Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign
3500 Lorain Avenue # 501A
Cleveland, Ohio 44113
info@economichumanrights.org
www.economichumanrights.org

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 5, 2010

Contact: Jeff Rousset, Communications Director, 845-642-8145, jeffppehrc@gmail.com
-OR-
Cheri Honkala, National Organizer, 267-439-8419, cherihonkalappehrc@gmail.com

March to Fulfill the Dream

Historic march and caravan led by poor people goes from New Orleans to the U.S Social Forum in Detroit

NEW ORLEANS, LA – On April 4th, 2010, Easter Sunday and the anniversary of Martin Luther King’s assassination, poor people and their allies will unite with the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign (PPEHRC) to advance Dr. King’s dream of ending poverty. The March to Fulfill the Dream will visit dozens of cities between New Orleans and Detroit, the site of the US Social Forum 2010, to highlight the urgent need for affordable housing and healthcare in the United States. Housing, healthcare, and jobs are human rights according to the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, endorsed by the U.S. in 1948. Continuing the legacy of Dr. King’s 1968 Poor People’s Campaign, which was cut short by his assassination, the tour is part of a larger strategy to unite poor people’s groups and their allies from across the country to build a diverse nonviolent movement to end poverty.

The PPEHRC caravan will visit many cities, including historic cities from the Civil Rights movement, for which Dr. King became the famous spokesperson. Each stop will include marches, demonstrations, and speak-outs led by poor people from the local cities, dramatizing the plight of today’s swelling numbers of the poor. Among the stops is Marks, Mississippi, where Dr. King launched the original Poor People’s Campaign in 1968 with a march and caravan to the nation’s capital.

“Dr. King’s dream is as relevant today as it was during his lifetime. More people than ever before are living in poverty surrounded by an unprecedented concentration of wealth and abundance. We are organizing to finally realize the dream of racial equality and economic justice in the United States,” said Viola Washington of New Orleans, a Katrina survivor with the New Orleans Welfare Rights Organization, a PPEHRC member group.

People in the U.S. are experiencing the worst recession since the Great Depression, with record numbers struggling for jobs, housing, and healthcare. More than 6 million Americans have been unemployed for 6 months or more, “the largest number since the government began keeping track in 1948,” according to a recent New York Times article. A record three million homes were foreclosed in 2009, with millions more expected to follow this year. Over 45 million Americans have no health care. Billions are spent on wars abroad while citizens at home lack basic social services.

“We don’t expect the changes we need to come from Washington or Wall Street, so we are building a mass movement to fight for the healthcare, housing, and jobs we need,” stated Khalilah Collins of Women in Transition, a PPEHRC member group in Louisville, Kentucky. “We are developing leaders from the ranks of the poor to create solutions ourselves and build a sustainable system.”

The Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign is a national coalition of over 125 grassroots anti-poverty groups, most of which are led directly by poor and homeless people. It is the nation’s largest anti-poverty organization that is led directly by the poor.

The March to Fulfill the Dream and the U.S. Social Forum (USSF) will connect poor people and anti-poverty groups from across the country with a special focus on education and leadership development. Every March event will promote dialogue among poor and disenfranchised people about the economic crisis and community-based solutions. “Organizing and education together can help us turn this recession into an opportunity for creative transformation,” said Larry Bresler, PPEHRC’s National Director.

The caravan, and the USSF itself, where more than 20,000 people representing progressive groups from across the U.S. and the world will gather, will provide spaces for poor people and their allies to further develop the analysis and strategy to build the movement and challenge the structures that cause poverty.

“All major social movements in history have been led by those most affected by problems. The Civil Rights, American Revolution, and Women’s Suffrage movements were all led by those most oppressed by injustice. The crisis in our economic system gets fixed when poor people are organized to lead the fight,” said Cheri Honkala, National Organizer of PPEHRC.

PPEHRC member groups have helped move homeless families into abandoned buildings, and are coordinating food distribution drives to help feed growing numbers of hungry people in both urban and rural cities. The coalition is running a national Zero Evictions and Foreclosures campaign to address what it sees as a national housing epidemic. As part of its “Programs of Survival” people are trained to resist foreclosures by using nonviolent civil disobedience to stay in their homes when other options have failed.

“There’s no more time to sit back and hope for politicians to help us. They help the banks and abandon the poor,” said Marian Kramer of the National Welfare Rights Union and Michigan Welfare Rights Organization, both PPEHRC member groups. “The present economic catastrophe calls for a wave of nonviolent civil disobedience to sweep over this nation and win the basic human rights we need to survive.”

Today I did 20 minutes on the bike, 1000 meters on the row machine, 30 reps - chest press @ 60 lbs., 30 reps - shoulder press @ 30 lbs., 30 reps - low row @ 60 lbs., 30 reps - vertical traction @ 90 lbs., 30 reps - pectoral @70 lbs.

