A crowd of nearly a hundred religious leaders, local activists, and concerned citizens gathered Monday morning on the steps of the Massachusetts State House to hold the Poor People’s Campaign (PPC) press conference, one of dozens across the country. Eastern Mass. Coordinator for the campaign, Savina Martin, began the conference and laid out the movement’s platform.
Though the PPC has a multifaceted and comprehensive agenda, it first and foremost commits itself to “lifting up and deepening the leadership of those most affected by systemic racism, poverty, the war economy, and ecological devastation and to building unity across lines of division”. To convey this message of unity and justice, the conference featured speakers from a broad range of backgrounds, including members of the clergy, veterans, Black Lives Matter organizers, Fight for $15 representatives, undocumented worker activists, and more. These speakers an array of topics from living wages to DACA, emphasizing the need for intersectionality and inclusion as the movement progresses.
Following the press conference, a cohort of PPC leadership marched inside the State House to deliver letters detailing the campaign’s mission and calling upon legislators to take action. The letters were handed to the offices of both Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senator Harriette Chandler. PPC leadership vowed that, if meaningful action is not taken by state legislators, a nonviolent direct action campaign of civil disobedience would be launched in late May.
Though the event received little media attention, MAPA covered the event through livestreams, video interviews, and photography via social media. To learn more about the Poor People’s Campaign, and to get involved, visit their website.
“Forward, and not a step back!”
