Building on Our Poor People’s Campaign Coverage

Our reader-funded project to launch coverage of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival has been a success. With our readers’ help, we raised $16,000 to send Truthdig photojournalist Michael Nigro across the United States to cover what the campaign is calling 40 days of action.

Beginning in Washington, D.C., Nigro was on the job as progressive activists led by the Revs. William J. Barber II and Liz Theoharis kicked off a movement aiming to revive Martin Luther King’s historic vision.

Nigro also documented protests in Chicago, where the Poor People’s Campaign was joined by Fight for 15 activists as they demanded fair wages. More recently, the Truthdig photojournalist traveled to Lansing, Mich., accompanying activists to shine a much-needed spotlight on climate inaction, and later to Jefferson City, Mo., where he was arrested as he reported on a protest.

We are grateful for your support in helping us reach our initial goal. Now we’re working to build momentum to bring you exclusive multimedia reports about protests, marches and other events in coming months.

Truthdig’s exclusive coverage of the Poor People’s Campaign has included extensive audio photo essays, as well as several pieces by Nigro, and live blogs with multimedia dispatches documenting the days of action as they took place. Below are the themes for each week of the campaign. Click on the hyperlinked headlines to see Truthdig’s articles.

Week 1, Washington, D.C. Somebody’s Hurting Our People: Children, Women and People With Disabilities Living in Poverty

Poor People’s Campaign Kicks Off in Washington, D.C.

‘Poverty Is Violence’: First Day of Action of the Poor People’s Campaign (Audio Photo Essay), Michael Nigro

Building Morality From the Ground Up, Michael Nigro

Week 2, Chicago and Springfield, Ill. Linking Systemic Racism and Poverty: Voting Rights, Immigration, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, and the Mistreatment of Indigenous Communities

A Struggle Rising From the Streets

An American Movement Hidden in Plain Sight (Audio Photo Essay), Michael Nigro

The Art of Resistance: A Look at the Poor People’s Campaign’s ‘Justice Art Movement,’ Clara Romeo

Week 3, North Carolina The War Economy: Militarism and the Proliferation of Gun Violence

Poor People’s Campaign Continues Strong in North Carolina

Protesting a Country That Values Killing Over Caring (Audio Photo Essay), Michael Nigro

Week 4, Lansing, Mich. The Right to Health and a Healthy Planet: Ecological Devastation and Health Care

This Peaceful Army Can Wage a ‘Revolution of Values’

Every Human Has a Right to Health and a Healthy Planet (Audio Photo Essay), Michael Nigro

Week 5 Everybody’s Got the Right to Live: Education, Living Wages, Jobs, Income, Housing

Truthdig Correspondent Michael Nigro Arrested While Covering Poor People’s Campaign in Missouri

Everybody’s Got a Right to Live (Audio Photo Essay), Michael Nigro

Week 6 A New and Unsettling Force: Confronting the Distorted Moral Narrative

Poor People’s Campaign Protests Against Mistreatment of Immigrants

The Poor People’s Campaign Sixth Week of Action (Photo Essay), Michael Nigro

Saturday, June 23, 10 a.m. EDT Global Day of Solidarity and Sending a Call to Action: Mass Rally in Washington, D.C.

The Poor People’s Campaign: Big Finish at the Capital

D.C. Rally Ends the Initial Phase of Poor People’s Campaign (Photo Essay), Michael Nigro