3.8.10 FOOD LOG

11:00 AM
yogurt with granola, sliced banana and apple

1:30 PM
handful of pistachios

4:45 PM
Green leaf salad with black beans, onion, salsa, and avocado

11:00 PM
bean and cheese enchilada

It wasn’t a great day for my program as I didn’t get a work out in and I had pizza:(

Tomorrow will be much better, I promise.

3.7.10 FOOD LOG

9:40 AM
yogurt with granola, sliced banana and apple

2:20 PM
Spinach and green leaf salad with onion, cucumber, tomato, and balsamic vinegar.

6:00 PM
Usana oatmeal raisin energy bar.

9:00 PM
2 slices of homemade pizza with mozzarella, mushrooms, zucchini, and sun dried tomatoes. 6 breaded mozzarella cheese sticks. 2 Sierra Nevada beers.

I did a 30 minute mountain hike. I also did 3 sets of 25 shoulder press and curls with 25 pound dumbells for each arm.

3.6.10 FOOD LOG

8:00 AM
banana and apple slices with yogurt and granola

12:15 PM
Spinach and green leaf salad with onion, cucumber, tomato, and balsamic vinegar.

7:20 PM
Mercury Cafe - Alamosa bass and a dinner salad with feta dressing. 4 glasses of wine.

Here’s a talk Dr. Gino Strada (co-founder of Emergency) gave in L.A. in 2006. In it he talks about why they founded Emergency and about some of the work they’ve been doing for civilian war victims since 1994.

Today I did a 45 minute hike in the mountains.

3.5.10 FOOD LOG

11:00 AM
Sweet potato hash with salsa and 1 egg

2:00 PM
1 banana

4:30 PM
Green leaf and spinach salad with onion, cucumber, tomato, banana peppers, and red wine vinegar.

8:45 PM
bowl of rice with some Indian Madras Lentils

Today I made it to Qi and did 1000 meters on the row machine and 40 minutes on the bike. I really pushed myself for the time I spent there.

3.4.10 FOOD LOG

10:30 AM
1 egg on a piece of rye toast

2:15 PM
Green leaf and spinach salad with onion, cucumber, tomato, banana peppers, and red wine vinegar.

7:20 PM
Bean and cheese enchilada at the Mercury Cafe. I also had 4 glasses of wine (I know).

I’ve passed the 30 day mark and I have lost a total of 13 pounds. It’s not as much as I was hoping to but I didn’t push myself as hard as I could have and I my eating habits still need a lot of improvement. So far I have been given pledges totaling $105.50 for every pound I lose which means I raised $1371.50 last month for EMERGENCY USA. For those of you who have pledged I’ll be sending an email detailing how to donate. Thank you so much for your support and pledges.

On this day I did 30 minutes on an elliptical machine at the house I’m watching. I also went on a 20 minute hike and with dumb bells I did 3 sets of 20 curls at 25 lbs each arm plus 3 sets of 20 shoulder press at 25 lbs each arm.

3.3.10 FOOD LOG

10:00 AM
1 egg on a piece of rye toast

2:30 PM
Green leaf and spinach salad with onion, cucumber, tomato, banana peppers, and red wine vinegar.

5:15 PM
a plate of various Indian dishes from a buffet at Yak & Yeti restaraunt

10:00 PM
a handful of tortilla chips and some salsa

Here’s the last video from Chris and I’s visit with Brigitte Mars.

Again I didn’t keep track but I know my eating and exercise on this day was probably about 70% to what I’d been doing throughout the past month and what I’ve been doing this  past month is at best 70% of what I could be doing.

One thing about putting yourself out there like I have with this Fitness for EMERGENCY USA thing is you really feel like a supreme douchebag when you’re not doing everything you’ve committed to. Please don’t give up on me.

In this video Brigitte Mars talks about how to make incredibly tasting raw vegan tacos.

Again I don’t have a “Food Log” because I didn’t write it down but I remember eating a Green leaf salad with onion, peppers, cucumber, tomato, carrots, and balsamic vinegar around 1PM and I can’t remember what else. I know it wasn’t anything terrible but I’m definitely not eating enough and regular enough:(

I haven’t been able to get down to the gym in Denver because I’m watching a friends house/dog in the mountains but got another 30 minute mountain hike in and did about 20 minutes of weight lifting.

Here’s a video of Brigitte Mars showing us how to make raw vegan spaghetti.

So was between homes today and the next couple days so I didn’t really keep good records of what I did and I’m just now posting my blogs. It’s no excuse but that’s just what happened. I’m going off of memory here. On day 28 I know I ate some homemade pizza at a friends house, which was soooo tasty but not optimal for getting in fit. Did I mention how tasty it was? I think I also ate a salad.

I did get a 30 minute hike in the mountains in but I should have done more.

Here’s another video of our visit with Brigitte Mars. In this one she talks about Chia seeds. Yes like Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia Pets:) Again, sorry about the lousy video quality. I’ll upload these again in better quality once I get my new computer.