Bishop Barber joins news conference in DC that can be viewed here

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

The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival is opening a season of nonviolent direct action on July 12 with Moral Mondays backed by a fusion coalition of impacted people of all races, clergy and moral leaders and organizations determined to save democracy, including SEIU, the Sunrise Movement and the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. 

Bishop William J. Barber II, DMin, co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign, and coalition members will hold a news conference at 1 p.m. ET Monday outside the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C. They are demanding an end to the filibuster; full passage of all provisions of the For the People Act; expansion and protection of Voting Rights Act and a $15/hour minimum wage by Aug. 6, the 56th anniversary of the VRA.

“What is happening in the Senate is an attack not just on Black people, but on everyone, especially poor and low-wage people, and on democracy itself,” Bishop Barber said. “And so we ask the GOP and Sens. Manchin and Sinema: Which side are you on? Are you on the side of democracy and the U.S. Constitution? Or are you on the side of autocracy, dark money and the corporate elite?” 

The coalition supporting the period of moral witness is a growing list that includes: the PPC’s 42 state coordinating committees, SEIU, MoveOn, the Institute for Policy Studies, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the Transformative Justice Network, Forward Justice, Indivisible, the Sunrise Movement, National Welfare Rights Union, Black Voters Matter, the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference, Red Letter Christians and several religious denominations.

At the news conference, Bishop Barber, joined by coalition partners, will provide details on plans for the rallies and nonviolent moral direct action being held July 19, July 26 and Aug. 2 that will support the 140 million poor and low-income people in this country. 

Bishop Barber previously said that women will lead the July 19th actions in DC; the July 26th actions will focus on senators’ offices in the states; and clergy and religion leaders will lead the Aug. 2nd actions, along with poor and low-wage workers.

The news conference will be followed by an online program that includes Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis, co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign, and poor and low-income people and workers. People will call every U.S. senator and the White House to demand that our allies stay strong while we challenge our adversaries.

The news conference and online program can be viewed here. 

The call for a season of  consistent protest and nonviolent direct action follows a wave of policies being passed in state legislatures across the country aimed at restricting access to the ballot. It also comes on the heels of Senate Republicans’ refusal to support or debate the For the People Act.

SUBJECT LINE: MONDAY: DC news conference launches season of nonviolent moral direct action