Goldsboro, N.C. — BUTTIGIEG TO BE QUESTIONED ON POVERTY STANCE — Mayor Pete Buttigieg will join a post worship conversation on the gripping poverty that impacts over 140 million Americans: 66 million whites, 24 million Black Americans and 38 million Latinos. He requested to come to worship and Rev Dr. Barber said “sure” all people are welcome but let’s have a conversation on policy and poverty and the Mayor agreed. After worship impacted persons along with Rev Barber will ask questions.

When: Sunday, December 1, 2019, 10:00 AM Morning Worship

Post Worship Conversation 12:30

Where: Greenleaf Christian Church in Goldsboro, North Carolina 2110 N. William Street Goldsboro, NC 27530

What: On the 64th anniversary of Rosa Parks’ historic protest that launched the Montgomery bus boycott, Reverend Dr. William Barber will lead a justice communion liturgy, Rev. Dr. Renita Weems, the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in the Old Testament, will preach.

Mayor Pete Buttigieg will join a conversation on the gripping poverty and low wealth that impacts over 140 million Americans, 66 million whites, 24 million Black Americans and 38 million Latinos. Impacted persons will ask a question similar to the format used at the Moral Poverty Action Congress held this past summer in DC that Mayor Pete couldn’t attend.

Rev Dr. William Barber Senior Pastor/Bishop, is president of Repairers of the Breach, is also co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call For Moral Revival. This movement, established in over 43 states and DC is conducting a 25 state WE MUST DO MORE registering people for the movement who vote tour to open America’s eyes to the heart-wrenching issue of poverty which affects over 140 million Americans. The tour will culminate in a massive Poor People’s Assembly and March in Washington D.C., June 20, 2020.

The Poor People’s Campaign is galvanizing poor people across racial lines in a message of racial unity as part of a movement that votes. Most recently the work of the campaign — which is nonpartisan but organizes people around a moral policy agenda — helped result in the surprising electoral outcome in Kentucky where poor white coal miners joined African Americans from urban and rural areas to elect a Democratic governor.

The campaign identifies five issues of interlocking injustices: systemic racism and poverty, the militarization of the federal budget, ecological devastation, and the false narrative of white nationalism and religion. The Campaign’s audit of the federal budget found that in reordering priorities, there is enough money in the existing budget to provide six homes for every homeless person in America. The Moral Budget, developed by the campaign is available at www.Poorpeoplescampaign.org.

For more information or to arrange interviews contact: jonathanwilsonhartgrove@hotmail.com

HISTORIC NORTH CAROLINA CHURCH HOST WOMENS DAY HONORS ROSA PARKS 64th ANNIVERSARY WITH FOCUS ON… was originally published in Brepairers on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

There is no question that the president of this country is racist. His outbursts on social media illustrate that clearly, as do his policies at the border, attempts to end Medicaid expansion, Medicaid work requirements, travel bans, restriction of SNAP benefits, refusal to embrace living wages and judicial appointees. All of these policy positions have a disparate impact on people of color and poor and low wealth people, thereby hurting America and the promise to establish justice. However, anti-racists in this country have a bigger challenge than Trump, and that is his right-hand man, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. By not speaking out against the president’s racist rhetoric and policies and by consistently pursuing an extreme legislative agenda, McConnell is bolstering Trump’s white nationalism and must also be named as a racist.

McConnell has refused to vote on immigration reform, restoration of the Voting Rights Act, minimum wage and living wage increases, stopping the mistreatment of native Americans, and fully addressing climate change and gun control. He has attempted to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, which would strip health care from millions of Americans and disproportionately impact people of color. He’s stacked the courts with dozens of controversial nominees and pushed for nominees like Thomas Farr, who have histories of voter suppression and racial gerrymandering, to be appointed to our nation’s top courts. By stacking the courts, McConnell is cementing this administration’s white nationalist agenda for decades to come. The Supreme Court votes on less than 100 cases per year, while appellate judges decide tens of thousands. And now we have a court system that has been loaded with right-wing extremists who harbor a white nationalist agenda.

We have witnessed over 300 mass shootings in America this year. The majority of Americans want some type of gun control measures put in place. The House of Representatives passed not one but two gun control bills in Congress in February. Senator McConnell has not allowed a Senate vote on either bill.

By not bringing the Raise the Wage Act to the Senate floor for a vote, McConnell is continuing the cycle of systemic poverty. While many states and companies have raised wages themselves, there are 25 states who have banned cities and counties from raising minimum wages. A federal minimum wage increase would bypass these restrictions and provide more opportunity for people of color — who are disproportionately impacted by poverty — to escape systemic poverty. An issue like living wages also highlights how racism hurts all of us, because the majority of people impacted in raw numbers are poor whites who have been sold the lie that McConnell’s obstructionism is somehow making America great.

