The Poor People's Campaign

I went to the national gathering of the Poor People's Campaign on Saturday, June 18th in Washington, DC.

I drove up from Atlanta with five other Christian friends--kindred spirits. The 4 hour rally on Pennsylvania Avenue near the Capitol was powerful and, to be honest, exhausting. From the stage, we heard music and preaching and the testimonies of dozens of people whose lives have been harmed by the fact of being poor. And after each testimony, each story, we were invited to say "we will not be silent anymore."

The "silence" refers to the broad acceptance of our society that poverty is natural and inevitable. We have been conditioned to believe and accept that some of our neighbors will just be poor, and that they will suffer because of it. The case that the Poor People's Campaign is making is that poverty--and the suffering that it always brings--is NOT inevitable--it is a choice. It is not a choice made by poor individuals, because they refuse to work hard or save money. It is a choice made by our elected officials who create and sustain a world in which basic human rights like a living wage, healthcare, and housing are unavailable to 40% of the population of our country. Poverty is a choice we make together. As such, we can choose to end it.

How? The Poor People's Campaign believes in the power of democracy and policy-making. They are promoting a policy agenda that focuses on three major pillars: a living wage, universal healthcare, and affordable housing. They refuse to accept that these are unaffordable, and as evidence they point to the federal military budget--cutting military spending by a fraction would free up the money to cover basic human needs.

I am convinced. But I have not always acted like it. I have become numb to the political reality that living wages, universal healthcare, and affordable housing are seen as extreme political "reaches." They appear, given the politics of the present moment, impossible.

And yet, they are morally necessary. Rev. William Barber, at the rally, said "what we are asking for is not radical, it is right." I'm convinced. I will not consent to our choice to allow poverty. I will be part of making the "impossible" possible.