Poor People’s Campaign

June 13, 2019 Update

Kamala Harris. Bernie Sanders. Elizabeth Warren. Joe Biden.

These four leading candidates (and more) will all be at the #PPCMoralCongress on Monday to hear directly from members like you about the issues facing 140 million poor people.

By holding the nation’s biggest candidate forum right before the first televised debate, the Poor People’s Campaign has a chance to shape the political narrative and our nation’s policy priorities heading into 2020 and beyond.

At the #PPCMoralCongress, we will also release a Moral Budget with research by world-renowned economists, and after a day-long Freedom School and organizing workshops, members will testify at a congressional hearing in front of the House Budget Committee on Capitol Hill.

We’re lifting up poor people’s voices and owning our power. Chip in $15 to change the way grassroots movements talk to the most powerful people in the world.

Fielding questions directly from poor and impacted people shouldn’t be radical. We’re changing the game so that it won’t be.

This is what a moral fusion movement can achieve when we organize.

Forward together, not one step back,

Reverend Dr. William J. Barber II and Reverend Dr. Liz Theoharis
President of Repairers of the Breach & Director of the Kairos Center
Co-Chairs of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival

SC Poor People's Campaign Demand Letter Delivery & Press Conference: Wed, Feb 27, 2019

UU's have been involved with the PPC since last summer. Last year when we launched this campaign, we delivered our list of demands to our state legislators. We continue to see policy violence at the state level - voter suppression, attacks on vital programs for the poor, increasing barriers to accessing affordable health care, low wages, and much more. We went back to the State House to deliver our demands and make it clear that we plant to continue organizing, building our statewide and national movement, and holding legislators accountable to our Moral Agenda.

2/27/19 Media Coverage

ABC AP 106.3WORD SC NOW Morning News The T&D Herald Sun The Eagle Midland Reporter-Telegram Beaumont Enterprise ABC

(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. 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.

We stand together to show the power of people united across issues and geography. We stand together because there are over 40 million people living in poverty in this country including 13 million children, and because although the U.S. spends more per capita on health care than any other country, 32 million people remain uninsured. And with fewer voting rights in place today for people of color than 50 years ago when the Civil Rights Act was passed, we stand together to say that we cannot go down this road any longer.

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

Media Advisory for June 11

Press Release for June 18

Already receiving press

June 11:

June 4:

Herald | ABC | USNews | Medium | Aiken Standard

May 29:

May 21:

May 14:

See all the big media outlets covering this campaign here: https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org/index.php/press/

UUA Involvement

May 14, 2018 in DC - Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray and other UU clergy & lay leaders arrested and dozens more out in support.

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.)

Weekly Themes

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!

Here are some of the other positions that are needed to help each Monday:

We are in need of a few people to help with media work this week. Anyone who has some experience sending press releases and making follow up calls, and has a few hours to dedicate this week. Please contact SocialAction@uucolumbia.org if you are able to help with this.

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!)

To sign up to volunteer at a Monday rally: https://goo.gl/forms/Kr3h3uYSBLQID33p1

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

Live Stream

All events will be livestreamed from the PPC: NCMR Facebook Page. Sunday Mass Meetings - 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. EDT

Sunday, 5/27 at 6:00pm EST

Livestream of Mass Meeting in Washington, DC--public livestream, please share!

Will be shown on PPC Facebook page. Consider hosting a watch party with a few friends!

See similar events that have worked

Fight for $15

Best Church:
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship

“A church where skepticism is welcome and adherence to dogma is suspect? A church where all religions are invited but none are beyond introspection? A church that regularly presents nationally touring singer-songwriters? A church where half the congregation might have been at Hunter-Gatherer the night before? Now that’s a church we can support.”

Dan Cook Free Times

For much of our married life, we were without a church home, but felt our lives would be enriched if we could find a place where we were part of something greater than ourselves. The UUCC became that place. There, we’ve made great friends, enjoyed meaningful fellowship and found a sense of peace. It’s just what we were looking for.

Jane and Bob Gillespie, Members

We were looking for a church where we felt accepted both intellectually and spiritually, a place where all people and religions were regarded equally without condemnation. Our search began at UUCC six years ago and we never had to look any further. We found our place here with a community of like-minded people and it became our second home, our second family.

Richard and Linda McLeod, Members

Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Columbia