The Path to becoming a UUCB Poverty Abolitionist

EDUCATE, ADVOCATE, ACT

STEP ONE: EDUCATE
We are a group of people at UUCB who have been inspired by the reading and study of the book “Poverty, By America” by Mathew Desmond to come together to educate ourselves and the congregation on the causes of and solutions to poverty in our community on a local, state and national level.

From the book “Poverty by America”:
The US, the richest country on earth, has more poverty than any other advanced democracy.
We can eliminate poverty in the U.S. by:
*Looking at our lives and seeing how we are connected to the problem and solutions
*Looking at our consumer choices and investment decisions.
*Supporting government policies that disrupt poverty instead of accommodate it.
*Reject a scarcity mindset and recognize the nation’s bounty.
*Join an antipoverty organization working to eliminate poverty in America.
*Read the book: Available for a 20% discount at the UUCS book table.

Click here to see a short video by Mathew Desmond.

In Indiana on Saturday, March 2 at noon, the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival will rally at the state capital in Indianapolis. Along with many campaigns across the country, we bring the demands of poor and low-wealth people for living wages, healthcare, housing, education, environmental justice, and voting rights directly to our lawmakers. From Texas to Maine and California to the Carolinas, thousands of poor and impacted people, clergy and advocates will call for an end to poverty in the richest nation on earth. In Indiana, we are gathering at the Statehouse in Indianapolis on March 2 to say, THIS SITUATION HAS GONE ON FAR TOO LONG, AND WE WON'T BE SILENT ANY MORE. WE NEED CHANGE, AND WE NEED IT NOW! Save the Date & Join Us!

By Mary Mahern

This article originally appeared in Perspectives for February 2024. Click to read the full issue!