Poor People's Campaign Comes to Sacramento

California Poor People’s Campaign 

Some 300 activists from a wide variety of organizations rallied at the California  Capitol today claiming Somebody’s Hurting Our People : and We are Not Going to Take It Anymore !

Some 55% of the people in California are poor or low income- a total of 21.4 million residents. This incudes 65% of children and 57 % of women.  From 1979 to 2012 the income of the top 1 % grew by 190 percent, while the income of the bottom 99% decreased by 6 %. Meanwhile the richest 1 % of California residents are expected to receive 14% of the new federal tax law. Their average tax cut in 2027 is expected to be $14,170, while the poorest 20% are expected to pay $270 per year more.

Danny Glover

"Though we have a reputation as being ’liberal’ in California, the four pillars of systemic racism, poverty, ecological devastation, and the war economy are rampant in our state and are ‘hidden in plain sight.’ With the 1% prospering in their unregulated wealth, California has the highest poverty rate when housing is factored in. We must shine a bright light on the oppression and interlocking injustices which poor, impacted communities must face everyday regarding local to statewide issues, including but not limited to: immigration and ICE, racist police violence, homelessness, evictions, inequity in education, the school-to-prison pipeline, gentrification, rising cost of living, low wages, and the continuous commodification of Mother Earth causing ecocide in poor communities, all of which could be eliminated in California if our state's leaders and legislators would create policies that had human rights and non-partisan morality at their core." - Kait Ziegler, Co-Chair of California Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival

Advocates for the poor marched around the Capitol and briefly occupied a street intersection to demand attention to the issues of poverty. 

Protests and other activities during this first week will focus on child poverty, women in poverty and people with disabilities. Subsequent weeks will focus on systemic racism, veterans and the war economy, ecological devastation, inequality, and our nation’s distorted moral narrative.

Across the nation :

The plan is to have simultaneous "waves" of action across the country calling attention to the "enmeshed evils," including systemic racism and America's war economy that organizers say are contributing to so many living in poverty, the majority of whom are white.

According to the U.S. Census, there are nearly 41 million people living in poverty, though Barber believes that number is off.

He points to research by the Institute for Policy Studies, which estimates 140 million Americans are living in poverty when items beyond income are considered, including out of pocket costs for food, clothing, and utilities.

"It's just constant juggling, figuring out what bill to pay and what not," says Terrence Wise, a fast food worker for 20 years.

He lives in Kansas City but is making the trip to Missouri's capital, Jefferson City, to protest.

As a shift manager at McDonald's, he makes $10.25 an hour. His fiancé is a home healthcare worker who makes $12 an hour. Wise says it is difficult to make ends meet while raising their three teenage daughters.

"And it's really dangerous when we are skipping meals or having to buy less food. Now you are not only struggling financially, you're possibly affecting the health of your family and your children."

Wise is a leading voice in the push to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour.

He hopes that the new Poor People's campaign helps make Americans more mindful of the struggles low-income people go through.

"I'm hoping it shakes America's conscience — that it makes many more aware," Wise says. "The goal is to bring more and more Americans into the movement and help make things better on all levels for everyone."

At the conclusion of the 40 days, on June 23, poor people, clergy and advocates from California and coast to coast will join together for a mass mobilization at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. They’ll then return to their states to continue building the campaign, which is a multi-year effort.