McConnell has also consistently ignored congressional efforts to address the current crisis at our southern border and immigration reform. He is fueling the white nationalist ideology that has perpetrated this image that immigration is only good when the immigrants are white. Trump ignited his base with the phrase “Make America Great Again,” which really means take America back to the times when whites owned the country and were the solid majority. McConnell is continuing to stoke that belief by not speaking out against this administration’s abhorrent immigration policies and treatment of immigrants at the border.

In addition to blocked legislation, the Trump administration has been enacting its own rules and policies through its agencies to hurt people of color. Cost of living is rising, leading to a rise in homelessness throughout the country, but instead of allocating more money for the Department of Housing and Urban Development to create affordable housing, the Trump administration is proposing cuts to its budget. This disproportionately impacts Black Americans who are already making lower wages than their white peers, and who also occupy 48 percent of public housing units. Rather than ensure oversight, as the Constitution requires, McConnell has offered Trump a rubber stamp.

All of these policies are preceded by blatant attacks on voter rights, which disproportionately impact Black voters. In 2013, the Supreme Court dismantled the Voting Rights Act by allowing states (mostly Southern) to make changes to their election laws without prior federal approval. This has led to a wave of modern voter suppression tactics in the South. From voter ID laws, closed polling locations, and voter roll purges, these new laws have been designed to specifically target the poor and people of color and keep them from voting. If they don’t vote, then the corrupt, immoral politicians who came up with the laws get to stay in power and enact their agenda. The result has been the terrible, racist policies we’ve seen coming out of this administration, a gridlocked Congress, and extreme partisan gerrymandering to hold it all in place.

Americans cannot afford the racism fueled by Trump and McConnell’s policies, because racism within American policies is an even bigger threat than racist words and angry tweets. McConnell is a direct threat to America’s promise of freedom, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, is fighting back against this administration, McConnell, and their racist policies. We understand that this country elected a leader who is racist beyond words. We have had enough. We have had enough of McConnell stoking the fire and standing passively by while this country burns.

In order to heal this country and its racist rhetoric that has been coming out of the White House, we must challenge the occupant of the White House along with all of the immoral politicians and leaders who have not only stood by his side but also remained silent in the wake of his racism. We must march in the streets and take our voices to the polls where we will elect leaders who understand that our country must change if it is ever going to be a nation that is truly of, by, and for the people.

It’s time to raise your voice.

The Poor People’s Campaign is being led by Repairers of the Breach in partnership with national and local partners. To find out more about the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, visit www.poorpeoplescampaign.org. You can also visit Twitter and follow Repairers of the Breach and Rev. Dr. William J Barber, II to stay engaged with the work of the moral movement.

The Quiet Danger of McConnell’s Racist Policies was originally published in Brepairers on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

“Suppose a person claims to have faith but doesn’t act on their faith. My brothers and sisters, can this kind of faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister has no clothes or food. Suppose one of you says to them, ‘Go. I hope everything turns out fine for you. Keep warm. Eat well.’ And suppose you do nothing about what they really need. Then what good have you done?” James 2:14–16

The Trump administration recently released a proposal from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that would reduce the number of Americans who could access Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly called food stamps, ultimately removing over 3 million people from the program. Currently, 43 states allow families who receive Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) to automatically qualify for food-stamp benefits as well. Under the new rule, states could use a person’s savings or assets to disqualify them from receiving benefits. For example, if you had over $2,250 in savings, you’d have to spend your hard earned savings on food before the government would assist, or an elderly person could be denied benefits simply because their house is paid off.

The current administration would rather our nation’s most vulnerable deplete their savings and chances of getting out of poverty instead of providing them with food. They would rather a senior citizen refinance their home and put themselves into debt than provide basic food stamp benefits. The cuts also put tighter restrictions on income, meaning that if a worker takes an extra shift or receives something as small as a 50 cent raise, it could cause their food stamps to be immediately cut off. Despite being what many policy experts say to be our country’s most successful anti-poverty program, this administration seems determined to scale it back. These efforts are a blatant attempt to keep the poor and low wealth in poverty.

Many low wealth families who receive SNAP benefits but not TANF are working full-time but dealing with huge child care costs, housing, and other expenses. The program also allows children who receive SNAP benefits to qualify for free or reduced lunches. By tying SNAP directly in with TANF benefits, millions of families who rely on the program to put food on their tables will now be forced to decide between things like child care or food.

