A meeting of Tucson-area people interested in the Poor People's Campaign (PPC) for Arizona was held last Thursday evening, May 3, at 6:30 p.m. at the Global Justice Center, 225 E 26th St, Tucson, 85713.
People who attended the April 23 meeting in Phoenix reviewed their notes. We discussed how we wish to proceed with PPC activities. Repairers of the Breach has recruited someone in the Phoenix area to coordinate Arizona activities at the State Capitol from 2:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m.for each of the Monday's in the campaign (May 14 through June 18). However, none of us at the meeting had received any communications about how or if we would coordinate with others in the State.
The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom scheduled a demonstration for the morning of May 14th from 7:30 until 8:30 a.m. to be held in front of the Federal Building on the southwest corner of Congress and Granada. The intent is to show solidarity with the Poor People's Campaign in its uniting witness to end poverty, racism, militarism, and ecological devastation.
A suggestion was made to organize an action for Mother's Day, Sunday, May 13, to draw attention to mothers, families, and children living in poverty. Several people expressed interest in participating. This will be discussed further at the May 10 meeting.
The San Carlos Apache community's possible participation in the PPC was discussed. The community was reported to be more interested in centering attention at Oak Flat rather than at the State Capitol, so we were uncertain if they would be involved in any activities in Phoenix. An attendee said that community leaders there want to organize a caravan to Washington, DC as part of the PPC, to arrive in time for the final activities culminating in the Sending Forth on June 23. Several people in the meeting expressed support for that idea and for helping to raise money to support the caravan's expenses.
We discussed the plan by Repairers of the Breach (the organizing group behind the PPC) that any people taking part in local actions should have training for non-violent direct action participation. Further details about training resources will be discussed at the May 10 meeting.
For people who are still unfamiliar with the motivations, background, and principals of the Poor People's Campaign, the documents below are available and should be reviewed-
- Fundamental Principles of the Poor People's Campaign
- Higher Ground Moral Declaration
- Institute for Policy Studies report – Initial draft (30 pages)
- Institute for Policy Studies report – Full Report (123 pages)
Another meeting of Tucson-area people will be held next Thursday, May 10, at 6:00 p.m. at the Global Justice Center, 225 E 26th St, Tucson, 85713.
Jane Kiep (e-mail: SentinelCarriage@gmail.com) volunteered to manage e-mails and notifications for the group. Email her to be added to the group emails.
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Thank you,
Dave Coatsworth
DaveC4ppc@gmail.com
520-743-6763