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The Poor Peoples Campaign: A Declaration, Announcement, Beginning, Moving Forward Commitment

NNPA NEWSWIRE — In Los Angeles, CA, Bishop William J. Barber, II said “The same people that are blocking laws that uplift the poor are the same ones that are spewing so much of this racist violence and rhetoric… claiming that the whole society is at threat because of Black and Brown people. This rhetoric that is being spewed… can get in the minds of people and it can radicalize them. The real question about the killer is not ‘who is he?’ but ‘who radicalized him?’”
The post The Poor Peoples Campaign: A Declaration, Announcement, Beginning, Moving Forward Commitment first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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By Menra Mapfumo

The Poor People’s Campaign was established in 1968, by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. Dr. King wanted the Poor People’s Campaign to highlight the need for economic equality and social justice.

Dr. King wanted to help poor people by demanding the means for basic necessities. In 1967, Dr. King said the Poor People’s Campaign would seek to “demand jobs, unemployment insurance, a fair minimum wage, and education for poor adults and children designed to improve their self-image and self-esteem.”

Photo: Mark Mahoney / Dream in Color Photography

Photo: Mark Mahoney / Dream in Color Photography

In March 1968, Dr. King said the Poor People’s Campaign would be “the beginning of a new co-operation, understanding, and a determination by poor people of all colors and backgrounds to assert and win their right to a decent life and respect for their culture and dignity.”

On April 3, 1968, during the Memphis Sanitation workers strike, Dr. King told the workers, “We’ve got to give ourselves to this struggle until the end. Nothing would be more tragic than to stop at this point in Memphis. We’ve got to see it through.” His words further reinforced the mission of the Poor People’s Campaign.

Photo: Mark Mahoney / Dream in Color Photography

Photo: Mark Mahoney / Dream in Color Photography

Dr. King’s work is unfinished because on April 4, 1968, Dr. King was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, TN.

Bishop William J. Barber, II is continuing the efforts of the Poor People’s Campaign Dr. King began.

Photo: Mark Mahoney / Dream in Color Photography

Photo: Mark Mahoney / Dream in Color Photography

Dr. Barber is mobilizing for a Mass Poor People’s & Low-Wage Workers’ Assembly and Moral March on Washington and to the Polls June 18. Recently he held mobilization marches for June 18 Los Angeles, the site of America’s largest homeless population, and in Memphis, the site of Dr. King’s martyrdom.

In both cities, marchers expressed how they felt about the Poor People’s Campaign. They expressed how they felt about poverty and homelessness in America. Some told their own stories of living in poverty and being homeless.

Marchers expressed how they felt about the mass shooting in Buffalo and if they felt there is a relation between poverty and gun violence.

Photo: Mark Mahoney / Dream in Color Photography

Photo: Mark Mahoney / Dream in Color Photography

In Los Angeles, CA, Bishop William J. Barber, II said “The same people that are blocking laws that uplift the poor are the same ones that are spewing so much of this racist violence and rhetoric… claiming that the whole society is at threat because of Black and Brown people. This rhetoric that is being spewed… can get in the minds of people and it can radicalize them. The real question about the killer is not ‘who is he?’ but ‘who radicalized him?’”

“Secondly, this business of death is too broad in this country and we accept too much of it. A million people died from COVID. Poor people die five times higher in some ways… We keep having mass deaths and we talk about it for a day or two and then it goes away. Even before COVID, we had a quarter of a million people die from poverty, seven hundred people a day, and hardly a whimper being said about it. We had to decide we’re not just going to be quiet and accept death anymore.”

Photo: Mark Mahoney / Dream in Color Photography

Photo: Mark Mahoney / Dream in Color Photography

“Lastly, we have to see if this attack of what happened in Buffalo is connected to the season of violence that we’re in. Go back to the University of Virginia when they were shouting ‘Jews will not replace us.’ This whole replacement theory that has its roots in some parts of Europe, in Nazism, as well as here in America, is violent in and of itself because it’s always trying to point out who has to go in order for some people to live… It always means somebody has to be destroyed.”

Bishop Barber expressed how he felt about the mobilization of the Poor People’s Campaign on June 18th.

Bishop Barber said, “I am feeling good about it. I have mixed feelings… Sometimes I get bothered that we still have to do it, but I am glad that I am alive to do it… There’s something going on in this country… and people are responding from every state in this country… Most of all poor, low wealth people are leading the way and what I love about them is none of them are talking about this as a day. They’re all talking about it as a declaration, as an announcement, as a beginning, as a moving forward, as a commitment.”

Photo: Mark Mahoney / Dream in Color Photography

Photo: Mark Mahoney / Dream in Color Photography

Patrick Groman, a homeless man, and a chairman of the San Diego chapter of the California Homeless Union said, “Homeless is not a crime. We’ve been hearing… there’s been a lot of crime, a lot of activity and the majority of all these crimes all over the place are blamed on the homeless. You can’t just target one particular individual or all individuals… A lot of people don’t realize that when you’re homeless… you’re dealing with a lot of different individuals. You’re dealing with people who loss their jobs, dealing with [veterans], dealing with people with mental illness. There is not enough help and support out there.”

Irma Hall Wood spoke on what brought her to the Poor People’s Campaign rally in Los Angeles, CA.

Wood said, “My brothers are hurting, including myself. God looks up on each one of us as a whole. All of us are his children and he doesn’t want us to suffer. Why suffer when there are millions of dollars? There are more millionaires these days than ever before. Why are we suffering? We can’t pay our rent, we can’t have health insurance; Accessible quality health insurance…”

Photo: Mark Mahoney / Dream in Color Photography

Photo: Mark Mahoney / Dream in Color Photography

Marcher and Memphis, TN resident, Jayonee Webster spoke on poverty.