We have 64 million people in this country currently working for less than $15 per hour, struggling to make ends meet. There is no state or county where someone earning the federal minimum wage could afford a 2-bedroom apartment at market rent. Without jobs that pay livable wages and without access to affordable housing rates, these families will continue to remain in poverty. The SNAP program was designed to assist with that burden, so families didn’t have to choose between paying the rent and feeding their children.

Only 23 percent of poor families currently receive TANF. That means we have millions of poor and low wealth Americans who aren’t receiving any assistance or are just receiving food stamps. The assistance programs are not reaching the people who need them, so why take away benefits from the families who clearly need these benefits the most?

If our poor and low wealth continue to be stuck working full-time jobs that pay an unsustainable wage then they will not be able to afford to feed their families. They won’t be able to afford to pay their rent, health care, or education. They will end up trapped in this systemic poverty cycle because of elected officials trying to take away the little amount of assistance they may get that could possibly help them break the cycle.

The irony about this proposal is that the people that will be hurt the most by it are poor and low wealth white people. Yes, the majority of people who receive benefits from SNAP are white. In 2016, non-Hispanic whites made up 36.2 percent of the 44 million people who used SNAP — the largest share of any ethnic group. Blacks made up 25.6 percent of all recipients and Hispanics accounted for 17.2 percent of all recipients. A large portion of President Trump’s voter base is made up of white voters in rural America. Once again, Trump and his administration are putting policies in place that are going to hurt the very people who put him into office in the first place.

Make no mistake, this decision was deliberate. This administration knows that SNAP recipients are children, working families, senior citizens, and people with disabilities, many of whom, do receive additional assistance from TANF. But there are also millions of poor and low-income Americans who struggle to make ends meet daily and could use a program like SNAP to help alleviate some of that burden so they can break out of the poverty cycle.

Repairers of the Breach recognizes that and is determined to end the cycle of systemic poverty. We will not allow this administration to continue to oppress the poor and low wealth residents of this country. We will unite Americans from every corner of this nation together until the cycle of poverty is broken for every last person in this country.

Will you stand with us?

Repairers of the Breach is building a moral movement and is a cosponsor of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. To learn more about both, visit www.breachrepairers.org.

Cutting SNAP Benefits Keeps People In Poverty was originally published in Brepairers on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

“If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors for ever and ever. But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless.” —Jeremiah 7:5–8

One week ago, we were in El Paso at the invitation of the Border Network for Human Rights to highlight the violence that their community has been suffering. We heard stories of families separated, asylum seekers turned away and refugees detained like prisoners of war. We heard how their community has been militarized and how poor border communities have been especially targeted. We promised that we would do everything in our power to compel the nation to see this violence. Just a few days later, a terrorist opened fire in El Paso. And then another attack occurred in Dayton.

In reflecting on these outbreaks of violence, our hearts are broken. This moment demands a moral reckoning with who we are and who we want to become as a nation.

The truth is that, while every generation has worked to push us toward becoming a more perfect union, we have also tolerated lies that beget violence. America’s founding fathers spoke of liberty, while drafting documents that called Native Americans savages, accepted the enslavement of Africans, and ignored the voices of women. This hypocrisy created space for slaveholder religion to bless white supremacy, pseudo-science to justify eugenics, a sick sociology to pit people against one another, and predatory policies to scapegoat non-white immigrants and blame poverty on the poor.

Politicians who try to denounce the racism of an individual, but do not denounce racist policies refuse to deal with the depths of the problems we face. We cannot address the violence of white nationalism without stopping the policies of white nationalism and the lies that are told to justify them. In 1963, George Wallace began to spew racist rhetoric from the governor’s office in Alabama. By the end of that year, Medgar Evers was dead, four girls in a church were dead, and a President was dead because these words and these policies were a breeding ground for violence. It always has been that way. Whenever we’ve had these words and policies, they have also unleashed this kind of violence.

For this reason, we call on President Trump, Members of Congress and Presidential Candidates, our people on the ground in movements and communities of struggle, people who have embraced the lies of white nationalism, and our religious leaders and people of faith and conscience to revive the heart and soul of this country.

Why is this important?

Mr. President, we recognize that you are a symptom of our decaying moral fabric and you have ignited a modern day wildfire. The coals of white nationalism are always smoldering in our common life, and they have fueled the violence of indigenous genocide, slavery, lynching and Jim Crow. Stop stoking the fires of violence with racist words and policies. Mr. President, you must repent in word and deed if your leadership is to bring us together, rather than tearing us apart.

To Members of Congress and our elected representatives, we ask you to ensure our domestic tranquility. You can take immediate action to stop the President’s racist attacks on immigrants. You can act to ensure voting rights, pass gun reform to keep weapons of war out of our communities, end federal programs that send military equipment to our local and state police departments, pass immigration reform that allows us all to thrive and build up the country, ensure good jobs and living wages and relief from our debts, and guarantee health care and social programs that meet our needs. The lies of white nationalism have prevented action on all of these issues, and those who have enabled the President or remained silent are culpable.

