PHA-Exchange> Poor in U.S. to Protest Republican Convention

[SAULELYDIS at aol.com]

Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign (PPEHRC) announces plans for 
Bushville Tent City and March For Our Lives on Opening Day of the Republican 
National Convention in New York City 

In a national press conference held at the Center for Constitutional Rights 
(CCR) in New York City on Thursday, February 19, leaders of the Poor People's 
Economic Human Rights Campaign from New York City and across the country 
announced plans to protest at the Republican National Convention. 

During the week preceeding the Republican National Convention, which starts 
on August 30th of this year, the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign 
(PPEHRC) will erect a Bushville Tent City at an undisclosed location near the 
site of the convention. Throughout the week, PPEHRC organizers will be taking 
members of the national and international media, the human rights community, 
religious people and others on Reality Tours of New York, New Jersey and 
Philadelphia, showing the true face of economic human rights violations occurring 
across this country. 

On opening day of the Republican National Convention, August 30th, at 4 PM, 
the PPEHRC will lead a massive non-violent "March for Our Lives: Stop the War 
at Home" from the United Nations at 45th and 1st Avenue through downtown 
Manhattan toward the site of the RNC at Madison Square Garden. In the words of KWRU 
founder and PPEHRC national organizer Cheri Honkala:

" We will march because both the Republicans and Democrats have ignored the 
plight of poor and we will march to highlight the war at here at home. A war 
caused by the massive job losses and people without housing and healthcare and 
the other basic necessities of life." 

Speakers at the press conference included Cheri Honkala, KWRU founder and 
National Organizer of the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign (PPEHRC), 
New York resident and actor Mark Webber of the Kensington Welfare Rights Union 
(KWRU), and leaders of PPEHRC organizations: Roland Emerson of the Deaf & 
Deaf-Blind Committee on Human Rights in Ohio (DDBCHR), Ethel Long-Scott of 
Women's Economic Agenda Project (WEAP) in California, Galen Tyler and Carolyn Caesar 
of the KWRU in Pennsylvania, Rachle Hamilton and Kieran Holcombe of the 
Loring Nicolett Alternative High School in Minneapolis, and Jennifer Jewell and 
Kyauna Black of Women in Transition in Louisville Kentucky. Also speaking at the 
press conference were Peter Weiss, of the Center for Constitutional Rights, 
Reverend Dr. Paul Chapman of The Employment Project in New York City, Bill Kane 
of the New Jersey State Industrial Union Council, and Bob Brown of the newly 
founded Health Care Human Rights Network.

"We are no longer going to sit back and take this abuse. It's time for us to 
stand up and fight for our rights!"

- Roland Emerson, Deaf & Deaf-Blind Committee on Human Rights, Ohio

"Just as Dr. King warned in his final days, the soul of America is tortured 
because we are being forced to live in a society that denies compassion, 
dehumanizes our neighbors and puts all of us in jeopardy. IN THE FACE OF ESCALATING 
WAR AT HOME WE ARE MARCHING FOR OUR ECONOMIC HUMAN RIGHTS!"

- Ethel Long-Scott, Women's Economic Agenda Project (WEAP), California

The events in August will be organized by and joined by the wide range of 
more than 100 organizations belonging to the PPEHRC, including, in addition to 
the ones listed above, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, the Chicago Coalition 
to Protect Public Housing and dozens of other member organizations, unions 
and others. In addition, the PPEHRC events have already gained the widespread 
support of organizations and movements around the world, including many who 
attended the recent World Social Forum and International Forum for the Defense of 
People's Health, both held in Mumbai, India this past January.


Later that evening, the PPEHRC organizations, local PPEHRC organizers 
andartists and other friends of the PPEHRC gathered in Brooklyn for a cultural event. 
Award-winning NYC playwrite and actor, and KWRU member, Tim Dowlin ran the 
event, which featured poetry, songs, rap and other art by leaders in the 
movement for economic human rights from across the country.