Across the United States, nearly 140 million people live at or close to the poverty line, according to the Institute for Policy Studies. Women and children represent 73 percent of poor people in the United States, with a majority of them being Black and Brown. According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, over 550,000 people experience homelessness on a single night. California has the biggest homeless population in the country, with 129,000 experiencing homelessness on a single night. Instead of spending money on alleviating poverty and homelessness in the U.S., the Donald Trump administration continues to expand the police and military industrial complex. At home, there is a racist war on Black and Brown people, who continue to be victims of police killings. Abroad, the U.S. is bankrolling repressive governments against poor and innocent people, from Haiti and Yemen to India and Brazil. Instead of spending money on food, Washington is spending money on bombs. Meanwhile, global ecological devastation continues to worsen by the day, with right-wing leaders like Trump and Brazils Bolsonaro rolling back environmental protections. On top of that, the COVID-19 pandemic is worsening by the day.
Despite all of these problems, there is a new grassroots, cross-generational and multi-racial movement tackling all of these interconnected issues. The Poor Peoples Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, is a fusion movement fighting back against the evils of racism, poverty, the war economy, ecological devastation and the nations distorted moral narrative. Its co-chairs, the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber and the Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis, relaunched the movement started in 1968 by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. On Saturday, June 20, millions of people in the U.S. and around the world participated in the Mass Poor Peoples Assembly and Moral March on Washington, D.C. The digital gathering, held virtually because of COVID-19, brought together poor and impacted people from diverse backgrounds. Participants were able to share their stories with the world and come together to jointly tackle racism, poverty, the war economy and ecological devastation. Today on Sojourner Truth, we bring you Part 2 of the Mass Poor Peoples Assembly and Moral March on Washington, D.C. During todays program, you will hear more testimony, solidarity messages and performances from the historic event.