As you return to Washington D.C, we call on Congress to honor the August 28 anniversary of the March the Washington and the murder of Emmett Till by passing an Omnibus Bill that offers a comprehensive response to the systemic racism that connects the issues facing 140 million poor and low-wealth people in this country.

To all candidates running for President in 2020, we call on you to address both the violence of racism and the policies of racism and white nationalism in the public debates. We ask you to connect these policies of systemic racism to poverty, ecological devastation, the war economy, militarism and a distorted moral narrative that accepts, justifies and perpetuates systemic violence.

To our movements and organizations on the ground, do not go back to your silos; instead we must build a moral fusion movement. We have been organizing in separate streams, often along lines of race, issue area or geography, but we need much more than our own fights can win. This is not the time to become entrenched in those divisions. We need to come together across race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, issue, geography and other lines of division to make a fight for everything we need and make sure we are all in — nobody is out.

To those who have embraced the lies of white nationalism and racism, we humbly recognize the power of fear. We live in a time when many people do not know if they will have work today or health care tomorrow. Many families do not know what agency is coming for them or their children. We do not know who to trust and have been left to fend for ourselves and whoever we believe to be on our side. Let us find strength in our pain, mourn our losses, and remember that we are all part of a common human family. Let us reject every attempt by politicians and corporate interests to pit us against one another. Let us confess that white nationalism is a myth that has not served most people, even those it claims to protect. Let us fight for each other and for a world where everyone can thrive.

To our religious leaders and people of faith, we call on you to offer moral leadership in the public square. If you have condoned the lies of white nationalism or remained silent, you have failed to keep your sacred vows. We ask you to recall the struggles of our ancestors so we can work together to build up a more perfect union in our common life.

We call on all people of faith and conscience to sign on to this letter and share it throughout your networks. Let us prevent this violence from defining who we are as a nation and people.

Forward together, not one step back.

Sign on to the Pastoral Letter on the El Paso Shootings was originally published in Brepairers on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

This week, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass the Raise the Wage Act to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour over the course of the next five years. What started as a small protest in New York City by a handful of fast food workers has now become a rallying cry for minimum wage workers across the country, and companies have taken notice. We’ve seen major corporations like McDonald’s and Walmart start working toward higher minimum wages, and Amazon has already adopted a $15 minimum wage for its workers. Cities across the country have also implemented minimum wage laws in places like Seattle and San Francisco, and states like California and New York have followed suit. Yet the legislation has little chance of movement in the Senate.

Over the past 40 years, our nation’s workers have barely seen any wage growth while the wages for the country’s highest earners has increased substantially. Isaiah 58 in the Bible says “loose the bands of wickedness” or pay people what they deserve. We know Jesus supported the laborer and believed they were worthy of their hire. We must maintain that mindset as we move forward and craft laws to pay the American people the wages they deserve and need to live. The Republican tax law that was supposed to put money back in the pockets of workers, instead took away beneficial tax provisions and provided the biggest tax cuts to the wealthy and corporations. As it currently stands, the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour cannot support a family anywhere in our country.

In fact, a basic one-bedroom apartment in Arkansas (the cheapest state to live) requires a job that pays at least $11.36 per hour, and in Hawaii (the most expensive state) you’d need to make at least $28.04 per hour. This fight for $15 is about more than money, it’s about being able to live.

The minimum wage battle is part of a larger cycle of systemic poverty. By keeping the minimum wage low, politicians effectively keep people in poverty and keep them trapped within the system they created. There are 140 million people in the U.S. today who are poor or low-income. Without livable wages, Americans are unable to afford to live.

Many Americans can’t afford health insurance, which can lead to extreme debt because of medical issues or to put food on their tables. They can’t afford to further their education, which could result in a higher salary or to afford better housing. If our people can’t afford housing, they’re stuck living in affordable housing districts, which is a form of voter suppression in and of itself. If they cannot afford to move to other districts, the other districts will remain gerrymandered. If the districts remain gerrymandered, then the same types of politicians will continue to be elected into office who will continue to suppress the fight for a livable wage. And so the cycle continues.

Repairers of the Breach recognizes that this fight is about more than just money, this fight is about living and about establishing justice. So, while we may applaud the House of Representatives for taking the necessary steps toward a livable wage, we pray and demand that this legislation be voted on in the Senate and that implementation would be immediate.

