#MLKLives – Taking action together

This year we celebrated Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by continuing his work. Across the country, organizations included the call for a New Poor People’s Campaign in their marches, cultural events, community meetings, and assemblies. Here are just some examples:

• The Salinas/Monterey County Union of the Homeless celebrated one year since its founding on MLK Day 2016
• Put People First! PA held community meetings in Pittsburgh and York, Pennsylvania and took part in marches and protests in Philadelphia
• People’s History of Elkhart held their annual MLK Celebration and Community Leadership Awards Ceremony
• Christian Peacemaker Teams represented the PPC at an event at Goshen College
• Leaders from Repairers of the Breach participated in a march in Raleigh, NC
• The Western Regional Advocacy Project, a coalition of homeless organizing groups on the West Coast, planned events in San Francisco, Oakland, and Portland
• The Mercy Junction Justice and Peace Center spoke at a Chattanooga, Tenessee Unity event in honor of MLK. You can read their remarks here.
• The Vermont Workers’ Center held a community meeting about organizing for human rights in White River Junction, VT
• Sankofa.org included the call for a New PPC in their “MLK Now” event at Riverside Church in NYC

Below is some of the local press coverage and other media from the events:

Terrell Turner from Put People First! PA speaks at the community event in York about why we need a New Poor People’s Campaign. Watch the video here. And see some more pictures from the event.

Local TV News covered the assembly and celebration in Salinas, organized by the Salinas/Monterey County Union of the Homeless. Watch it on KION. There was more local press coverage, too. Read it here.

The San Francisco Bay View picked up the story of the City-wide Homeless Assembly organized in San Francisco. Read about it here.

We also released a new promotional video about the campaign, which reached almost 20,000 people. Watch it here:

In person and on social media, the call to revive Rev. Dr. King’s Poor People’s Campaign reached tens of thousands of people this MLK Day, and the response was resoundingly positive: “We need a New Poor People’s Campaign, and we can build it together.”

Did you bring the Call for a New PPC into your event? Send us an update, pictures, video, or press coverage at [email protected].