Poverty Action: A 21st Century Hunger March on the Capitol

author : Pat Tassoni topic : poverty

by Pat Tassoni

The existence of poverty in the US should not be accepted as a necessary evil or an insoluble problem, but should be considered a crisis requiring emergency measures. It is a matter of will and priorities, not a matter of resources.

-- MLK, Jr.

The Statewide Poverty Action Network is working with local churches, labor organizations and non-profits to bring 1,000 poor people to Olympia on January 16 for a march to the Capitol and related events. Uniting under the above words of Martin Luther King, Jr. on his holiday, they will urge elected representatives to make ending poverty in Washington a priority through: Access to Opportunity; Health and Well-being; and Work that Pays.

When MLK had just celebrated his fifth birthday, 1,000 unemployed Washingtonians marched on the capitol in a Hunger March (January 17, 1933) to call upon the legislature to address the conditions of hunger, homelessness, housing, poverty and unemployment. The state responded with stalling decisions but managed to pass a relief bill using federal money. Six weeks later, Franklin Roosevelt took office as President, implementing the New Deal policies that brought welfare, medicare, unemployment, social security and public works programs.

Shortly after MLK celebrated his ninth birthday, FDR delivered his second inaugural speech (January 20, 1937), the point of which was to wrestle society-controlling power from corporations and giving it back to the people:

"But here is the challenge to our democracy: In this nation I see tens of millions of its citizens -- a substantial part of its whole population -- who at this very moment are denied the greater part of what the very lowest standards of today call the necessities of life.

"I see millions of families trying to live on incomes so meager that the pall of family disaster hangs over them day by day.

I see millions whose daily lives in city and on farm continue under conditions labeled indecent by a so-called polite society half a century ago . . .

"I see one-third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-nourished."

Where are we now in the 21st century, on the 74th anniversary of Washington's first Hunger March? One-third of our state is ill-housed and ill-nourished. (No doubt due at least in part to sweatshop labor, we are not ill-clad.) Across our state as many as 1.7 million people are struggling in poverty, many with low-wage jobs, unable to meet their basic needs.

A few years ago, Washington ranked as the second hungriest state in the union and Washington continues to have one of the highest rates of hunger in the nation. Nowhere in the state can anyone working a minimum-wage job or anyone on public benefits afford fair-market rental housing costs in the state. In Washington, there are not enough jobs for the unemployed as there are more people looking for work than there are job openings that pay a living wage. Today, minimum wage, a concept established in 1959, is further below the poverty line than it has ever been.

National poverty was the impetus for Martin Luther King to officially launch the Poor People's Campaign shortly before his assassination:

"I think [a job] ought to be the first thing that we guarantee every person capable of working a job. And this can be done in many, many ways. There are many things that need to be done that could be done that's not being done now. And this could provide the jobs.... And of course, there are definitely going to be people all along, people who are unemployable, as a result of age, as a result of something that failed to develop here or there, and as a result of physical disability. Now these are the people who just couldn't work. Certainly they have a right to have an income. If one has a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, then he has a right to have an income. Now, this may mean a radical, in a sense, redefinition of work. Maybe we've got to come to see that a mother who's at home as a housekeeper or as a housewife is working."

Everyone has the right to be safe and healthy, but in Washington many people are without the means to ensure the safety and security of themselves and their families. This places Washington residents at risk; it is dangerous to be forced to sleep on the streets, to go without food, or basic healthcare. Everyone in our state should have the means to secure their basic health and well-being. Everyone who works has the right to a job that allows them to support themselves and their families. The January 16 march on the state Capitol is because the state government has a role to play in ensuring that everyone in Washington is able to meet their basic needs.

The day begins with a morning of issue trainings and skill-building workshops on the legislative process and bills concerning poverty that are being, or should be, considered by our representatives. Registration is required but scholarships are available and lunch is provided. The afternoon will be a historic march from Sylvester Park to the Capitol steps where we will rally. Participants are then encouraged to meet with their legislators to impart their messages about poverty. The evening will be filled with music as various performers play The Vault -- from hip-hop to country to folk. The admission cost is waived with registration for the morning workshop.

Join us as we bring poor folks from around the state to work together on poverty issues, march on the capitol dome and advocate for change, and then rock-out to end poverty! Come to one part of the day or make it a full day!

Pat Tassoni is staff of the Thurston County Tenants Union and is a member of MLK Poverty Action Summit Organizing Committee. 943-3036 or tctu@tenantsunion.org