There are over 58 million American workers currently making less than a living wage. They deserve to get paid those living wages now. They simply cannot wait. The Fight for $15 has been a key part of the Poor People’s Campaign agenda since the beginning. I spoke at the first national convention of Fight for $15. I stood on the protest lines and was arrested alongside the workers who are fighting for their living wages. I am proud of SEIU’s Mary Kay Henry and of her courage to back this movement. We must not forget the battles we have fought to get here and the work that has been done.

We must continue our fight until every last American can afford to live no matter what job they have, no matter what state they live in, and no matter what the color of their skin is. Until that day comes, we continue to fight.

Join the fight.

Repairers of the Breach is building a moral movement and is a cosponsor of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. To learn more about both, visit www.breachrepairers.org.

The Fight for $15 Isn’t About Money, It’s About Living was originally published in Brepairers on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

“Then he will turn to the ‘goats,’ the ones on his left, and say, ‘Get out, worthless goats! You’re good for nothing but the fires of hell. And why?

Because — I was hungry and you gave me no meal, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
I was homeless and you gave me no bed,
I was shivering and you gave me no clothes,
Sick and in prison, and you never visited or cared.

“Then those ‘goats’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or homeless or shivering or sick or in prison and didn’t help?’

“He will answer them, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me — you failed to do it to me.’ -Matthew 25:31–45

The war for the very soul of our nation has begun. We are still over 500 days away from the 2020 presidential election and have been presented with 24 Democrats running for president as well as President Trump’s re-election announcement. Yet as the candidates prepare their speeches, gear up for debates, traverse the country, and repeat their talking points, they must keep our nation’s most important audience in mind: the 140 million poor and low wealth people.

Repairers of the Breach is continuing to facilitate the needs of the poor and low wealth through Moral Witness Wednesdays and the Moral Action Congress. Our efforts have been noticed and have already been oppressed by the current administration. While attempting to deliver a petition last month with over 5,000 signatures calling for an end to the attack on affordable health care, create humane immigration policies, end child detention, and more, we were blocked by members of the U.S. Secret Service. If the Trump administration cared about the people they are serving, they would have heard the demands of the thousands of people who put their name on that petition. The people are not the priority for our current political leaders, but that must change with the next election cycle.

The growing gap between the rich and poor in this country is a direct result of policy decisions made in Washington and in our state capitals. But those decisions have been supported by well-funded myths. Corporate interests have sent their representatives here to preach personal responsibility and the dangers of government intervention. But the truth is that we must take collective responsibility for the inequality that unjust laws and systems created. God didn’t make us poor. Greed and abuse of power did.

Poverty is the moral crisis of our nation and cannot be ignored. Our nation’s politics have gotten in the way of its moral character for far too long. This is why I went before Congress, to testify before the House Budget Committee about the moral crisis that poverty has become in America. This is not a Black crisis or a white crisis. This is an American crisis that must be addressed now.

The presidential candidates have an opportunity to truly make our country great and to make it work for those who need help the most, the poor. If you focus on what it is that makes poor people poor, you can then address the social issues like women’s rights, environmental rights, and LGBTQ rights. Why is it that women are now facing a radicalized attempt to take away their rights in states around our country? It’s because of radicalized voter suppression that has gerrymandered the districts to benefit those currently in power who make those laws. Why has the minimum wage not been increased by Congress since 2007? It’s because of voter suppression.

If we do not raise our voices at the polls then we cannot hope to obtain the change that we seek. And we cannot hope to unite our voices at the polls if we do not have a candidate that is focused on changing our country to benefit the poor instead of the wealthy.

Our moral agenda is not a movement FOR the poor, it is a movement WITH the poor. That’s something that anyone who claims to want to better our country ought to remember. You cannot truly better our nation without meeting the people where they are and getting to the root cause of their suffering.

The Poor People’s Campaign recently released “The Poor People’s Moral Budget.” This budget calls for cuts in defense spending and an end to tax breaks for the rich so we can invest that money in the nation’s poor and low wealth who need it the most. With that money we could restore the social safety net, improve wages, and provide better services to the poor. This budget report also condemns the immoral agenda of voter suppression and gerrymandering, because as we all know, we cannot possibly hope to change the direction of our nation without people in elected positions who truly care about the people.

Without the poor, we cannot win, and if we are not fighting with the poor, then we do not deserve to win. We cannot afford to wait on this broken, immoral system to sound the alarm. We — as Americans — as people of every color, race, creed, class, and religion — we must be the alarm.

Repairers of the Breach is building a moral movement and is a cosponsor of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. To learn more about both, visit www.breachrepairers.org.

Poor People Should Be At The Center Of The 2020 Conversation was originally published in Brepairers on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Every 10 years our country must count its residents. This count tells us not only how many people we now have in the United States, but also what race they are, their ethnicity, their gender, where they live, and more. This data is then used by every single facet of American life for years to come. It determines where we vote, what schools our children go to, and other matters like funding. Instead of this being a time to redesign our country to be more reflective of its population, the Trump administration is trying to skew the results by proposing a citizenship question be added.

