The Poor People’s Campaign rallies in Washington, DC in July, 2023. Screenshot from Poor People’s Campaign video
The Poor People’s Campaign is a grassroots movement that began in the 1960s and continues to this day, aiming to address issues of poverty, inequality, and social justice in the United States. The campaign was initially launched by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders in 1968, just before King’s assassination. Of course, when MLK started his Poor People’s Campaign it was also with the backdrop of war and militarism, which became a divisive issue, as it is today.
The Campaign has gained momentum in recent years, with thousands of people participating in marches, rallies, and other actions across the country. As a matter of course, media reporting on this new poor people’s campaign is sporadic, and one of the only places to find Campaign leader Rev. William Barber II’s interviews is Democracy Now! Even locally, the Campaign’s actions in Springfield have not been given the coverage that was warranted by local television and other media. Illinois is one of 15 states with a high number of low-income voters who are eligible to vote but not participating in elections. Even more locally, Urbana has a high poverty rate and complementary high rate of child poverty. The commonplace that this is predominantly due to student population is pretty easily debunked, but the fact that a small number of students are availing themselves of food banks, and other temporary and charity sources of aid, does add to the complexity of the problem. Continue reading
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“The rivers are the place where nature still exists.” – Bruce Hannon, 2017 interview for Prairie Rivers Network’s 50th Anniversary.
