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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 22, 2020)
January 22, 2020 Page 9 Opinion articles do not necessarily represent the views of the Portland Observer. We welcome reader essays, photos and story ideas. Submit to news@portlandobserver.com. O PINION MCS Still in Business Martin Cleaning Service Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning Residential & Commercial Services Minimum Service CHG. $50.00 A small distance/travel charge may be applied CARPET CLEANING 2 Cleaning Areas or more $30.00 each Area Pre-Spray Traffic Areas (Includes: 1 small Hallway) 1 Cleaning Area (only) $50.00 Includes Pre-Spray Traffic Area and Hallway Unifying Working People of All Ages Learning from King’s last campaign otism demands the ending of the war,” King said, “and the open- ing of a bloodless war to final victory over racism and poverty.” Assassinated in Memphis on April 4, 1968 while organizing by J essiCah p ierre black sanitation workers, As we celebrate the King never made it to legacy of Martin Lu- the Poor People’s March, ther King Jr., it’s natural but thousands did protest to remember his cou- in Washington to honor rageous advocacy for racial equity. But before he was King’s memory and to pursue his assassinated, King had also begun to broaden his efforts to unify the around economic justice. That’s worth remembering to- day. In December 1967, King, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and other conveners laid out their vision for the first Poor People’s Campaign. Seeing how poverty cut across race and geography, these leaders built the campaign into a multiracial ef- fort including African Americans, white Americans, Asian Amer- icans, Hispanic Americans, and vision. That vision remains to be real- Native Americans aimed at allevi- ized. Today, 140 million Ameri- ating poverty for all. The goal was to lead a massive cans — over 40 percent of us — protest in Washington D.C. de- remain poor or low-income. As manding that Congress prioritize a in King’s day, black and brown massive anti-poverty package that Americans are especially impact- included, among other things, a ed, but so are millions of poor commitment to full employment, whites. Our country may be polarized a guaranteed annual income, and more low-income housing. And by party. But the truth is, we have they wanted to pay for it by ending more in common to fight for than what divides us. the Vietnam War. A December survey by the Cen- “We believe the highest patri- ter for American Progress found that 52 percent of American voters across party lines reported experi- encing a serious economic prob- lem in the past year. This tracks with other research, including the Federal Reserve Board’s finding that 40 percent of Americans don’t have the money to cover a $400 emergency. The same CAP survey shows that strong majorities — including 9 in 10 Democrats, 7 in 10 inde- That vision remains to be realized. Today, 140 million Americans — over 40 percent of us — remain poor or low-income. As in King’s day, black and brown Americans are especially impacted, but so are millions of poor whites. pendents, and 6 in 10 Republicans — support government action to “reduce poverty by ensuring that all families have access to basic living standards like health care, food, and housing if their wages are too low or they can’t make ends meet.” Even at a time of stark partisan polarization, a majority of Amer- icans support policies like rais- ing the minimum wage — while opposing things like the Trump administration’s draconian cuts to federal nutrition assistance pro- grams. King and the Poor People’s Campaign promoted a vision of unity. But it wasn’t a unity that avoided conflict — it was one where poor and low-income over- came their divisions to fight for economic justice together. To revive that vision, a new Poor People’s Campaign has emerged to confront the interlock- ing evils of systemic racism, pov- erty, ecological devastation, and militarism — and what they’re calling “the distorted moral nar- rative of religious nationalism.” Over the past two years, this cam- paign has organized communities from all over the country to build lasting power for poor and impact- ed people. “Poor and low-wealth people are seeing the need to galvanize themselves around an agenda, not a party, not a person, but an agen- da,” said Rev. William Barber, one of the new campaign’s lead- ers. “What happens if a movement is able to help people see how they’re being played against each other? You could reset the entire political calculus.” As we head deeper into a divi- sive election season — and as we remember Dr. King — it’s worth remembering that our real enemy is injustice, not each other. Jessicah Pierre is the inequali- ty media specialist at the Institute for Policy Studies. 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