(updated 6/18/18)

The SC Poor People’s Campaign a National Call for Moral Revival is committed to lifting up and deepening the leadership of those most affected by SYSTEMIC RACISM, POVERTY, THE WAR ECONOMY & ECOLOGICAL DEVASTATION. We will be protesting at over 30 statehouses and the US Capitol  We need you to join our efforts.

The UUCC plans to be a part of the moral revival planned by Rev. William Barber and the Poor People’s Campaign.  We encourage you to read up on this movement and prepare to participate with a event planned in DC on Sat, June 23rd.  We need people to help us spread the word.  Please follow them on facebook, and spread the word through social media.  We need people to talk to faith leaders, politicians, and friends and family. We need people to tell their stories.  If you can be involved in any way, please contact Laura Hartwig at SocialAction@uucolumbia.org.

Find: UUA Involvement | Weekly Themes | Volunteer | Press | Live Stream of DC Events 

UUA Involvement

The UUA is supporting the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, the brainchild of two community activists — the Rev. Liz Theoharis of New York and the Rev. William J. Barber II of North Carolina.  UUA President Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray will be participating in the direct action in Washington, DC on May 14^th.   Read her article about getting arrested.  UU Rev. Robin Tanner laid out that the 40 Days of Action beginning on Mother’s Day May 13^th and every week through to the mass mobilization in Washington, DC on June 23^rd will consist of these components:

• Sunday evenings: Mass Meetings for spiritual, moral and tactical/logistical preparation for the next days’ events
• Mondays: Gather at 10 am, 1 hour Training at 11 am, followed by press conference & rally, and then afternoon direct actions at 38 state capitals and in Washington, DC
• Tuesdays: Teach-Ins
• Thursdays: Theomusicology and Arts Events
• Friday–Sunday – Worship (the campaign is providing multi-faith materials)

All the national events will be livestreamed. This schedule will be followed in Washington DC and in the states so that we are all acting simultaneously.

To participate in direct action people must attend the trainings in their states. A further one hour training will be provided in Washington, DC for the national action and in the states. (We are also looking into an on-line training.)

Week One (May 13-19) – SOMEBODY’S HURTING OUR PEOPLE: Children, Women, and People with Disabilities in Poverty

Week Two (May 20-26) – LINKING SYSTEMIC RACISM AND POVERTY: Voting Rights, Immigration, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, and the Mistreatment of Indigenous Communities

Week Three (May 27-June 2) – THE WAR ECONOMY: Militarism and the Proliferation of Gun Violence

Week Four (June 3-9) – THE RIGHT TO HEALTH AND A HEALTHY PLANET: Ecological Devastation and Health Care

Week Five (June 10-16) – EVERYBODY’S GOT THE RIGHT TO LIVE: Education, Living Wage Jobs, Income, Housing

Week Six (June 17-22) – A NEW AND UNSETTLING FORCE: Confronting the Distorted Moral Narrative

June 23: Join us in Washington, DC, for a mass rally and sending forth to continue building the moral movement!

• Safety team (Marshalls, Peace Keepers, Medics, etc) Find info about peace keeping here.
• Program Coordinator (stage coordinator, timekeeper, speaker coordinator)
• Documentarian (photo/videos)
• Rally set up/clean up crew
• Legal support and legal observers
• Post-action support (community support at jail, collecting information, giving rides)
• Interpreters and equipment
• Visual arts (creating signs, banners, other visuals)
• Music
• Communications (media spokespeople, media wrangler, social media)
• Transportation coordinator (organize carpools and buses from various areas of the state)
• Organizing a PPC event in my community (the coordinating committee will provide ideas and resources!)

Helpful Info

Here are links to:

• The recording of the call that we held today: 4.19 Video Call (Note that the recording did not start in time to capture the welcome in that I did which included introducing Dr. Janice Marie Johnson, UUA Multicultural Ministries Director – she is who is speaking at the beginning.)
• The slide with the weekly themes (I’ll also paste text below) and the video we showed at the end of the call.
• A folder of materials and information that the Campaign has created – it includes list of the participating states and e-mail addresses, schedule of non-violent direct action trainings (it will be regularly updated), Fundamental Principles, Organizational Sign on Letter, National Steering Committee Members, List of Official Partners, Audit Fact Sheet, additional materials for the NVMFDA training and Days of Action, for political education, for Theomusicology and the Movement Arts.
• The audit – “Souls of Poor Folks: Auditing America 50 Years After the Poor People’s Campaign Challenged Systemic Racism, The War Economy/Militarism, Ecological Devastation, and our National Morality” and the campaign demands, “A Moral Agenda Based on Fundamental Rights”.
• A list of lodging options in Washington, DC that our generous friends at UUSJ (UUs for Social Justice, Your Voice in the National Capital) have put together. They can also provide some limited home hospitality. Contact them at advocacy@uusj.org or call 202-600-9132.
• Here’s a link from the ACLU that tells how you can help as a legal observer.

To get connected with the UUA’s involvement with this campaign, please sign up directly on this link here (the campaign has set it up to track UU participation for us).  Each state campaign has a Facebook page. We also recommend that you contact your UU state action network. You can follow the facebook group for the UU’s & PPC here.  A UUA webpage will soon be available here: https://www.uua.org/racial-justice/poor-peoples-campaign-national-call-moral-revival