This is dangerous. By threatening to ask about citizenship, the administration is willing to risk that some immigrants will choose not to participate or will share incorrect information. If this happens, then the results will be inaccurate. If results are inaccurate, portions of this country could lose funding or representation in government. In fact, the purpose of the Census in the first place was to assign seats for the U.S. House of Representatives.

But the president and his administration are not concerned about that. They are concerned about upholding their Republican majority through gerrymandered districts. And they are determined to criminalize and persecute innocent immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers who have come across our borders simply to seek a better life.

Deuteronomy 10:19 says, “You are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt.”

Unless you are Native American, we were all once foreigners to this land. Our ancestors were once foreigners to this land. Yet somehow that is forgotten. It is also forgotten that Jesus would have been among the immigrants that President Trump is trying so hard to get rid of. Jesus would have been at the border with them, locked in those cages.

Instead of trying to scare immigrants into not participating in the Census, we should be embracing them with open arms and welcoming their representation. But what we are witnessing here is a classic case of divide and conquer. If the U.S. House of Representatives does not accurately reflect this country then neither will its policies. People of color and the poor will continue to be victims of voter suppression efforts. The 140 million poor and low-income Americans will remain because there will be no increased minimum wage.

We have already witnessed the Republican gerrymandering of our districts. According to new reports, a consultant hired by the Trump administration believed the addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 Census would allow the political power of “Republicans and Non-Hispanic Whites” to increase even further through the realignment of voting districts.

That is exactly what President Trump and his enablers want. They understand that the Census is more than just counting bodies. It has been used to address racism and discrimination in the past. It is critical to determining what funds are allocated to health care, education, infrastructure, and housing. Businesses use it to determine where they are going to create new jobs. By controlling the outcomes of the Census, the president ensures his control over our country.

We cannot allow this immoral attempt to skew our democracy to take place. This is about much more than citizenship. This is about true representation. If we do not raise our voices now, then we have no right to raise our voices later when we feel we are not being heard by those in power. This is a moral battle that we must enter now if we have any hope that we might be represented in the future.

Join us on June 12, for Moral Witness Wednesday, where hundreds of faith leaders will descend on Washington, D.C., for a call to action outside the gates of White House. And join us again on June 17–19 in our nation’s capital for the Poor People’s Moral Action Congress where we will make our voices heard and then return to the states to organize, educate, and take action together.

Repairers of the Breach is building a moral movement and is a cosponsor of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. To learn more about both, visit www.breachrepairers.org.

The Census Means More Than Just Counting Bodies was originally published in Brepairers on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Again the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, say to the land, ‘You are a land that has not been cleansed or rained on in the day of wrath.’ There is a conspiracy of her princes[a] within her like a roaring lion tearing its prey; they devour people, take treasures and precious things and make many widows within her. Her priests do violence to my law and profane my holy things; they do not distinguish between the holy and the common; they teach that there is no difference between the unclean and the clean; and they shut their eyes to the keeping of my Sabbaths so that I am profaned among them. Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey; they shed blood and kill people to make unjust gain. Her prophets whitewash these deeds for them by false visions and lying divinations. They say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says’ — when the Lord has not spoken. The people of the land practice extortion and commit robbery; they oppress the poor and needy and mistreat the foreigner, denying them justice. —Ezekiel 22:23–29

Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” — Matthew 25:41–46

It’s a sad time for our country. We are seeing our Latino brothers and sisters experience the violation of fundamental human rights, fundamental moral rights, fundamental constitutional rights, and fundamental truth-telling.

Dr. King once said, “We must challenge those things that damn men and people’s souls. We must have an eternal discontent with injustice.”

We live in America in the 21st century, and there is still a woman who stands in the harbor of New York and says give me your tired, your poor, and huddled masses. Yet there is a president who sits in the White House who wants to turn these people away. The immigration policies of the Trump administration are unjust and immoral. The president’s blatant disrespect for migrants and immigrants has fueled the hateful rhetoric of anti-immigrant groups. We recently witnessed the arrest of a militia group leader who had been harassing illegal immigrants near the U.S.-Mexico border. Not only is this behavior unlawful but it is immoral. The rise of the border wall agenda has enabled groups like these to take matters into their own hands.

An ICE field office director has said that ICE raids are the new norm. But this new norm puts a target on the immigrant community. We are witnessing ICE officers raid places of business on a hunt for immigrants. They are taking people away who are here simply trying to work and provide for themselves and their families. This follows the opening line of the Trump campaign when he sought to criminalize all Mexicans. And whenever people are seen as a suspect before they’ve ever done anything wrong, particularly if they are brown, black, or red, that is a form of systemic racism. We cannot allow the Latino community to stand alone.

