Sojourner Truth Radio: April 24, 2019 - Voices From Poor People's Campaign Tour in California

Sojourner Truth Radio

Today on Sojourner Truth: The Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival is a grassroots movement uniting tens of thousands of people to challenge the evils of systemic racism, poverty, the war economy, ecological devastation and the nation's distorted morality. This year, from June 17-19 in Washington D.C., the Poor People's Campaign will be hosting its nationwide Moral Action Congress. At the Congress, the Poor People's Campaign Moral and Constitutional Budget will be released, promoting a new economy that serves the interests of working people and not the one percent. The Congress will also feature a National Freedom School, with educational workshops on key issues affecting our country, and a forum for presidential candidates who are invited to hear their demands. The Poor People's Campaign has also planned a visit to Capitol Hill during the Congress and has even requested a hearing. The Poor People's Campaign, which points out that there are over 140 million poor and low-income residents in the U.S., declared a state of emergency in the lead-up to the forthcoming Congress. Along with rampant poverty and inequality, this emergency also includes the fossil fuel invasion of Indigenous lands, the destruction of the environment, systemically-racist police institutions, military expansion across the globe and the growth of the private prison system. In response to this declared emergency, the California's Poor People's Campaign organized a Truth and Poverty Bus Tour, which kicked off on Monday, April 1. The tour, concluded on April 13 with a public hearing on family separations at the U.S./Mexico border, traversed several locations across the state. These include the Yurok Reservation, Chico, Sacramento, Oakland, Fresno and Pacoima, among others. Through these hearings, the people of California were given a chance to voice their experiences and thoughts on important moral issues that must be addressed in the United States. Today, we bring you voices from a Poor Peoples Campaign hearings held in Pacoima and Fresno, California. In today's show, you will hear Indigenous speakers in Pacoima discuss important issues affecting their communities along with low-wage workers. You will also hear from a victim of the prison-industrial complex. From Fresno, you will hear from community activists who are putting pressure on elected officials to combat rising costs of living, like water prices. Also, we hear testimony from a woman who works as a caregiver for her 100-year-old mother, speaking on behalf of her and her struggles.