eat-dog system of life," declared Rev. Saeed Richardson, director of policy for the Chicago Renewal Society.
"We are witnessing an assault on the poor, on immigrants, on black and brown people, and on the Earth," said Rev. Joan Javier-Duval in Vermont, "and we can't let it happen any longer."
"This is about fighting injustice anywhere so that we don't let ourselves lose the vision of what America can be," noted Diana Martinez of the pro-immigrant Kansas/Missouri Dream Alliance. "Because when racism and nativism become the rule of law it hurts all of us."
Participants from events across the U.S. shared on social media messages, photos, and videos depicting the goals of the #PoorPeoplesCampaign:
\u201cThe #PoorPeoplesCampaign aims to build a broad and deep national moral movement \u2013 rooted in the leadership of poor people and reflecting the great moral teachings \u2013 to unite our country from the bottom up.\u201d— Repairers of the Breach (@Repairers of the Breach) 1517844477
\u201c\u201cWe are going to change the narrative in this state and in this country... It\u2019s not a sin to be poor, but poverty is a sin.\u201d #PoorPeoplesCampaign\u201d— Southern Poverty Law Center (@Southern Poverty Law Center) 1517846845
In Washington, D.C. and more than two dozen states across the country on Monday, supporters of the Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival gathered to kick off 40 days of "moral action" to highlight "the human impact of policies which promote systemic racism, poverty, the war economy, and environmental devastation."
Led by co-chairs Rev. Dr. William J. Barber and Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis--and inspired by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s original Poor People's Campaign in the late 1960s--the campaign, which was announced last year, livestreamed a press conference from D.C. and delivered to lawmakers a letter outlining their demands for policy changes.
Watch:
Barber, in a series of tweets, denounced rampant voter supression, systemic poverty, a lack of living wages, ecological devastation, and "Christian nationalism," emphasizing an urgent need for sweeping changes in public policy on a national scale.
\u201cToday we serve notice that there must be a change in our moral narrative & public policy. #PoorPeoplesCampaign\u201d— Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II (@Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II) 1517851793
"We are tired of a dog-eat-dog system of life," declared Rev. Saeed Richardson, director of policy for the Chicago Renewal Society.
"We are witnessing an assault on the poor, on immigrants, on black and brown people, and on the Earth," said Rev. Joan Javier-Duval in Vermont, "and we can't let it happen any longer."
"This is about fighting injustice anywhere so that we don't let ourselves lose the vision of what America can be," noted Diana Martinez of the pro-immigrant Kansas/Missouri Dream Alliance. "Because when racism and nativism become the rule of law it hurts all of us."
Participants from events across the U.S. shared on social media messages, photos, and videos depicting the goals of the #PoorPeoplesCampaign:
\u201cThe #PoorPeoplesCampaign aims to build a broad and deep national moral movement \u2013 rooted in the leadership of poor people and reflecting the great moral teachings \u2013 to unite our country from the bottom up.\u201d— Repairers of the Breach (@Repairers of the Breach) 1517844477
\u201c\u201cWe are going to change the narrative in this state and in this country... It\u2019s not a sin to be poor, but poverty is a sin.\u201d #PoorPeoplesCampaign\u201d— Southern Poverty Law Center (@Southern Poverty Law Center) 1517846845
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.