The (Realistic) Plan to Inspire the Poorest Americans to Save Our Democracy by Saving Themselves

civil rights, current events, democracy, economic inequality, poverty, voting rights 5 Minutes

They’ve done the math. They “bring the receipts”–to use popular phraseology.

They’re religiously oriented, but their speakers span all religious groups as well as “none of the above.” They condemn the ugly religiosity of white Christian nationalism. Their roots are in the civil rights movement, with an emphasis on inclusiveness and love and non-violence–and the sanctity of the right to vote. They speak of “resurrection, not insurrection.”

They want to “take back the mic from the extremists.”

Tomorrow, March 2, they begin the active public phase of this campaign.

They are attempting to launch nothing less than “the Third Reconstruction.” They believe that in their current organizing campaign, if they can persuade enough voters, they will have powerful platforms on the state and national levels to make sure that from this Reconstruction, there will be no turning back.

You’ve probably heard of or about Bishop William Barber, a longtime minister in a North Carolina church, the founding director of the Center for Public Theology & Public Policy at Yale Divinity School, and a civil rights activist who is co-chair of the current iteration of the Poor People’s Campaign.

A bit of Black/American History: the first Poor People’s Campaign began with Dr. Martin Luther King’s announcement on December 4, 1967, that such a movement was needed because the plight of the poorest Americans was “a kind of social insanity which could lead to national ruin.”

The following month (January, 1968), the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) publicized an Economic Fact sheet with the statistics backing up that claim.

But the thousands of poor people who came to Washington that spring did not succeed in changing the landscape of jobs and income. Of note in today’s environment, I stumbled on a paper about that campaign, which was King’s effort to broaden his base to include white people, that laid some of the blame on media coverage of the fractious movement following King’s assassination that spring.

Ironically, this year’s Poor People’s Campaign may–just may–be more successful in turning the plight Dr. King described upside down. It may prove to be a kind of social sanity that could lead to national enrichment.

Barber and his co-chair, theologian Liz Theoharis, have spent years attempting to organize poor and low-wage workers to recognize the power of their votes as a way to provide them with economic justice.

It’s not true that poor and low-wage voters aren’t interested in voting, Barber said. Their research has shown that nobody talks with these people. His organization has been doing just that. One compelling phrase is “Don’t fight poor people; fight poverty.”

It’s also not true that what they’re planning can’t be done, they say. One speaker pointed out that in Georgia in 2020, there were 2.4 million poor and low-wage people. The 39,000 who voted represented three times the margin of victory in that state.

This year, the presumed closeness of the vote in the battleground states seems to give their determination to “awaken the sleeping giant” of fifteen million “infrequent” voters a fighting chance.

Fighting nonviolently, of course. And I’m sure all participants are aware of the risks at this particularly volatile time in America.

As the group estimates there are approximately 140 million Americans in the category of “poor and low-income,” they feel there is a strong likelihood that they can get fifteen million of them to vote.

The plan, announced in Washington, DC’s National Press Club (see above video, which is long), begins with the March 2 march to state house assemblies in thirty-two states, where they will present their list of demands.

As Barber explained, this is “part of forty-two weeks organizing a mass mobilization of poor and low-wage voters, between now and November, and to announce that in June, June 15, we will also be marching on the United States Congress to launch our summer initiative.”

“As we go to statehouses, we are pushing for a Third Reconstruction agenda, that’s not about left versus right politics, but about what’s right versus what’s wrong,” Barber said in an interview.

“A Third Reconstruction agenda says everybody deserves a living minimum wage, affordable and adequate housing, basic human rights, basic civil rights, universal healthcare, fully-funded public education, women’s rights to their own health, the right to clean water and a clean environment, among other issues.”

The campaign states that it is non-partisan and will, for example, be going after all legislators who voted in 2021 against a $15 minimum wage; they included eight Senate Democrats (not just Manchin and Sinema).

But it’s clear that the Campaign organizers are more closely aligned with the Democrats. Their pollster is Celinda Lake, who just happens to be the Biden campaign’s pollster as well and comes across as a no-nonsense professional.

In her speech, Lake said:

“It’s not the polling data that should drive this campaign; it’s obviously the moral authority and the need. But in this case, the right thing to do is the smart thing to do. In 2024, the election is going to be about mobilization.”

Alluding to fissures within the Democratic party and an “enthusiasm gap,” Lake said that “miniscule changes [in the number of voters] could be game-changing in terms of the margins.”

The fact that an “unprecedented, massive voter engagement” is beginning now is important. “We’re not coming in October 31 and saying, ‘oh, god, save the nation.'”

In addition to charismatic national leaders, she said, this movement benefits from having

“an agenda that is not controversial with the public, [one that] Democrats and Independents and Republicans support and accept. Whether it’s child tax credit, raising wages, one fair wage, Medicaid expansion–which is wildly popular with voters–they don’t know they’re supposed to be against it.

At least fifty-eight to sixty percent of this targeted group vote for progressive candidates even in conservative states, she said. Consider “Arizona, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, North Carolina–you’re talking about a huge number.”

Here’s my favorite line from pollster Celinda Lake’s speech:

“What I love about polling is that conventional wisdom is about 95% wrong, plus or minus 5%. You don’t have to be very good at math; everyone gets this.”

She concluded:

“It’s the right thing to do, but you have to be a moron not to participate in this. And most elected officials are not complete morons.”

I remember when discussions of the poorest Americans and how to support them were part of our national conversation. We had a temporary breakthrough during Covid when Congress finally passed a child tax credit, which gave poor families real breathing room and lifted a substantial number of children out of poverty.

But then that urgent benefit lapsed, and poverty and food insecurity have been rising in this wealthy nation. The Poor People’s Campaign cites poverty as the fourth leading cause of death in the United States.

