MLK Day With the Poor People's Campaign Somebody must say to America, America if you have contempt for life, if you exploit human beings by seeing them as less than human, if you will treat human beings as a means to an end, you thingafy those human beings. And if you will thingafy persons, you will exploit them economically. And if you will exploit persons economically, you will abuse your military power to protect your economic investments and your economic exploitations. So what America must be told today is that she must be born again. The whole structure of American life must be changed.” - Martin Luther King, Jr., Where Do We Go From Here?, 1967
On this Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend, Dr. King's words resonate across the decades. In the midst of a public health crisis, growing poverty alongside staggering wealth, and emboldened White Supremacist forces, the necessity of a radical transformation of society is as clear as ever. To honor Dr. King's legacy, we must do more than remember. We must recommit to the work he was killed for - work that included building a multi-racial Poor People's Campaign to demand an end to poverty.
As you observe Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, we invite you to join the Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival on Sunday and/or Monday:
Sunday, Jan. 17 @ 8 pm: Prayer for Beloved Community in the Midst of Covid and Chaos (30 minute prayer service)
Monday, Jan. 18 @ 1 pm: MLK Moral Monday: A National Interfaith Service of Love, Light and Leadership - As Joseph R. Biden and Kamala D. Harris assume the offices of President and Vice-President of the country, and as members of the U.S. Congress take their place as legislative leaders, we ask all persons of faith and moral conscience to pray for our new national leaders and call on them to embrace the 14 Policy Priorities to Heal the Nation: A Moral and Economic Agenda for the first 100 days. The only way forward for our nation is if love is tied to justice, light is grounded in truth and we have leadership rooted in a moral agenda for the nation.
Healthcare is A Human Right: Jan. 27 Day of Action In the middle of the deadliest pandemic in recent history, private health insurance corporations are making record profits, while tens of thousands of New Yorkers die, lose income, can’t afford rent, and struggle to pay unaffordable medical bills. The COVID-19 pandemic puts everyone at risk, but Black, Brown, and low-income New Yorkers carry the greatest burden of exposure as essential workers and the least access to quality healthcare when we do get sick. We need a just recovery from this pandemic, and that means truly universal, guaranteed healthcare.
On Wed. January 27, join the Campaign for New York Health for the largest ever day of action for universal healthcare. We will call, email, and tweet New York State lawmakers and urge the new Democratic supermajority to make passing the New York Health Act a priority in 2021.
SAVE THE DATE: Statewide Faith Gathering Feb. 15
We are excited to announce that the Labor-Religion Coalition and New York State Poor People's Campaign will host a day-long virtual gathering for faith leaders on Monday, February 15. This will be an opportunity to go deeper into building community and reflecting on our role as people of faith in the movement to end systemic racism, poverty, militarism and ecological devastation. Save the date - more information coming soon!