Follow the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign in its historic march from Marks, MS to Washington, DC, August 2nd - 30th. Call 888 233 1948 for more information. Read the call for the march, and consider donating to the Campaign. Now you can also read the weblog of Maria Del Moral (en Español), a KWRU member from North Philly, as she marches from Marks, MS to Washington, DC.

Events in Washington, DC continued throughout the week. Monday there was a free health clinic and panel on the right to health care; Tuesday the march joined the Friends and Residents of Arthur Capper and Carrollsburg on a march demanding their right to housing.

A moving reflection on the events of August 23rd, including the commemoration of the 1963 March on Washington and the struggle for "Bushville."

[August 26, 2003] Bushville to be Rebuilt: After being evicted from the National Mall on Sunday, the Campaign has decided to rebuild Bushville. Help keep the dream alive Thursday, August 28th at 11:59pm on the National Mall at 14th and Madison. Please arive early. Despite being denied the right to be there, the Campaign refuses to let these issues be invisible.

We were honored to be joined on our march by Camila Bonassa representing the MST, the Landless Workers' Movement of Brazil. The MST is the largest movement of the poor in the hemisphere, and one of the largest in the world - 250,000 families living in encampments and permament settlements won through land takeovers, across Brazil. Camila joined us in time to march into Washington DC and witness the building of Bushville, and she will be spending the week with us as a show of unity between the poor of the hemisphere in the struggle for economic human rights and against the FTAA.

Ha sido dificil mantener informes actualizados con el rapidez de los eventos de los pasados dias. Habra mas información tan pronto posible. El 23, la marcha entro a Washington DC, fortalecida por organizaciones de pobres de alrededor del pais y con el acompanamiento de movimientos sociales de otras partes del mundo.

40 years ago today, Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous "I have a dream speech" at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Five years later, working to build the "Poor People's Campaign," he was assassinated. Looking at the gains of the civil rights movement, concerned that our future was being wasted in Vietnam, King believed that the time had come "to move from a movement of civil rights to a movement of human rights."

Core leadership of the Poor People's March swelled to 100 as leaders from more than 30 Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign organizations arrived in Arlington in preparation for a march on the capitol which will include at least 1,000. Despite almost daily negotiations for more than a month, the March was only granted a 13-hour permit which will expire at 11:59 on the 23rd. Poor People's Campaign leadership is calling for volunteers to participate in and be witness to nonviolent civil disobedience on the National Mall at this time.

Clinchco, Virginia is located in the heart of Appalachia. For generations, coal mined in this community and throughout this region, now one of the poorest in the country, fed the growth of the US economy. The livelihoods of the thousands of people who lived in this town were tied to the dangerous work in the mines, but as coal companies automated, those jobs disappeared.

In the morning the marchers were able to sleep in until 8:00 am, take showers, and pause to reflect on the march so far. Together, they discussed the process of leadership development ... Willie Baptist, Education Director for the Kensington Welfare Rights Union, framed the discussion with an analogy: "Suppose we are camping in the woods, when a hungry bear enters the camp looking for someone to eat. The first person who wakes up has a responsibility to wake the others so they can make sure no one gets eaten. The first person to wake up is in a position of leadership."

s After meeting with workers and leadership of UNITE local 1501, marchers decided to show their support for the more than 6,450 workers fired from the Pillowtex plant in Kannapolis, NC. Pillowtex is a casualty of NAFTA. Pillowtex was forced into bankruptcy because it was unable to compete with low-wage labor in poor countries. The town of Kanapolis has been devastated by the plant closure and the union has been forced to hold school supply and food drives for the workers. Some employees were making $40,000 a year and now might lose their houses, retirement funds, and all hope of a decent future.

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Después de reunirse con los trabajadores y líderes del sindicato local UNITE 1501, los marchantes decidieron mostrar su apoyo de los más que 6,450 trabajadores despedidos de la planta Pillowtex en Kannapolis, N.C. Pillowtex es una victima del TLCAN (NAFTA por sus siglas en ingles). Por no poder competir con los salarios bajos de los países pobres, Pillowtex se quebró. El pueblo de Kanapolis ha sido devastado por la clausura de la planta, y el sindicato ha sido obligado a recaudar fondos para comida y artículos de escuela para los trabajadores. Algunos de los empleados estaban ganando $40,000 por año, y ahora podrían perder sus casas, fondos para el jubileo, y toda esperanza para un futuro digno.

Bruce Springsteen, a supporter of this movement for more than twenty years, made the following announcement to packed houses at his concerts in Philadelphia on August 8th, 9th, and 10th: "Here again tonight are my friends of twenty years from the Kensington Welfare Rights Union, a multi-racial group of poor people from Kensington fighting to end poverty.  Support their efforts..."

Earlier this month, Pillowtex, Inc., a manufacturer of linen and bedding products, filed for bankruptcy, leaving more than 6,500 workers without jobs throughout the country and especially in the south.

Marchers are setting up a tent city, "NAFTAville," on the grounds of the abandoned factory. Click here to read a press release from the event.

The Poor People's March arrived in Knoxville today, marching eight miles down Martin Luther King Blvd. After arriving at the Austin Homes housing project, the march split up into documentation teams to record economic human rights violations. Residents held a speak out at which they voiced their anger over the demolition of low income housing to make way for a highway expansion, with no plans to relocate residents.

On the night of the 10th, marchers were refreshed with a good night's sleep in (shared) motel rooms provided by Paul and Virgie Dean (parents of marcher Todd Dean)—not to mention their wonderful home cooking. Paul and Virgie own a flower and wedding shop in Macon (mdean1425@yahoo.com). Later, Willie Baptist, who is the Campaign Coordinator of Education for the University of the Poor, led an educational on moving from solely focusing on civil rights to building today's movement for economic human rights.

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En la noche del 10 de agosto, los marchantes durmieron bien durante la noche en cuartos compartidos de un motel, donados por Paul y Virgie Dean (los padres de marchante Todd Dean), además de su comida casera maravillosa. Paul y Virgie son dueños de una tienda de bodas en Macon (mdean1425@yahoo.com). Más tarde, Willie Baptist, el Coordinador de la Campaña de Educación para la Universidad de los Pobres (University of the Poor), coordinó un taller educativo sobre el proceso que se ha cambiando el enfoque de solo los derechos civiles a construir el movimiento de hoy para los derechos humanos económicos.

Cheri and the finest group of folks I have met—

First, let me apologize for not being with you all in Louisville, KY. I'm sure the seeds you are leaving in your paths will come as a surprise to all when the first of y'all's labor is manifested.

Upon arriving in Louisville, KWRU leaders met with organizers from Women in Transition, a local organization that addresses issues of poverty as it affects women and children, around building a Poor People's Movement in Louisville. WIT agreed to become a part of the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign, joining in it's struggle to end poverty not only in Louisville but in all of America.