|
John,
We are living through a kairos moment, a time defined by both extraordinary danger and possibility. All around us the old ways of the world are crumbling and millions more are joining the ranks of the unemployed, uninsured, unhoused, unfed, and unwell.
To dig ourselves out of the wreckage of the present, we desperately need a new moral vision, a blueprint for society that values and defends all life. This is what the Poor People’s Jubilee Platform offers.
Join us this weekend, Friday 10/23 to Saturday 10/24, for the Kairos Center Presents: Moral Policy in a Time of Crisis, an online conference on the urgent struggles and policy solutions of the poor and dispossessed. See below for the agenda and make sure to RSVP here!
The Jubilee Platform is not a proposal to tinker around the edges. Rather, it is a plan to reconstruct society around the needs and hopes of the poor, from economic and racial justice to an end to militarism and ecological devastation.
“Jubilee” is a reference to the ancient moral commitment to cancel debts, release slaves, pay fair wages, provide for the poor and hungry, and allow the land to recover from overuse and abuse. Jubilee was not merely a set of ideas, but a comprehensive economic program that centered those who were most impacted by the injustice of the day.
The conference will begin with a keynote by Kairos Center Director Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis and Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, President of Repairers of the Breach. We will also hear from organizers, economists, policy experts, theologians, historians, musicians, and other leaders on how we arrived at this moment of crisis and what we can do to chart a new way forward—including our own Lindsay Koshgarian and Basav Sen from the Institute for Policy Studies.
***
CONFERENCE AGENDA
(All times below are in Eastern Time.)
DAY 1: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23
2-3pm: Keynote — Jubilee and Reconstruction as Moral Policy
- Reaching back into the long history of Jubilee and Reconstruction to understand the possibilities of today.
3.30-5pm: The Right to Welfare & an Adequate Standard of Living
- Looking at the history of poor people’s organizing and the policy frameworks that have both influenced and been shaped by their struggles.
6-7.30pm: The Right to Work with Dignity
- How our current economy is leaving workers behind and why we must think about work, labor, and jobs in a new way.
DAY 2: SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24
9.30-11am: Facing the Long History of Systemic Racism
- Contending with the injustices of systemic racism from the first chapter of U.S. history to the present.
12-1.30pm: The Right to Health & a Healthy Environment
- Building power to change a death-dealing system into one that protects the sources of life.
2.30-4pm: Providing for the Common Defense
- Redefining the ideas of national security and common defense.
4.30-5.15pm: Closing — We Declare Jubilee
This is a free virtual conference. Check out the full speakers list and RSVP here!
We hope to see you there!
Lindsay, Lorah, Ashik, and the NPP team at IPS
|
