A Revived Poor People’s Campaign Calls for a “Revolution of American Values”

The Poor People’s campaign calls not only for a radical redistribution of political and economic power, but for a deep moral analysis of the national consciousness around poverty and racism.

This analysis calls out the common myths that perpetuate systemic inequality, including the dangerous belief that poverty is the fault of the poor. Those with more than ample wealth, the narrative goes, fully merit what they have. And others merit less.

My colleague Chuck Collins describes this narrative as the ​“myth of deservedness.” In his book Born on Third Base, Collins defines that myth as the belief ​“that people are poor because they don’t try as hard, have made mistakes, or lack wit and wisdom.” And the rich, the same story goes, have worked ​“harder, smarter, or more creatively.”

This ​“deservedness” narrative largely ignores the discrimination and other barriers that have blocked economic progress for poor people and people of color, or the public policies that have kept these barriers intact — things like housing and employment discrimination, mass incarceration, and tax policies that favor the wealthy over poor people of all colors.

A report released this year by the Institute for Policy Studies, The Souls of Poor Folks, examines how what Dr. King called the ​“Triplets of Evil” — systemic racism, poverty, and the war economy and militarism — as well as the interrelated problem of ecological devastation, have deepened since 1968 because of structural and systemic reasons, rather than individual failures.

The report points out that since 1968, the top one percent’s share of national income has nearly doubled, while the official poverty rate for all U.S. families has merely inched up and down. The 400 wealthiest Americans now own more wealth than the bottom 64 percent of the U.S. population (or 204 million people).

As the government increasingly caters to the interests of the few rich and powerful rather than being accountable to the poor and marginalized majority, the Poor People’s Campaign reminds us of the ongoing and emerging movements that are compelling a change in our national priorities.

During a time where America could not be more politically and economically polarized, it’s time to change the moral narrative in this country by coming together under moral clarity. We must shift the national conversation from ​“right versus left” to ​“right versus wrong.”

(​“The Moral Revolution America Needs” was originally published on Inequal​i​ty​.org and is reposted on Rural America In These Times under a Creative Commons 3.0 license. The Poor Peoples Campaign is currently organizing events in over 30 states. To learn more, please click here.)