On the weekend of Juneteenth 2022, the Poor People's Campaign gathered for a Moral March and Assembly, in Washington, DC. People arrived on buses from around the country, many to share their testimonies of struggle and survival. On stage, the theomusicology team was in force with a full gospel band and choir, stirring the crowd of several thousand with songs from the movement.
"There is power in our stories," said one testifier, asking the crowd to close their eyes and imagine, "What would America look like?"
Another testifier talked of the shame they experienced growing up LGBTQ+ and how they wondered "if being myself was worth it? How can my existence be a threat?"
Other testifiers talked about how "incarcerated lives matter too." How they made mistakes, but they are not a mistake, crying out, "I too am America."
With the capital behind him, Bishop Reverend William Barber called for a Third Reconstruction Agenda, denouncing the politics of greed that leads to policy murder, calling it a moral crisis in America. "There comes a time," he proclaimed, "when we must have a moral meeting ... and we won't be silent or unseen or unheard anymore." He then spoke of building a fusion coalition of the rejected, the outsiders, of those at the bottom, to build a non-violent, moral army, announcing, "We are not an insurrection, but we are a resurrection."
Those words, "not an insurrection, but a resurrection," inspired me. My name is Mike Hughes. It was during the COVID lockdowns and the mass demonstrations protesting the murder of George Floyd that I first became aware of the Poor People's Campaign. Watching a PPC rally on television, much like this year's event, was where I first became involved, texting the number to sign up.
"There is power in our stories," said one testifier, asking the crowd to close their eyes and imagine, "What would America look like?"
Another testifier talked of the shame they experienced growing up LGBTQ+ and how they wondered "if being myself was worth it? How can my existence be a threat?"
Other testifiers talked about how "incarcerated lives matter too." How they made mistakes, but they are not a mistake, crying out, "I too am America."
With the capital behind him, Bishop Reverend William Barber called for a Third Reconstruction Agenda, denouncing the politics of greed that leads to policy murder, calling it a moral crisis in America. "There comes a time," he proclaimed, "when we must have a moral meeting ... and we won't be silent or unseen or unheard anymore." He then spoke of building a fusion coalition of the rejected, the outsiders, of those at the bottom, to build a non-violent, moral army, announcing, "We are not an insurrection, but we are a resurrection."
Those words, "not an insurrection, but a resurrection," inspired me. My name is Mike Hughes. It was during the COVID lockdowns and the mass demonstrations protesting the murder of George Floyd that I first became aware of the Poor People's Campaign. Watching a PPC rally on television, much like this year's event, was where I first became involved, texting the number to sign up.
I live in Western Maryland with my wife and I’m the proud parent of four children. My wife and I are both disabled. Though our disabilities are hidden, they affect every part of our lives. I have autism. And my wife has heart failure, along with auto-immune disorders which force her to live in chronic pain. I am able to work. My wife is not. Our experiences have made me see how fragile life can be, how we're only a couple of bad weeks from financial disaster.
Seeing the attack on our capital on television was one of the most traumatic events I've experienced as an American. "So it's come to this," I remember thinking. Since then, the efforts by red states to enact laws to suppress voting have intensified, trying to limit the vote to only the "real" Americans. Today's march, however, declared that ALL AMERICANS ARE REAL AMERICANS, that all voices deserve to be heard, again, like Rev. Barber said, "we won't be silent or unseen or unheard anymore."
That message was reinforced by co-chair Reverend Liz Theo Harris when she said, "Hope comes from the bottom. We will transform this nation from the bottom up."
Later, Bernice King, daughter of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., declared that poverty is violence, and that our nation doesn't suffer from a deficit of resources, but a deficit of will. Stating that poverty is not someone else's problem, that the least of these is becoming the most of these, and poverty will not stop at low-income workers. Poverty is a system that will continue to consume more and more people.
Throughout the day, a blustery wind kept the participants cool, with several speakers commenting that the spirit was moving. While storm clouds threatened briefly to rain out the event, the wind prevailed and brushed away the clouds.
The event ended with singing and with Rev. Barber calling for viewers to join the movement, then he offered an outline of the Poor People's Campaign's plans for non-violent direct action in the halls of Congress in September. As one speaker said, "This isn't the end, it's the beginning."
That message was reinforced by co-chair Reverend Liz Theo Harris when she said, "Hope comes from the bottom. We will transform this nation from the bottom up."
Later, Bernice King, daughter of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., declared that poverty is violence, and that our nation doesn't suffer from a deficit of resources, but a deficit of will. Stating that poverty is not someone else's problem, that the least of these is becoming the most of these, and poverty will not stop at low-income workers. Poverty is a system that will continue to consume more and more people.
Throughout the day, a blustery wind kept the participants cool, with several speakers commenting that the spirit was moving. While storm clouds threatened briefly to rain out the event, the wind prevailed and brushed away the clouds.
The event ended with singing and with Rev. Barber calling for viewers to join the movement, then he offered an outline of the Poor People's Campaign's plans for non-violent direct action in the halls of Congress in September. As one speaker said, "This isn't the end, it's the beginning."