Poor People's Campaign Announces Mass Assembly and Moral March on Washington D.C. and to the Polls to Center Poor and Low-Wage People in 2024 U.S. Elections
Poor People’s Campaign:A National Call for Moral Revival
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Joe Ward, jward@breachrepairers.org, 929.475.2051
April 29, 2024
Poor People's Campaign Announces Mass Assembly and Moral March on Washington D.C. and to the Polls to Center Poor and Low-Wage People in 2024 U.S. Elections
“Mass Poor People & Low-Wage Workers’ Assembly & Moral March on Washington D.C. & to the Polls” aims to mobilize the one-third of the U.S. electorate who are poor and low-wage infrequent voters.
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A growing coalition of national labor, religious and advocacy organizations stand united alongside the Poor People’s Campaign to mobilize 15 million poor and low-wage voters across the nation.
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Leaders are organizing around an agenda to expand democracy to all people and end the crisis of death by poverty and low-wealth, which kills 295,000 people each year.
WASHINGTON – Standing at a podium at the National Press Club, Bishop William J. Barber II, president and senior lecturer of Repairers of the Breach and co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, today announced a mass assembly and moral march in Washington D.C. to put the needs, issues, and priorities of poor and low-wage people at the center of this year’s elections. Highlighting the fact that one-third of the U.S. electorate is comprised of poor and low-wage people, Bishop Barber called on the nation to mobilize on June 29th to ensure a moral public policy agenda, which includes living wages, universal health care, public education, and affordable housing, are prioritized by candidates across the country, from state house races to the presidency. The summer assembly and moral march will launch an intensive four-month effort to reach 15 million poor and low-wage infrequent voters ahead of this year’s elections through intensive organizing and earned and paid communications efforts.
“It does not stand to reason – morally, economically, or politically – that in the richest nation in the history of the world, 800 people die every day from poverty and low wealth,” said Bishop Barber, 2024 Co-Chair of Mobilization and Strategy. “At the beginning of this presidency, we saw the enactment of policies that cut into the scourge of poverty, as the Child Tax Credit cut the rate of childhood poverty in half. Politicians then made the conscious choice to increase poverty to where it was before – an unconscionable reminder that mass poverty is a political choice, not an inevitable law of nature. We are here to say we must restore the moral conscience of this nation, and elect leaders across the country who will make different choices – not to raise poverty, but to lower it; not to give out tax breaks to wealthy corporations but to those who are struggling to make ends meet. These are the priorities of one-third of the U.S. electorate, and any candidate interested in activating these voters must speak to our issues and our values.”
Organized alongside impacted poor and low-wage workers, representatives from over thirty-two state coordinating committees, and a growing coalition of leaders from major religious organizations and denominations, labor unions, and other advocates and advocacy partners of the Poor People’s Campaign and Repairers of the Breach, the June 29th assembly and moral march will bring together poor and low-wage workers and individuals from across the country who are demanding candidates and public policies that embrace a moral agenda. Despite comprising the largest swing vote, the priorities of poor and low-wage voters have been ignored for decades by extremists pushing fake populism and so-called moderates making compromises that benefit only wealthy special interests, instead of the American people broadly.
A growing list of national partners and anchor organizations will be participating in the June 29th mass assembly and moral march, and the work beyond.
“We are a resurrection of the unheard voices in this democracy, not an insurrection," said Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis, co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign and director of the Kairos Center. “After years of historic union drives and grassroots organizing, we are demonstrating our power at the polls in 2024. We will elect leaders with the courage to abolish poverty, raise wages, safeguard voting rights, and meet the basic needs of struggling families.”
“I started as a PCA working only five to ten hours per week. The person I cared for wasn’t expected to live through the year. But with patience, attention, and plenty of positive reinforcement, she is still alive twenty years later,” said William Cail, a personal care assistant (PCA) with SEIU 1199 and coordinator with the Massachusetts Poor People’s Campaign. “What started out as a few hours a week with no benefits has become a career with twenty years of service. Extremists in Massachusetts are trying to cut consumers from the PCA program who work ten hours or less per week, which I believe is unfair and short-sighted. It takes jobs away from passionate homecare workers and removes needed services from our most vulnerable. I joined the Poor People’s Campaign to help others in need.”
