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To the Editor:
It was a happy Mother’s Day for some, but not all.
Sadly, 38% of people in Tennessee are poor or low-income — a total of 2.5 million residents. This includes 769,000 children, 1.5 million women, 631,000 Black people, 263,000 Latinx people, and 1.8 million White people. From 1979 to 2012, household income for the top 1% in Tennessee grew by 145%, while income for the bottom 99% only grew 9%. Poverty and income are so low that folks have to choose weekly which life essentials for their families will be covered and which ones will not.
The Mass Poor People’s & Low-Wage Workers’ Assembly and Moral March on Washington is bringing attention to these disturbing facts. We need solutions to end the inequity in this, the richest country in the world — and to stand in love and lift our fellow citizens. The Campaign stands on the gospel teachings that whatever we do for the least of these “brothers and sisters” we are doing for a greater purpose.
Take Action! On June 18, the Poor People’s Campaign (PPC) and Moral March on Washington and to the Polls is taking place. This movement continues the work of Martin Luther King to bring peace through justice. Good news. You can be part of the solution by attending in-person or sponsoring someone else with less means. Several local area churches and justice-based organizations are organizing a bus to represent Northeast Tennessee at the March.
More information here: www.poorpeoplescampaign.org. To reserve a seat on the bus leaving from Pinnacle: rally.co/poor-peoples-assembly/from/bristol-tn. Full / partial scholarships are available for those in need. Reservation cut-off is June 11. Can’t go, but want to sponsor someone? Email local contact Bob Warner: sjchair@hvuuc.org.

Bob Warner
Blountville