The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival will organize Moral Monday caravans to mourn the more than 250,000 Americans who have died from COVID-19 and demand a smooth and open transition of power. The group said that they want to lift up the moral policies they claim we need immediately and in the first days of the new administration.
The Poor People’s Campaign is co-chaired by Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II and Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis. They will lead protestors in a motorcar caravan. They will be joined by Wanda Bryant, an Alabama grandmother who had to make the life or death decision to keep her grandchildren at home in virtual school, even though this decision caused a drastic cut in her income and emotional distress.
The caravan participants will begin to gather at 12:30 p.m. at Hutchison Missionary Baptist Church in Montgomery to put signs and memorials on their vehicles before heading to the Alabama State Capitol at 1:30 p.m. to encircle the Capitol with their caravan.
The Alabama event is part of a larger series of Monday caravans around the country. In addition to Alabama, participating states include Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia.
Join us this coming #MoralMonday 11/23 for nationwide caravans of remembrance & call-to-action for COVID relief, calling for Trump to stop delaying transition & a moral agenda now!
RSVP now & join us: https://t.co/Aqt3cx809X pic.twitter.com/NcnfttziP1
— Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II (@RevDrBarber) November 20, 2020
You can also join and hear reports from each participating state capital online. An online mourning wall for COVID-19 victims and a petition demanding short- and long-term action from the White House and Congress will be shared on the website in the days before the caravans.
They are declaring Monday as a day of mourning, in which families across the country will remember and mourn the loss of loved ones who have died from COVID-19 and poverty.
The group said in a statement: “Millions of poor and low-income households also face mounting bills, evictions and hunger after months of unemployment, cuts in wages and the government’s failure to pass a comprehensive COVID-relief package.”
“The COVID-19 crisis feeds on the fissures of inequality already felt by the 140 million people who were living in poverty before the pandemic, or who were one emergency away from poverty,” the group wrote.