To learn more about this effort, which may just save our democracy and begin–finally–to meaningfully reduce the intolerable burden on those least able to bear it, go to Poor People’s Campaign–A National Call for a Moral Revival.

Wouldn’t it be the quintessential karma if this effort in the swing states, using the structurally undemocratic Electoral College, succeeds in saving us all?

Annie

Published by annieasksyou

I've been a nonfiction writer for many years, exploring diverse topics that pique my curiosity, as noted in my first blog posting (Greetings!). I'm seeking dialogue with others committed to joining me in this exploration, sharing my conviction that different views can be exchanged in a respectful, civil discourse where we can learn from one another and be agreeable, even when we disagree. These postings depend for their enrichment on your participation: your ideas, insights, knowledge, opinions, and personal stories.

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28 thoughts on “The (Realistic) Plan to Inspire the Poorest Americans to Save Our Democracy by Saving Themselves”

  1. Thanks so much for sharing this, Annie. A quick google search seems to show that the Poor Peoples Campaign also supports women’s bodily autonomy and gay rights. I plan to learn more about the movement… and possibly supporting and participating. Thanks and Peace.

    Liked by 4 people

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    1. I’m delighted that you plan to explore and perhaps join this campaign, Frank. I take heart from cool-headed Celinda Lake’s comments. When doing the right thing becomes pragmatically sensible, people’s entrenched behaviors may change.
      Peace to you too.

      Note: I should have stated that the data on the web site is from 2020.

      Liked by 4 people

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  4. THIS IS WHAT I HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT! THIS IS HOW TO BATTLE COMPLACENCY! THIS IS HOW TO TAKE BACK THE POWER! THIS IS HOW TO STAND UP AND BE COUNTED! It is only a start, but it is a great one. Pay attention, Riinger!
    Thank you for sharing, Annie. I have very few American readers, but I will reblog in support of the Poor People’s Campaign.
    I hope this can spread to Canada, and every other corner of the world. The Time is Now!

    Liked by 4 people

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  5. I saw this link on rawgod’s post and followed it here. I love the idea and plan on going to the site to check it out. Hopefully there is still enough life in me to help in some way, but I’ve only missed one time to vote since I was 18. Living in an Assisted Living home now, but maybe even here I can do something that will help. I happen to be one of the poor, and now all of my Social Security and half of my $245 pension go just for the rent. The rest of the money doesn’t completely cover necessary supplies, forcing me to sell my guitar to make ends meet for a few months. I hated doing that but stuff happens and the best we can do in those circumstances is try to find a way to be happy anyway, and something to laugh about every day. Thank you for posting this and I’m so glad I found it. Angela

    Liked by 4 people

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    1. Angela, I’m very pleased to welcome you. So sorry you’re having a rough time—and had to sell your guitar. I hope you’ll occasionally have some smiles or laughs here.

      And I hope you’ll find some way to get involved in the Poor People’s Campaign. The video shows some of the inspiring grass roots activists.

      Best regards, Annie.

      Liked by 3 people

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  6. A noble effort. Motivating the poorest people to vote will not be easy, but these are the voices that most need to be heard.

    That a higher proportion of voters in my state are low-income than in Texas is disgraceful, but all too easy to believe. I can also believe that poverty is a leading cause of death. It has been daunting to think what must have been happening in the many homeless encampments here in Portland during our periods of sub-freezing weather in the last two months, while the bureaucracy fiddle-faddles around.

    It is still shocking to me that so many people languish in such circumstances in such a rich country, while a tiny parasite class piles up more yachts and mansions than they can keep track of.

    Liked by 5 people

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    1. I share your shock, Infidel. It is unfathomable and unacceptable that there are such vast economic disparities in this wealthy country. I just saw an interview with one of the co-authors of a new book: “White Rural Rage: The Threat to American Democracy.” If only that anger could be harnessed in this campaign instead of insurrection, how much better it would be for all Americans—and the world.

      Liked by 4 people

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  8. What a great initiative! At first I was skeptical, but the more I read about the movement and the people involved, the more I think about the bigger-than-ever wealth inequality in this nation and the Republican’s scorn for any who are not among the billionaires, the more I think that maybe you’re right … maybe, just maybe, this is a movement whose time is NOW! I plan to delve more deeply into it and am hoping it is a huge success and gets the poor out to the polls in November, for this may be the last chance. I am re-blogging this for my p.m. post … thank you, Annie, for all that you do!

    Liked by 3 people

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  11. “Barber and his co-chair, theologian Liz Theoharis, have spent years attempting to organize poor and low-wage workers to recognize the power of their votes as a way to provide them with economic justice.”
    Sounds like a union, but at community level rather than workplace or workforce level.

    Liked by 2 people

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  12. Hurrah for another coordinated outreach to increase voter engagement! Our country just seems to take it for granted that it’s OK (and even to be emulated!) that a small number of people have more wealth than the combined lower half of our population. And the mass media seems to be reluctant to talk about this dangerous imbalance of power/resources in our country (and all over this planet…there are lots of millionaires on their way to becoming billionaires in China, Russia, Middle East petro-countries, Europe, etc.) Maybe they are reluctant to alienate the folks who buy commercials and underwriting ads? Maybe they are all so well-paid that they do not want to change the system which is rewarding them so well? Thank you for spreading the word via your blog about important — and hopeful — things happening in the USA.

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  13. Your blog post inspired me to start giving that organization $5 per month. please keep doing what you are doing to spread the word about worthy efforts to keep our country from falling off a cliff into fascism.

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    1. Hi, Will. Sorry; I responded earlier but I don’t see it. I’m so glad you’re inspired to give the Poor People’s Campaign a monthly contribution. Thanks very much for letting me know. Cheers!

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