Pennsylvania Poor People’s Campaign Kicks Off in Harrisburg
The Pennsylvania Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival is an all-volunteer effort led by the poor and disposed, demanding an end to the inseparable evils of poverty, racism, militarism and the war economy.
On Monday, May 14, poor people, women, children, and people with disabilities from across Pennsylvania made history at the kickoff rally with the historic reignition of the unfinished work of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Poor People’s Campaign.
Two weeks ago, The Poor People’s Campaign launched a six-week season of nonviolent direct action in 37 State Capitol buildings across the country demanding an end to racism, poverty and militarism and ecological devastation. Since then, almost 1,000 people have been arrested with the campaign across the country.
In Pennsylvania,1-in-5 children face the pain of poverty daily and another 1-in-8 live in deep poverty, which is less than 50% of the federal poverty level.
During the launch of the campaign in Harrisburg, women, children and people with disabilities testified their truths and demanded action from the state government.
Following the rally, 14 moral witnesses were arrested while blocking traffic.
“After years of low paid jobs cleaning houses, scrubbing toilets or living off low benefits so my son and I can eat and pay the bills, I’m tired of the accusation that poor mothers like myself aren’t contributing to society,” said Pat Albright, of Philadelphia, who was arrested during nonviolent direct action on May 14.
“I’m here today because mothers receiving welfare have been blamed for all manner of social ills, accused of being moochers and scroungers. I’ve worked hard at many jobs over the years, from working at a disco light factory to baking muffins for a restaurant — but becoming a mother I discovered was by far the hardest job I ever had.”
On Monday May 21, the Poor People’s Campaign returned to the State Capitol to demanding lawmakers confront systemic racism.
“50 years ago, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr had a dream of uniting people, not by the color of their skin, religion or origin, but by the bond of humanity and morality,” said Ayasha Noor, (Mechanicsburg,PA) said during the second week’s action for the Poor People’s Campaign.
“Time has come to revive that dream. It’s time to hold hands, and rise above divisiveness, hatred, bigotry, and xenophobia! It’s time to join the national call for moral revival, and work together on the issues that affect us, our children, and our communities.”
The campaign’s second week of action featured speakers directly impacted by systemic racism and poverty from Movement of Immigrant Leaders in Pennsylvania (MILPA) and the Coalition to End Death By Incarceration (CADBI) — an organization working to end Life Without Parole in Pennsylvania, and MarchOnHarrisburg. The speakers demanded an end to the war on poor people through mass incarceration, life without parole, detention, deportation, attacks on Muslim and indigenous communities, and voter suppression.
“My father is undocumented,” said Moly, a 17 year old living in Philadelphia.
“He is also a survivor of the Cambodian genocide, caused by the illegal and immoral US military bombing of Cambodia during the Vietnam war. We want our state senators and representatives to get rid of these anti-immigrant bills that tear families apart and that invade our privacy. We want Governor Tom Wolf to shut down Berks Detention Center. We want ICE to stop tearing our families apart.”
Following the rally, 24 moral witnesses were arrested while blocking the hallway in the Rotunda of the State Capitol, holding banners that read, “Deportation is War on The Poor,” and “Mass incarceration is War on the Poor.”
Many speakers highlighted the strength of bringing together different struggles of poor black, brown, indigenous and white marginalized people, as the Poor People’s Campaign is doing.
“Ending mass incarceration, death by incarceration, deportation, discrimination, racism, militarism, ecological disaster, is all a part of the same struggle,” Kempis “Ghani” Songster declared, a CADBI member who was serving a juvenile life without parole sentence. Songster was re-sentenced and released from prison last year.
“The dog that bites you is the dog that bites me. We all have a stake in this.”
Protests in subsequent weeks will focus on systemic racism, veterans and the war economy, ecological devastation, inequality, and our nation’s distorted moral narrative. On June 23, at the conclusion of the 40 day campaign, poor people, clergy, and advocates from coast to coast will join together for a mass mobilization at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.
This campaign is a multi-year effort that will continue long past the six weeks of action.
The Pennsylvania Poor People’s Campaign will return to the State Capitol Building in Harrisburg for its third consecutive week of action on Tuesday, May 29, demanding action on militarism and gun violence.