Not only is this a violation of fundamental human rights and moral rights, but it’s a violation of constitutional rights. Even a person who is undocumented, according to the U.S. Constitution and the Fourteenth Amendment that was passed in 1868, has constitutional rights in America. It says that “all persons must be provided equal protection under the law.”

This includes due process. It is not due process to barge into someone’s home in the middle of the night and take them from their children. It is not due process to snatch people from their churches or their community centers. That’s not what our Constitution says. And all of us must stand up for adherence to the Constitution because they might be doing it to one group of people today, but it will be another group of people tomorrow.

The Bible says that the top sins are self-worship, mistreatment of the poor, mistreatment of women, mistreatment of children, and mistreatment of immigrants. The politicians who were sworn into office and put their hands on the Bible are now watching this happen and remaining silent.

After all the Latino community has done for this country, how can we bar them from our shores? How can we bar our Latino brothers and sisters, especially those from Mexico, from parts of the country that were stolen from them in the first place? They are simply returning to their home. They didn’t cross the border, the border crossed them.

The days of not standing up for our Latino brothers and sisters are over.

Today we speak up not for the Latino community, but with them. They are the voices we must listen to. We must follow their lead. We must listen to the voices of the impacted people who are so scared of this nation’s policies that they cannot speak about the truth of what’s happening to them while every day the president is never afraid to tell a lie.

Repairers of the Breach and the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival commits to standing with our Latino brothers and sisters while following their lead as servants in this fight.

Repairers of the Breach is building a moral movement and is a cosponsor of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. To learn more about both, visit www.breachrepairers.org.

America Is Cursing Itself By Mistreating Our Latino Brothers & Sisters was originally published in Brepairers on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

“This is a place where gifts were given in this part of the world. To make people understand it, how can anyone destroy a religious place that has significant meaning?” —Wendsler Nosie Sr., former chairman of the San Carlos Apache Tribe

A battle is being waged over sacred land in Oak Flat, Arizona, and no one is talking about it.

Resolution Copper Co. wants to build the nation’s largest copper mine. The issue, however, is that the copper for that mine is located underneath the sacred Apache tribal land of Oak Flat. Not only does this project pose an enormous environmental risk, but it would also destroy places of historical and religious significance to the tribe like Apache Leap and Devil’s Canyon.

In 1955, President Dwight D. Eisenhower designated Oak Flat as an area off-limits to mining. However, the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act authorized Resolution to use the land in Oak Flat in exchange for other lands in Arizona. This was supported by former Arizona senators, Jeff Flake and the late John McCain. The land Resolution wants to trade is scattered across the state and wouldn’t offer half the environmental and touristic value that Oak Flat currently holds. In addition to being sacred tribal land, Oak Flat is also a prime destination for climbers, hikers, and campers.

For three years, the Apache Indian Tribe has been fighting back against this land exchange and they are running out of time. This country has already stolen enough sacred tribal land from its indigenous peoples. If a mining company wanted to tear down the Vatican to harvest the minerals underneath its soil, there would be a public outcry around the world. If an oil company wanted to build a drilling rig in the middle of Jerusalem, there would be protests far and wide. So why are these sacred tribal lands any different?

When Resolution is done mining — 50 years from now — it will leave behind a series of pockets beneath the earth from “block cave” mining that could lead to potential ground collapses, a 1,000-foot deep crater, countless destroyed wildlife habitats and environmental damage like deforestation and contaminated groundwater. This damage would take an additional 5–10 years to resolve if it ever got resolved at all. But all the replanting and reconstruction in the world could not replace the centuries of history that will be erased from the Apache tribe.

Why is it that this nation continues to steal land away from its original inhabitants under the guise of being “good for the economy”? And even if the land trade was of equal value, why should the Apache tribe be forced to give up their sacred lands and move for corporate greed? Did we not learn our lesson as a nation after the damage caused by the Trail of Tears? Have we not evolved our moral consciousness as a country enough to be able to determine that seizing land for profit is unjust?

We witnessed what happened after the Keystone XL Pipeline was allowed to drill through Standing Rock after all those promises were made about environmental protection, and we do not want to bear witness to that again.

Copper mining poses its own significant environmental risks. It frequently causes acid mine drainage which can seep into groundwater and require a lifetime of continual treatment. The toxic fumes from mining can also result in severe air pollution in neighboring mining towns. These proposed “economic gains” are not worth risking the health and livelihood of the Oak Flat community.

