After marching through Philadelphia, we held a rally at the State Building. Cheri Honkala addressed the crowd:

"First let me say that we have to stop killing the poor in this country. Now, we are at the halfway point.  Many of us have marched 20 miles each and every day for the last 15 days, and we should be damn proud of ourselves.  We have slept in pouring rain, we made it over a bridge- not by walking- but in squad cars.  We spent time in jail.  We have cried together.  We have tried to figure out how to feed each other every night.  We have tried to figure out how to translate into the 11 different languages.  And we have figured out, and are still trying to figure out, how to deal with the State Department, so that the rest of the brothers and sisters who are trying to get here from different parts of the world can get to this march and march with us to the United Nations.  We talked to many congressional leaders today, and they have vowed to try and help us to get our other homeless brothers and sisters from other parts of the world here to make it so that we can march together in unity to the United Nations.  We know that we have a long road ahead.  We know that we had to take this march because they’re not doing a damn thing in Washington DC, or in Harrisburg or any of our state capitols.  We know that its time for us to build a massive social movement in this country, calling for an end to poverty, hunger, and homelessness once and for all.  The children that are here tonight amongst you- let’s keep them in mind- because that’s why we’re marching.  These babies that are out here don’t have a right to housing.  They are currently homeless, and something is really wrong with a country when we cannot house our children.  And so whenever we get discouraged, no matter how many blisters may be on our feet, or how our bones feel every night laying on the pavement, when we feel down, when we can’t walk anymore.  Let’s look at them.  Let’s know that they’re our future.  And let’s continue to march for our lives."

Pete Matthews, President of AFSCME District Council 33, "When Joy first came to us about this mission, the first thing I thought about was our members, our jobs, and our benefits which we have to fight for every day.  Then I thought how fortunate we were.  When I thought about the kids, the homelessness, the joblessness, in this country...  its unconscionable today, in this country with billions  and billions of dollars that have been made in the stock market, billions and billions of dollars that we have reserved from our taxes, and we can’t take care of our own.  District Council 33 supports your mission and your efforts and we will continue to do everything we possibly can to support you because we realize a lot of our own members are three, two, and one paycheck away from where some of you are today."

Mayor Ed Rendell, Chairman of Democratic National Committee, "The country is going through the best period of economic growth in this century.  The time to fix the roof is when the sun is shining.  The sun is shining in America.  Our economy is doing great.  But there are problems.  The roof has holes in it.  We don’t insure all Americans with health care.  44 million Americans go to sleep every night without healthcare.  And most of them are working Americans and the children of working Americans.  That’s unconscionable.  We shouldn’t accept that.  We have problems in this country.  We are now looking at a trillion dollar surplus.  Most of the politicians want to give back a tax cut which won’t benefit working people at all.  The tax cut they’re talking about in Washington, almost one trillion dollars, will mean to a working family that makes $35,000, only $5 dollars a week.  Five dollars a week is not going to change the quality of life of any American family.  For the richest one percent of Americans, its $47,000 in tax cut each and every year.  That’s unconscionable.  We’ve got the surplus.  America is in a position, when the sun is shining.  Now is the time, when the resources are there to address the problems of poor Americans.  Now is the time we ought to be doing it."

Jen Jones from Temple School of Social Work, "I’m here to represent the Underground Railroad, Temple Depot. We are a group of social workers, faculty members, lawyers, doctors, who believe that we have a reason to be here and be a part of this movement.  We are here not to manage poverty, but to end poverty.  We are not here to be social police. If poverty has become a crime, then we have come to be partners in crime. We are here because we believe in this movement. We are at the front lines of working with people.  We can effect policy and effect people’s lives.  Let’s do it in a way that upholds the ethics of social work and of justice.  I speak for the other social workers, doctors, lawyers, and teachers of the Underground Railroad when I say ‘We will not be instruments of a system to oppress people.'"

Also speaking were John Braxton from Jobs with Justice and Angel Ortiz from Philadelphia's City Council; organizers from Bolivia and Quebec; as well as representatives from Asian Americans United and the Philadelphia Student Union. Philadelphia hip-hop band Architects of Acoust then joined us to share some of their music. The marchers then slept outside in tents under the State Building.

 

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