John,
Just over two weeks ago in Washington, DC and online across the country, people of every race, creed, and color came together to demand a Third Reconstruction for this country and a reconstitution of our nation’s priorities. The Mass Poor People’s and Low Wage Workers’ Assembly and Moral March on Washington and to the Polls stood as a declaration from the 140 million poor and low wealth people of this nation that we will not be silent anymore– and that was just the beginning.
Today as we reflect on our nation’s history, it is clear, now more than ever that we are in a moral, economic, and constitutional crisis. Last week the Supreme Court decided against important decisions on women’s rights, environmental regulations, gun safety, immigrant rights, indigenous rights, housing, public health and protections from police violence that reveal a deeper crisis of legitimacy facing this country.
The essence of the Third Reconstruction is to center those who are most impacted by the interlocking injustices in our laws, policies, systems and structures, in order to ensure we can all thrive and realize the nation we have yet to be. Our current crises are rooted in the myth of scarcity and demands that we ask who we are willing to exclude. Our answer is simple and clear:
Our Third Reconstruction will build a nation that lifts from the bottom, and everybody will rise. Everybody in, nobody out!
The only way to turn this around is to restructure and recenter our national politics around the people at the forefront and frontlines of these crises: the 140 million poor and low-income people in this nation, who are of every race, ethnicity, age, gender and sexual orientation, and who live in every region, state and county of the country.
Nothing would be more tragic than for us to turn back now from fighting for everyone to be included. That is why we must take the 125 days before the midterm elections and continue our work to reconstruct American democracy.
On this year’s midterm ballot are 469 seats in Congress – 34 in the Senate and 435 in the House — and countless local and state elections. Right now, the Poor People's Campaign declares that we will vote for our people and for our lives. We will vote to summon a Third Reconstruction that can birth us out of an impoverished democracy and usher in a new world.
Our action plan before the midterm elections is to show candidates and elected officials that we will not be silenced, turned around, or turned back. Join us to say you are committed to the Third Reconstruction, and see the 7 steps you can take before the midterms!
Forward together,
Dr. Rev. William J. Barber and Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis
