Dear John,

Join us today at 5 p.m. ET for a National Watch Night service, as we declare that we will not stop organizing, mobilizing, standing for love and justice and uplifting the rights of the poor and low-wealth people in our society. Not now. Not ever.

It is not hyperbole to say that lives and livelihoods hang in the balance as the Senate dithers on the Build Back Better Act and both the Voting Rights Advancement Act and the For the People Act. Poor people and low-wage workers deserve every investment and provision of the BBB and more — the closing of the Medicaid gap, the extension of the child tax credit and the earned income tax credit so they meet basic needs such as medical care and feeding their families. The nation should have done this before COVID; surely we must do it because of COVID.

If we come together right now in a fusion movement and put massive street pressure on Manchin and the political process as we move into the new year, we can change the conversation. The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival and our partners have begun laying plans for a Mass Poor People’s and Low-Wage Workers’ Assembly and Moral March on Washington on June 18.

The modern civil rights movement began in December when Congress refused to address Jim Crow and segregation. The call for the Poor People’s Campaign began in December when Americans refused to act and address poverty. And the plans for the Selma-to-Montgomery march began in December, after a year of Congress refusing to act and address voting rights. 

This December, a new intensity has been born as the Senate’s failure to act is another link in the chain of events that will serve to embolden us and intensify our moral dissent. December is the Senate’s deadline, but the deadline for the movement is when we win. 

Forward Together,

Rev. Dr. William Barber and Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis

Co-Chairs, Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival

PS -- From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for being a part of this new unsettling force. We are grateful for your commitment to the movement and your support of our work, even through these challenging times. If you would like to make a donation, there is still time to give in 2021! We also encourage you to consider becoming a monthly sustainer in the New Year. We look forward to your continued support!