Poor People's Campaign Hearing Tomorrow at 6pm in Richmond

RICHMOND, Va. - Sept. 25, 2018 - PRLog -- The Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival  launched with 40 days of Moral Action in May and June 2018, uniting tens of thousands of people across the nation.

On Wednesday, September 26th from 6pm to 8pm the Virginia Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival and National Co-Chairs Rev. Drs. Barber and Theoharis will hold a Poor People's Hearing, inviting all candidates for office from CD 4, 5, 6 and 7 to hear the testimony of those they are hoping to represent.

"Too often the issues that impact our lives are left out of the conversation during these election cycles. Issues like the Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley pipelines which have stolen property through eminent domain and will lock us into dirty energy generation for decades to come, the Union Hill compressor station that will spew poisons into the air and water of an historic freedman community causing breathing related diseases for the elderly and young while destroying property values, attacks on the immigrant community by ICE and the murder of black and brown people by police.

Many of these Poor People's Hearings are being held in states where voter suppression is on the rise. States that promote racialized voter suppression and gerrymandering are often states with the highest levels of poverty, including child poverty and women's poverty, and the lowest minimum wages, access to healthcare, and environmental protections.

The Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival will not let another election cycle go by where politicians can run for office without talking about systemic racism, including voter suppression, the attacks on immigrant and native communities, and the mass criminalization and incarceration of our communities; without talking about systemic poverty and the necessity of living wages and housing for all; without talking about the war economy and ecological devastation that are blighting our people and the places we live; without talking about the distorted moral narrative that ignores the needs of the people.

WHO:
• Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, President & Sr. Lecturer, Repairers of the Breach; National Co-Chair, Poor People's Campaign: A National Call For Moral Revival; Pastor, Greenleaf Christian Church
• Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis, Director, Kairos Center for Religions, Rights, and Social Justice; National Co-Chair, Poor People's Campaign: A National Call For Moral Revival
• Abbie Arevalo Herrera - speaking on Immigration, currently in sanctuary
• Princess Blanding - systemic racism, sister of Marcus David Peters killed by police during a mental health crisis
• Chad Oba- ecological devastation, Chad is a 35 year resident of Buckingham County site of the proposed Compressor Station
• Phil Wilayto -  war economy/ militarism. Phil Wilayto is editor of The Virginia Defender newspaper.
• Rev. Linda Higgins- moral narrative Linda Higgins has been a ordained minister in the United Church of Christ for 35 years.
• Joyce Barnes - poverty Joyce has worked for more than 30 years as a health care provider

BACKGROUND:
The Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival is co-organized by Revs. Drs. William Barber II and Liz Theoharis of Repairers of the Breach and the Kairos Center for Religions, Rights and Social Justice, respectively, and hundreds of local and national grassroots groups across the country.

The Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival is building a broad and deep national moral movement – rooted in the leadership of poor people and reflecting the great moral teachings – to unite our country from the bottom up. Coalitions have formed in over 40 states and Washington, D.C., to challenge extremism at the local, state, and federal level and to demand a moral agenda for the common good. It seeks to sustain and deepen the work of challenging the interlocking evils of systemic racism, poverty, the war economy, ecological devastation and the nation's distorted moral narrative.

During the 6 weeks, in over 200 actions, more than 5,000 people engaged in direct action across 42 state capitols resulting in the largest and most expansive wave of nonviolent direct action in the 21st century. In its next phase the Campaign will host a series of Poor People's Hearings to lift up the voices of the poor, directly impacted, and faith leaders, and to demand that elected officials take action to fight systemic racism, poverty, the war economy and militarism, ecological devastation, and our nation's distorted moral narrative of Christian nationalism.