Existing comment:
City of Hope
Resurrection City & the 1968 Poor People's Campaign
In the 1960s, as the United States emerged as a global model of wealth and democracy, an estimated 35 million Americans lived in poverty. From the elderly and underemployed to children and persons with disabilities, poverty affected people of every race, age, and region. Although President Lyndon B. Johnson had declared a "war on poverty" in 1964, social inequalities and unequal access to opportunities left many Americans struggling in a land of plenty.
In response, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Ralph David Abernathy, organized a Poor People's Campaign to confront poverty as a national human rights issue. As a multiethnic movement, the six-week, live-in demonstration in Washington, D.C., attracted protesters nationwide to mark a new era in American history. It was the first large-scale, nationally organized demonstration after King's death. Additionally, it was the final vision of King's life, and his most ambitious dream. |