Thou shalt not steal is one of the clearest moral admonitions in the scripture. We are going to stand with our brothers and sisters of the Apache tribe in Oak Flat and saying that we will not allow native lands to be the subject of corporate exploitation any longer. We support the Congressional efforts to overturn the legislation that allowed this to happen in the first place. We will unite our voices and make sure that we are heard in every corner of this nation until the greed of corporations is no longer put above the sovereignty of this nation’s land and the preservation of our environment.

Make your voice heard. Join us.

Repairers of the Breach is building a moral movement and is a cosponsor of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. To learn more about both, visit www.breachrepairers.org.

Why Is No One Talking About the Land Battle in Oak Flat, AZ? was originally published in Brepairers on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The federal trade deficit has now reached $891 billion. This number comes after President Trump campaigned (and won) off of claims to reduce the trade deficit. Instead, he’s making the debt go up. While this increase in the deficit should be cause for concern, there are many more numbers that exist in this country that are nothing short of policy violence that we should be focusing on.

1: The ranking of the United States in world prison populations. Despite being the third most populous country, the U.S. takes first place when it comes to the number of people incarcerated. This number is further compounded by the number of people in jail for misdemeanor drug charges or are sitting in cells because they can’t afford to make bail.

6: The number of states in the U.S. where you can afford a basic apartment on under $15 per hour. While numerous states are taking steps toward increasing their minimum wage, only New York has actually implemented a $15 minimum wage, and that’s only for large employers. Keep in mind, you’d have to make $24.23 per hour to even afford a studio apartment in New York.

12: The number of years we have to limit irreversible climate change. Despite the claims by this administration, we all know that climate change is real and what it is doing to our planet. The United Nations says we have 12 years to make significant changes before droughts, floods, extreme heat, and poverty become commonplace.

15%: The percentage of Medicaid recipients that could lose coverage under the Trump administration. In 2018, the administration gave states permission to implement work requirements for Medicaid recipients. However, 60 percent of Medicaid recipients already work, and those that don’t are either in school, taking care of family members, or are physically or mentally disabled. The nation’s most vulnerable and those in need of care could lose their coverage, because they don’t meet technical requirements. That includes people who work multiple part-time jobs, are seasonal employees, and contractors.

25: The number of states with restrictive voter laws. When the Supreme Court struck down a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, states across the country rushed to implement oppressive voting laws that made it harder for the elderly, homeless, disabled, and people of color to vote. This includes voter ID laws and reduction of early voting periods. This is racist voter suppression, and we should call it that.

$4,822 — $22,631: The annual cost of child care across the country. If a single parent was working a minimum-wage job full-time, they’d only make $15,080 per year. In many states, that parent would not be able to afford child care.

39,773: The number of people who died from guns in 2017. According to the CDC, 37 percent of those deaths were homicides. Yet many of our elected leaders remain caught in the purse strings of the NRA and refuse to pass legislation that could prevent many of these killings from happening.

140 Million: The number of people who are poor or low-income in the U.S. today. That means 140 million people who are struggling to pay their rent, put food on the table, keep the lights on, and put clothes on their children’s backs.

$892.7 Billion: The amount of money that will be spent on the U.S. military in 2019. Military spending comes out of a chunk of the annual budget called discretionary spending. This bucket covers the military and all other domestic programs like Health and Human Services, Education, and Housing and Urban Development. Over half of that budget goes to the military.

$1.1 Trillion: The number of dollars spent on stock buybacks in 2018. In 2017, Republicans passed a new tax bill that cut the corporate tax rate down to 21 percent without doing much for working families and the poor. They claimed that the savings corporations and the wealthy received would come back ten-fold for workers in the form of new jobs and higher wages. Instead, corporations took their savings and gave it back to their wealthy shareholders in the form of stock buybacks.

All of these numbers can be compounded into a singular problem: systemic oppression. By refusing to increase the minimum wage, the government is keeping the poor in poverty. Our nation’s immoral levels of incarceration continually punish those who would dare make a mistake. Our immoral elected leaders continue to send us their thoughts and prayers as our children, friends, and neighbors are gunned down in their homes, schools, and places of worship.

We know that the right to vote is our most sacred right and that it should be guaranteed to all Americans without barriers. It is wrong for a handful of the rich in this country to own the same amount of wealth as the bottom 50 percent. So while we acknowledge that yes, the increasing federal trade deficit is of great concern, we also acknowledge the many other areas of concern that exist in this country. And we hope that the media and our politicians begin to pay attention to these numbers, lest we go down in history as a nation silently complicit with its own demise.

Repairers of the Breach is building a moral movement and is a cosponsor of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. To learn more about both, visit www.breachrepairers.org.

10 Statistics Worse Than the Trade Deficit was originally published in Brepairers on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.