Poverty and the Moral Majority

 Moral Poverty Action Congress is underway, and California is in the house!

The PPC’s Moral Poverty Action Congress kicked off this past Monday. This gathering—the convergence on the nation’s capital of PPC groups from dozens of states, ours included—is a crucial opportunity for us to build on our work, raise our voices, strategize for the coming year, and meet with lawmakers, ensuring that the voices of poor and low-wealth individuals are well-represented in the upcoming election and beyond. 

 

Here are just a few highlights:

• On Monday, Bishop Barber helmed a discussion with economists and public health policy practitioners on poverty; you’ll find a recap of that event below.
• The next day, PPC activists visited more than 400 legislative offices. Our state’s delegates visited all 52 California congresspeople and two senators.
• Bishop Barber and PPC activists raised their voices in front of the Supreme Court. Several shared personal stories of struggles with low wages and lack of health insurance and mourned loved ones lost to poverty. 
• Congresspeople Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Barbara Lee (D-CA) participated in a press conference on the reintroduction of the Third Reconstruction Resolution. At least 11 more reps were in attendance, including Ro Khanna, who represents a swath of the South and East Bay.

Meanwhile, a timely Religion News op-ed by Bishop Barber and Rev. Theoharis lays bare the violence that poverty inflicts on millions. It opens with the tragic story of Bertha Montes from Los Angeles, who died after being denied a request for help at her job at McDonald’s and was forced to work while she was sick. The piece outlines the extensive evidence of policy harm and the mission of the Moral Poverty Action Congress.

 

We’ve been posting about the Congress on the CA PPC Facebook page, and you can check the national PPC website for updates and replays.

 

Finally, let’s not forget that the Congress is also a vital step toward our 2024 campaign, which will include actions at statehouses nationwide, our nonpartisan Get Out the Vote effort and the third Mass Poor People’s and Low-Wage Workers’ Assembly and Moral March on Washington and to the Polls.