Webster said, “Most of the city of Memphis is living on poverty wages and we really need to change those conditions. I grew up in poverty.”

Webster also spoke on if she felt she was continuing the work of Dr. King.

Webster said, “Absolutely. The Civil Rights Movement never ended and here we are today as an expression of that. An expression of lots of different movements coming together.

The post The Poor Peoples Campaign: A Declaration, Announcement, Beginning, Moving Forward Commitment first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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Tiguan’s AI Touchscreen & Gear Shift: VW Just Changed the Game! #2

Explore the Tiguan’s cutting-edge 12.9-inch infotainment touchscreen featuring wireless Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, voice control, and a new AI assistant. See how VW innovatively moved the gear shifter to the steering column, enhancing the center console and navigation system! #AutoNetwork #Tiguan #Infotainment #AppleCarPlay #AndroidAuto #AISystem #NavigationSystem #CarTech #TechReview #CarInnovation #Automotive

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https://youtube.com/watch?v=0xUKM6U2Lpc&autoplay=0&cc_lang_pref=en&cc_load_policy=0&color=0&controls=1&fs=1&h1=en&loop=0&rel=0

Explore the Tiguan’s cutting-edge 12.9-inch infotainment touchscreen featuring wireless Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, voice control, and a new AI assistant. See how VW innovatively moved the gear shifter to the steering column, enhancing the center console and navigation system! #AutoNetwork #Tiguan #Infotainment #AppleCarPlay #AndroidAuto #AISystem #NavigationSystem #CarTech #TechReview #CarInnovation #Automotive

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IN MEMORIAM: Legendary Funk Pioneer Sly Stone Dies at 82

Sly Stone’s musical approach radically reshaped popular music. He transcended genre boundaries and empowered a new generation of artists. The band’s socially conscious message and infectious rhythms sparked a wave of influence, reaching artists as diverse as Miles Davis, George Clinton, Prince, Dr. Dre, and the Roots.

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Sly and the Family Stone play the Opera House in Bournemouth. Mojo review. Photo by Simon Fernandez.
Sly and the Family Stone play the Opera House in Bournemouth. Mojo review. Photo by Simon Fernandez.

By Stacy M. Brown
BlackPressUSA.com Newswire

Sylvester “Sly” Stewart—known to the world as Sly Stone, frontman of the groundbreaking band Sly and the Family Stone—has died at the age of 82.

His family confirmed that he passed away peacefully at his Los Angeles home surrounded by loved ones, after battling chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other health complications.

Born March 15, 1943, in Denton, Texas, Stone moved with his family to Vallejo, California, as a child. He began recording gospel music at age 8 with his siblings in a group called the Stewart Four. By his teenage years, he had mastered multiple instruments and was already pioneering racial integration in music—an ethos that would define his career.

In 1966, Sly and his brother Freddie merged their bands to form Sly and the Family Stone, complete with a revolutionary interracial, mixed-gender lineup.

The band quickly became a commercial and cultural force with hits such as “Dance to the Music,” “Everyday People,” and “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)”—all penned by Stone himself.

Their album “Stand!” (1969) and live performances—most notably at Woodstock—cemented their reputation, blending soul, funk, rock, gospel, and psychedelia to reflect the optimism and turmoil of their era.

Sly Stone’s musical approach radically reshaped popular music. He transcended genre boundaries and empowered a new generation of artists. The band’s socially conscious message and infectious rhythms sparked a wave of influence, reaching artists as diverse as Miles Davis, George Clinton, Prince, Dr. Dre, and the Roots.

As the 1970s progressed, Stone confronted personal demons. His desire to use music as a response to war, racism, and societal change culminated in the intense album “There’s a Riot Goin’ On” (1971). But drug dependency began to undermine both his health and professional life, leading to erratic behavior and band decline through the early 1980s.

Withdrawn from the public eye for much of the 1990s and early 2000s, Stone staged occasional comebacks. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Grammys in 2017, and captured public attention following the 2023 release of his memoir “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)”—published under Questlove’s imprint. He also completed a biographical screenplay and was featured in Questlove’s documentary “Sly Lives!” earlier this year.

His influence endured across generations. Critics and historians repeatedly credit him with perfecting funk and creating a “progressive soul,” shaping a path for racial integration both onstage and in the broader culture.

“Rest in beats Sly Stone,” legendary Public Enemy frontman Chuck D posted on social media with an illustrative drawing of the artist. “We should thank Questlove of the Roots for keeping his fire blazing in this century.”

Emmy-winning entertainment publicist Danny Deraney also paid homage. “Rest easy Sly Stone,” Deraney posted. “You changed music (and me) forever. The time he won over Ed Sullivan’s audience in 1968. Simply magical. Freelance music publicist and Sirius XM host Eric Alper also offered a tribute.

“The funk pioneer who made the world dance, think, and get higher,” Alper wrote of Sly Stone. “His music changed everything—and it still does.”

Sly Stone is survived by three children.

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PRESS ROOM: Clyburn on 10th Anniversary of Mother Emanuel AME Church Shooting in Charleston

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Congressman James E. Clyburn (SC-06) released the following video on X, paying tribute to the 10th anniversary of the shooting that took place at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina on June 17, 2015.

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By Congressman James E. Clyburn

WATCH HERE

CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA – Congressman James E. Clyburn (SC-06) released the following video on X, paying tribute to the 10th anniversary of the shooting that took place at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina on June 17, 2015.

“Over 6 years ago, the House first passed my Enhanced Background Checks Act to close the Charleston Loophole that allowed a white supremacist to obtain the gun he used to murder nine worshipers at Emanuel AME Church on June 17, 2015.

“I’ll never stop fighting to pass this law.”

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