Poor People’s Campaign kicks off in Baltimore
This year (2013) is the 45th anniversary of the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. The campaign demanded economic and human rights for all poor people. All these years later the poor of the world still need economic justice and human rights.
How ironic, that I am typing this on May Day.
May Day, May 1st is International Workers’ Day. In 1886 more than 300,000 workers in 13,000 businesses across the United States walked off their jobs on May 1st in the first May Day celebration in history.
They were fighting to have a working day consist of only eight hours. I feel however that writing this blog on time and announcing the Poor People’s Campaign here is crucial work, so I am interrupting my May Day strike to do so.
There will be a Poor People’s March on Saturday May 11 at 10 a.m. Gather at the corner of Montford & Biddle Streets. That is the lot where Anthony Anderson Sr. lost his life at the hands of the Baltimore City Police Department. This march was called for by the Baltimore Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Baltimore People’s Power Assembly.
The march is for stopping police terror, for jobs not jails, ending poverty and for the rights of workers and immigrants. It’s for stopping school, post office and hospital closings; for hands off Social Security, Medicare and for health care and much more.
It is a Civil Rights March and participants will be marching to Washington D.C. as well, planning to arrive at Freedom Plaza in D.C. on Sunday at 3 pm. There will be a People’s Power Assembly held in there to discuss reclaiming Dr. King’s Dream.
Everyone is invited to be a part of history and join us in the 2013 Poor People’s Campaign and March. There will be a Community Kickoff Party held the night before on May 10 at 5 p.m. on the corner of Montford & Biddle Streets. You can call 410-500-2168 or 410-218-4835 to volunteer for this exciting event!
Bonnie Lane is an avid activist and advocate here in Baltimore. She is very vocal about social injustices. Fighting against injustice isn’t just a slogan to her but a way of life. Lane is a soldier in the struggles for social justice, real change and human rights. Having been homeless is what inspired her to become an advocate/activist. A passion for writing consumed her at an early age.
As soon as healing takes place, go out and heal somebody else. -Maya Angelou ~Submitted by ~k.c.karma 10~