Been working on Illinois Poor People’s Campaign statewide call planning today… had a good call committee meeting this afternoon!
Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for a Moral Revival was launched in December of 2017, in honor of the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s Poor People’s Campaign. We are a multi-racial, multi-generational campaign founded on 5 pillars (for more info check out the “Our Demands” page on the national PPC site):
- End systemic poverty
- End ecological devastation
- End the war economy
- End systemic racism
- Change the false moral narrative
Our campaign began with 40 Days of Action, which entailed civil disobedience at state capitols to bring attention to issues around poverty and our 5 pillars (as of today, we are organizing in 43 states and the District of Columbia). Then we organized our first Moral Action Congress (mass meeting) in D.C. last summer, and now we are building towards the upcoming June 20, 2020 Mass Poor People’s (Digital) Assembly and Moral March.
We, as the Illinois Poor People’s Campaign think it is of the utmost importance for us to continue to convene and strategize during the shelter-in-place order, seeing as there have been 493,000 new unemployment claims since the coronavirus pandemic hit Illinois (just in the past 4 weeks) and over 16 million nationwide–and so many without access to testing, healthcare or clean water to protect themselves against the virus. And we know these numbers are woefully underreported. So many are struggling, and we must continue the crucial task of organizing the poor, working class and dispossessed. As long as the statewide shutdown is in effect, the Illinois Poor People’s Campaign is committed to conducting biweekly calls to bring us all together to that end. We realize that not everyone has the privilege of computer and internet access, so we are hoping this call will inspire folks across the state to find creative ways to help “cross the digital divide,” and organize their communities.
Here is our next statewide call info (below) for those interested:
Please join us for the next Illinois Poor People’s Campaign’s Statewide Action Call on Wednesday, April 29th at 8pm Central! Learn the latest about this historic campaign, hear report backs from impacted folks across the state and find out what you can do right now to plug in.
Our featured political education presenter (on the topic of systemic racism) will be: Jaquie Algee
JAQUIE ALGEE is Vice President/Director of Community Relations for the Service Employees International Union Healthcare Illinois/Indiana/Missouri/Kansas (SEIU HCIIMK). In this capacity, she directs activities that support and foster positive relations and collaboration with faith leaders and congregations, community organizations/residents, elected officials and key stakeholders in support of SEIU HCIIMK, worker rights, as well as a variety of shared community interests and issues. Ms. Algee works to ensure that SEIU HCIIMK establishes and maintains relationships within the broader community as a committed partner in the fight for justice.
She also serves as a Quad Chair for the Illinois Poor People’s Campaign.
Registration for this call is required, and you will be sent call-in information as soon as it becomes available.
Registration link: bit.ly/ilppc-April29-call
Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/157877508852745