Press release from the Poor People’s Campaign:
ASHEVILLE — The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, sponsors its first Town Hall in Asheville 7-9 p.m. Feb. 8, at Hill Street Baptist Church.
The campaign originated in December 1967, created by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who was assassinated before he was able to organize and carry out his stated mission of changing public policies that keep people in poverty.
The current national campaign is organized by North Carolina’s Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, former president of the N.C. NAACP and current head of Repairers of the Breach, and Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis, of the Kairos Center at Union Theological Seminary in New York.
The campaign’s actions are slated to begin in May and last 40 days, and will include civil disobedience, education about issues of poverty, contact with elected officials and protest rallies.
The Feb. 8 Town Hall here will include information on issues such as health care, hunger, the environment and justice reform, among others. Speakers include people whose lives are impacted by poverty, plus Rev. Amy Cantrell of BeLoved Asheville; Richard Fireman, M.D., Community Roots, Alliance for Energy Democracy; Rev. Shannon Spencer, Asheville Poverty Initiative; Carmen Ramos Kennedy, president, Asheville-Buncombe NAACP; Mirian Porrras Rosas, Nuestro Centro and Leslie Boyd, health care activist. The program also will include music by the Be Loved Justice Band.
Participants will learn how they can support the Poor People’s Campaign in a number of ways. Come hear what the campaign is all about, learn how you can become a participant and hear how poverty affects people and communities. The event is free and open to the public.
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