“I am one of the 666,000 poor and low-wage workers in my state. I am one of the 313,953 people in the workforce earning less than $15 per/hour,” said Elaina Hurley, West Virginia Poor People’s Campaign. “I have physical disabilities and had to make a sacrificial decision to return to the workforce just so I can try to meet basic human needs such as shelter, food, water, and utilities. I’ve had numerous utility termination notices that never seem to end. Sometimes I have to go without electricity, running water, or heat until the next pay day, or do the rigorous search for government assistance programs only to be told I'm ineligible because my income exceeds the guideline amount. I’m exhausted physically and mentally, but I’m not broken spiritually. It is by the spirit of God and love for my brothers and sisters in the struggle that I am here today mobilizing and organizing to get myself and West Virgnians to Washington D.C. on June 29th.”
“As a Christian minister, I am inspired and informed by the teachings of Jesus: to love God, to love your neighbor as yourself. This means that I want for others what I want for myself: a living wage of at least $15 per hour; healthcare, safe and affordable housing, quality schools that do not depend on my zip code, and the ability to vote without fear of suppression or intimidation,” said the Rev. Teresa “Terri” Hord Owens, General Minister and President, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the U.S. and Canada. “This love means that I want to be sure that there is a safety net to ensure that no one suffers needlessly. If we are truly the nation we say we are, elected officials will enact policies to ensure that all have enough in our society. Let us be the nation we say we are. There is enough.”
“Today, we confront the pervasive injustices that afflict our nation— systemic racism, economic exploitation, misogyny, homophobia, antisemitism, islamophobia, ableism, and more,” said Sheila Katz, CEO, National Council of Jewish Women. “These injustices manifest in policies that perpetuate poverty, deny healthcare, and suppress the voices of marginalized communities. But we refuse to accept this reality. We refuse to be complacent in the face of injustice. Inspired by Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, we pray with our feet, marching to the polls, using our vote as our voice, and demanding an end to poverty and systemic oppression.“
“Workers’ rights, civil rights and human rights are on the ballot this election. American voters will decide: Do we want to stay the course and keep on this path toward a more compassionate government or revert back to this morally bankrupt nation,” said Fred Redmond, Secretary-Treasurer of the AFL-CIO. “The American labor movement is committed to registering and mobilizing union members and union families around the mass mobilization on June 29. We're going to elect lawmakers who will advocate for workers and poor people to elect leaders who will put people over profits, protect our democracy, and advance worker and civil and human rights.”
“We represent 37 denominations, 100,000 congregations, and more than 30 million members. We are here today to shed light on the dire circumstances faced by so many individuals in our country,” said Bishop Vashti Mckenzie, President and General Secretary, National Council of Churches. “As an anchor partner of the June 29th Poor People’s Campaign mass assembly and moral march, we are committed to advocating for those who are living well below the poverty line, struggling to make ends meet on a daily basis, and unable to access basic necessities for themselves and for their families. Our political leaders have a moral obligation to use their power and influence in statehouses and congress and in communities across the country to address the urgent issues and work towards solutions that support those who are marginalized and disenfranchised.”
At the press conference, the Poor People’s Campaign announced an updated 17-Point Agenda that they are pushing candidates to embrace during the 2024 election season and beyond. These include:
Abolishing poverty as the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S.
A living minimum wage of at least $15 +/hour (indexed for inflation)
Full and expanded voting rights
No more voter suppression
Guaranteed workers’ rights & labor rights
Healthcare for all
Affordable, adequate housing
Strong social welfare and safety net programs
An end to gun violence, profit and proliferation
Fully protected women’s rights
Environmental justice that secures clean air & water
Justice for all Indigenous nations
Fully-funded public education
Just immigration laws
Addressing militarism and the war economy
Standing for peace not war; an immediate cease fire in Gaza that allows humanitarian relief, the release of all hostages, and peace with justice to be pursued; and an end to genocide around the world
An end to hate, division, and the extremist political agenda
“This is a crisis moment for our democracy," said Rosalyn Pelles, Senior Advisor, Poor People’s Campaign. “In order for our nation not to continue down the path of autocracy, we need for our political leaders to become moral leaders and take seriously the needs and priorities of the millions of people struggling simply to survive. Congress must lead, by bringing forward comprehensive legislation to restore the child tax credit and raise the minimum wage. The media must do more, by covering the experiences of people struggling to get by, not just the words and whims of the wealthy and powerful. And the White House must treat poverty like the crisis it is, if this administration is serious about saving our democracy. We all must act, and that is what June 29th is all about.”
The mass assembly will take place at 10 a.m. on June 29th at Third and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, in Washington D.C., followed by a march to Pennsylvania Avenue.
For more information, visit https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org/mm2024/.
ICYMI: C-SPAN 4.29.24, “Campaign 2024: Poor People’s Campaign Holds News Conference”