A new, Poor People's Campaign

[RT Atlanta]

is what's needed now....

A cursory summary taken from the link below. Who'll provide the organization for a PEACEFUL non-violent demonstration on the Mall in DC?

http://www.poorpeoplescampaignppc.org/HISTORY.html

Martin Luther King, Jr. labeled the Poor People's Campaign the "second phase," of the civil rights struggle - setting goals such as gathering activists to lobby Congress for an "Economic Bill of Rights," Dr. King also saw a crying need to confront a Congress that had demonstrated its "hostility to the poor " - appropriating "military funds with alacrity and generosity," but providing "poverty funds with miserliness."


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poor_People's_Campaign

Purpose:

Jobs, income and housing were the main goals of the Poor People’s Campaign. The campaign would help the poor by dramatizing their needs, uniting all races under the commonality of hardship and presenting a plan to start to a solution<3>. Under the "economic bill of rights," the Poor People's Campaign asked for the federal government to prioritize helping the poor with a $30 billion anti-poverty package that included a commitment to full employment, a guaranteed annual income measure and more low-income housing<4>. The Poor People’s Campaign was part of the second phase of the civil rights movement. While the first phase had exposed the problems of segregation, King hoped to address the "limitations to our achievements" with a second, broader phase<2>.

[brooklynite]

1. Stop thinking about "demonstrations"

There seems to be a continued desire to harken back to the days of marches, demostrations, teach-ins, etc., and I can't think of a single instance since the 1960's of where such efforts have been successful at rallying public opinion or significantly affecting legislative policy. You need to use modern technologies to reach out to the public and you need to directly target politicians to make clear the implications of a "wrong" vote.

[murielm99]

2. We could do both.

A large enough march might get ninety seconds on the news. We would have to use the technology to tweet, send pics, texts, etc. We already know that we have to be the media.

We could flood their inboxes again, but that may not do much. We have to do all of it, and keep the pressure turned up to high.

[H2O Man]

6. King's proposed PPC

was not going to be a march or demonstration. It was a campaign. One today might not get media coverage on the first day, but it surely would within a week.

[RT Atlanta]

9. From what I've read...

Dr. King fully intended the Washington demonstration to turn into a camp out and essentially convert the Mall into a shanty town, with so many people showing up, such that the government HAD to meet with King and the demonstrators and work with them to develop a solution before they'd leave.

Of course, all of this was planned to occur in the Summer of 1968 and, while the plans were still being formed, Dr. King was murdered in Memphis on the night of April 4th.

[H2O Man]

11. The Congressional record

from that time documents that the "powers-that-be" recognized that King was planning an occupation of DC by this nation's poor.

[RT Atlanta]

12. And he was right to do so...

As a peaceful occupation was the only way to bring about effective and lasting change - not lip service.

Dr. King's efforts from his "Vietnam" speach in April '67 through the end of his life are my favorite to read about and learn from - he truly had a beautiful vision for this country and was doing his damndest to help get us there.

Peace to you H2O Man!

[H2O Man]

13. "A Time to Break Silence"

(aka "Beyond Vietnam") is, in my opinion, the greatest American speech. It is as true and on-point today, as it was on that April morning at the Riverside Church in NYC.

King had a strong grasp of liberation theology. He knew that to transform our society, people needed to reach that higher ground that is found uniquely in becoming one with the poor. It's an option that became largely dormant by the mid-1970s in America. But that seed can still grow.

[H2O Man]

5. Respectfully disagree.

The March on Washington definitely did good. More, King's plan for a Poor People's Campaign -- which was a campaign, not a demonstration -- had great potential. An obvious measure of that was the level of resistance his plan was being met with.

I've been writing about the need for a Poor People's Campaign on DU for several years. I think it is one of the most important things that could be done.

[brooklynite]

8. Wen was the March on Washington?

and what campaign (no nukes, ERA, anti Iraq War, etc.) was successful since then?

[H2O Man]

10. August 28, 1963.

I do not think that there has been a proper campaign in recent decades. A demonstration, where people march and speak out for one day, is not effective. The March on Washington was, of course, part of a much larger campaign, where people were willing to go to jail, etc.

[OHdem10]

7. You need both. if you are going to broaden your base and

increase your numbers.

Tea Party changed things with Demonstrations and a whole
lot of change in Congress.

[swilton]

3. October2011

I would say a poor people's campaign would be included under the rubric of 'social justice'. Furthermore, there is a direct link between the foreign policies of the US and how it impacts on domestic politics.

Peace, environmental, social justice activists launch massive peaceful demonstration beginning October 6, 2011.


OPEN LETTER: THE U.S. OCTOBER 2011 MOVEMENT STANDS IN SOLIDARITY WITH OUR GLOBAL ALLIES
Inspired by the courageous, nonviolent uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen, Greece, Spain, and elsewhere, people in the United States have come together to form the October2011 Movement. This fusion of peace, social justice, environmental, student, and immigrant rights organizations is in solidarity with all who seek a peaceful, just, and sustainable future and stands ready to engage in its own campaign of nonviolent resistance beginning in Washington, D.C., this October.

http://october2011.org/welcome

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1235538

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x601892

[Fire1]

4. Now that sounds more like it. n/t