New Poor People's Campaign to March on Washington

My first entry in this blog referenced the Poor People's Campaign, which was led by Coretta Scott King, Ralph David Abernathy and a litany of other Civil Rights activists from May 12 to June 24, 1968. Originally conceived by Dr. King in October 1966 and officially announced on December 4, 1967, the campaigned centered around the issues of: living-wage employment: sage and affordable housing; universal healthcare; the right to social security; and access to quality education. Of course, Dr. King did not live to see this campaign realized, which sadly ended abruptly when police evicted the protesters from the camps they set up on the National Mall.

A half-century later, a new Poor People's Campaign has emerged led by the Rev. William Barber under the banner of "A National Call for Moral Revival." With affiliates in more than 30 states, the campaign's current activities include 40 days of "direct action and nonviolent civil disobedience" which will culminate this Saturday, June 23, with a march on our nation's capital. 

Like our Executive Director, Dr. Clarence Hightower, who recently wrote about the new campaign in his column, "The Anti-Poverty Soldier," I am interested to saw how our legislators and America at-large react to this demonstration, particular in the shadows of the child immigrant tragedy that has taken center stage in the media this past week.

And, I would like to quote Dr. Hightower's column as to why I am curious. He recently wrote:

"Well, let’s be frank for a minute. An enduring theme throughout the history of this nation is that people living in poverty are somehow to blame for their own plight. And, there are a number of journalists, scholars, and activists, including John A. Powell and Arthur Brooks who have recently declared that “America can’t fix poverty until it stops hating poor people.”

So true.