Poor People's Campaign

National Christian leaders join Poor People’s Campaign to end filibuster, push for moral policies

April 12, 2021

News conference will be held at 1 p.m. ET Thursday.
Reporters can register here 

WHAT: Christian leaders representing hundreds of thousands across the country join the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, in releasing a joint statement that calls on the White House and Congress to end the filibuster and quickly pass legislation to protect voting rights and protect democracy and ensure a living minimum wage.

WHO: Bishop William J. Barber II and Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis, co-chairs of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, will join prominent Christian faith leaders from across the country to hold an online news conference. Those supporting the statement, some of whom will speak at the news conference, are:   

  • Rev. Dr. Cynthia L. Hale, senior pastor, Ray of Hope Christian Church, Decatur, Georgia. 
  • Rev. Dr. Ralph West, senior pastor, Church Without Walls, Houston. 
  • Rev. Dr. Amos Brown, senior pastor,  Third Baptist Church, San Francisco. 
  • Rev. Dr. Reginald Buckley, senior pastor, Cade Chapel Baptist Church, Jackson, Mississippi. 
  • Rev. Dr. Leslie Callahan, senior pastor, St. Paul’s Baptist Church, Philadelphia.
  • Rev. Dr. Ginger Gaines-Cirelli, senior pastor, Foundry United Methodist Church, Washington, D.C.
  • Rev. Cheryl Cornish, senior pastor of First Congregational Church, Memphis.
  • Rev. Dr. Elaine Flake, co-pastor, Greater Allen AME Church, Jamaica, New York.
  • Bishop Yvette Flunder, senior pastor, City of Refuge UCC, Oakland, California.
  • Rev. Dr. Freddy D. Haynes, senior pastor, Friendship-West Baptist Church, Dallas.
  • Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis, senior pastor, Middle Collegiate Church, New York City.
  • Bishop Sir Walter Mack, senior pastor, Union Baptist Church, Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
  • Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III, senior pastor, Trinity Church of Christ, Chicago. 
  • Rev. Dr. Nancy Petty, senior pastor, Pullen Baptist Church, Raleigh, North Carolina.
  • Rev. Janae Pitts-Murdock, senior pastor, of Light of the World CC, Indianapolis.
  • Rev. Dr. C. J. Rhodes, pastor, Mount Helm Baptist Church, Jackson, Mississippi.
  • Rev. Dr. Stacy Spencer, senior pastor, New Direction Christian Church, Memphis.
  • Rev. Dr. Gina Stewart, senior pastor, Christ Baptist Church, Memphis.
  • Rev. Dr. Jacqueline A. Thompson, senior pastor, Allen Temple Baptist Church, Oakland, California.
  • Rev. Dr. J. Lawrence Turner, senior pastor, The BLVD Christian Church, Memphis. 
  • Rev. Dr. Olivia Bryan Updegrove, pastor, Independence Christian Church, Independence, Kentucky.

WHEN: 1 p.m. ET/Noon CT on Thursday, April 15

WHERE: Reporters can register here for the news conference, which also will be available online at https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org/livestream/  

WHY: Faith leaders across the country recognize the urgency for moral policies to be passed. We can’t wait any longer for living wages when there are 140 million poor and low-income people living in the U.S. We can’t stand by while over 360 voter suppression bills have been introduced across 47 states. We can’t be silent when moral policies are being blocked by an immoral filibuster. We can’t wait another day to pass legislation that will address the systemic injustices of poverty, systemic racism, ecological devastation and healthcare, war economy, and distorted moral narrative of religious nationalism. 

BACKGROUND: The Poor People’s Campaign is a fusion coalition that brings together a diverse group of people across race, gender, sexuality, geography, and faith convictions. Moral and faith leaders have recognized that too often principles of faith have been misused to justify immoral practices and policies. A group of Christian faith leaders have come together with the Poor People’s Campaign to be a part of the call to action to push for policies that truly help the 140 million poor and low-income people living in the United States. 

Nationally, more than 140 million poor and low-income people live in the United States, or 43% of the country’s population, and that was before the COVID-19 pandemic, and 250,000 die each year from poverty. The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, with organizing committees in 45 states, is building a moral fusion movement to address the five interlocking injustices of systemic racism, systemic poverty, ecological devastation, the war economy and militarism and a distorted moral narrative of religious nationalism. Our demands are reflected in our Jubilee Platform.  

For additional information: poorpeoplescampaign.org  https://youtu.be/PmOjcUoDhEs

Twitter: @unitethepoor / Instagram: @poorpeoplescampaign / Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ANewPPC

CONTACT: Martha Waggoner | [email protected]  | 919-295-0802