Action Alert - Take Action Now!
Help support the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign by contacting the National Park Service and demanding the permit for Tent City on the National Mall is reinstated immediately. Marchers will begin re-constructing Bushville at 11:59 am on Thursday, August 28th. Please contact the Ron Blain of the National Park Service at: email -
ron_blain@nps.gov, phone - 202.619.7225, fax - 202.401.2430.
Talking Points:
- The permit for the Tent City on the National Mall must be reinstated immediately
- The National Park Service is unjustly silencing the voice of the poor and denigrating the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by consistently denying the right to protest
- All charges against the 17 Poor People's Campaign Activists arrested on August 24th must be dropped
Background
Marchers from around the country have been traveling the path of Martin Luther King Jr. from Mississippi to Washington, D.C. commemorating the 35th anniversary of Martin Luther King's 1968 Poor People's March. The marchers arrived in D.C. on August 23rd and began construction of Bushville with preparations for a weeklong Tent City to raise awareness around violations of Economic Human Rights in the United States. The permit for Bushville expired at 11:59 p.m. and the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign was evicted from the Tent City on the National Mall early on August 24th. Despite strenuous efforts to the contrary, it became clear the permit would not be extended beyond the 12:00 deadline. Reasons ranged from national security concerns to a conflict with an upcoming NFL/Britney Spears concert (Bushville was nowhere near the concert preparation area).
Throughout the night police continuously harassed those at Bushville and in nearby cars, preventing anyone from falling asleep. Still unified, the marchers refused to abandon Bushville, and the voices it represented - the untold stories of economic human rights violations were expressed by the tents, banners, signs and presence.
Before noon, the police made a decision to demolish Bushville and arrest anyone refusing to leave. Seventeen people remained, and were arrested by police. All were given expensive citations and released a few hours later.
The Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign has continued planned activities for the week. The marchers plan to reconstruct Bushville on the anniversary of the day Martin Luther King, Jr. was scheduled to arrive in D.C. on August 28th. Show your support for the campaign by taking action now!
For more information on the march and the arrests, please visit: www.kwru.org/march or call us at 215-203-1945