LIVE NOW: @RevDrBarber giving a moral call to vote in Columbus, GA in the midst of GA’s senatorial run-off.
America is the only country out of the top 25 wealthiest countries that does not offer some form of universal healthcare. You must ask these two senatorial candidates “Where were you on policy?” @RevDrBarber#GArunoff
"Voting is not a simply a democratic right. It is a God-given virtue of our humanity. It is making a choice." @RevDrBarber
The misery index is high in Georgia.
The question [in this run-off] is not who can smile the best. It’s “What will they do with the power they have?” @RevDrBarber
The vote is one of the most powerful nonviolent tools of change.
Our vote can also be an act of sacred repentance for all the times we’ve sat out. Our vote this year must be a repentance because when we don't vote, we give up our voice. @RevDrBarber
"We must elect people who will try to enact a moral agenda that honors what the Bible says about how nations will be judged: by how we treat the poor, the sick, the imprisoned and the oppressed." @RevDrBarber
You have to get up, organize what you have and move.
We have all that we need. In Georgia 1,076,233 Poor and low-income voters who didn’t vote in 2020 and the margin of victory for President was only 12,000. We have power!
"The 400 wealthiest Americans now own more wealth than the bottom 64 percent of the U.S. population, that's 204 million people. We must stand up challenge & change the policies of this nation" @RevDrBarber
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A Thread: Atlanta residents and advocates are gathering for a Moral Mass Meeting to lift up the importance of a movement that votes! They are joined by @RevDrBarber & @liztheo, Co-Chairs of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival.
@RevDrBarber@liztheo "More than 1 million people that have already voted in this runoff & millions more are casting their ballots for justice, truth & freedom. We will hear from folks this evening who have the power to make their voices heard & to change life and policy better for everyone." @liztheo
The recent @uscensusbureau report on poverty shows a dramatic decline in 2021. This decline is in part due to the organizing of the #poorpeoplescampaign (&others) for policies that center the poor. Problems that remain are in part because those policies have so far been temporary
Make sure to look at the #supplementalpovertymeasure numbers. The #SPM is a much better measure than the #OPM because it accounts for govt programs, common expenses and differences in costs of living. This is the measure we focus on.
Although better, the SPM threshold is still too low: for a 2-adult, 2-child household, the SPM threshold was about $31k. $31k is just 1/3 of what this family would need to live in Chicago. It's 1/2 of what they would need to live in Holmes County, MS.
--> bit.ly/EPIcal
HAPPENING NOW: Poor and low-income people from all over the western US are coming together in LA to speak out as we head towards the Mass Assembly in D.C. on June 18.
While we're marching, here are some important facts: if California were its own country, it would represent the fifth-largest economy in the world, and yet more than half of California’s residents are poor and low-income.
In L.A. County alone, a single individual would need to make three times the poverty threshold to meet basic expenses like housing, child care, health care, and transportation.
“This is a damnable decision. Police used a battering ram and broke the door off its hinges as they entered Breonna Taylor’s apartment, shooting her at least five times. Anything less than indictments for the full extent of the officers’ actions cannot stand.” @RevDrBarber
“Yes, they endangered the neighbors. But Breonna Taylor got a casket, and not a single officer is charged in her death or will be tried in state criminal court for it. She cannot be erased from this story.” @RevDrBarber
“Just because the attorney general is Black does not mean he gets a pass on criticism. He, too, is an enabler of racism for not allowing these officers to be tried in Breonna Taylor’s death.” @RevDrBarber
"Breonna Taylor was shot at least five times in her home and now just one officer faces charges of first-degree wanton endangerment of other people, not Ms. Taylor.” @liztheo
“This is what systemic racism looks like in Kentucky - that a Black woman’s life can be taken without consequence, but also that the people in charge do not believe that the rule of law must be equally applied to all.” @liztheo
“Equal protection under the law is not negotiable & from the attorney general to Sen. McConnell on down, elected officials are violating this fundamental constitutional value. The people demand protection by & accountability of their public servants. We demand justice.” @liztheo