Elizabeth Carson: Poor People’s Campaign arrives in Kansas

The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival has emerged from more than a decade of work by grassroots community and religious leaders, organizations and movements fighting to end systemic racism, poverty, militarism, environmental destruction and related injustices and to build a just, sustainable and participatory society. The Campaign aims to develop a broad and deep national moral movement, rooted in the leadership of poor people and reflect moral teachings, to unite our country from the bottom up.

Nearly 50 years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King called for a “revolution of values” in America. He invited people who had been divided to stand together against the “triplets of evil”— systemic racism, poverty, and militarism – to insist that people need not die from poverty in the wealthiest nation to ever exist.

In Kansas, the Poor People’s Campaign began with a rally in Topeka in August featuring North Carolina’s Rev. William Barber, who is leading the campaign. Speaking to a packed house, Rev. Barber called for Kansas and 24 other red states to join the campaign to begin a moral revival of this country, to defeat racism, poverty, militarism and other injustices.

The Poor People’s Campaign, Wichita, was formed under the rubric of the Poor People’s Campaign to engage the community and the nation in exposing the depths of the impacts of the evils of poverty, racism, militarism and ecological destruction.

The Poor People’s Campaign in Wichita is commencing with two Truth Commissions designed to educate the public about poverty and to give voice to the impoverished and disenfranchised. The first Truth Commission is scheduled at Victory Community of Faith, 1016 E. Pawnee, at 2 p.m. Sunday. The church is soliciting testimony and witness from those impacted by poverty. We urge you to join us and listen to the voices of those most damaged by our failure to enact and to adhere to policy and laws supporting economic justice and support to the poor among us.

A Second Truth Commission will be at the Mennonite Church of the Servant, 2401 N. Woodland, at 7 p.m. on Nov. 17. The church will serve as a forum for the witness and testimony of those damaged by economic injustice. The first step in eradicating inequality is knowing the nature of the problem. Again please join the Poor People’s Campaign at these Truth Commissions as we begin a moral revival for Wichita as well as the nation.

This story was originally published October 29, 2017 at 4:55 AM with the headline "Elizabeth Carson: Poor People’s Campaign arrives in Kansas."