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submitted 3 days ago* (last edited 6 hours ago) by thelastaxolotl@hexbear.net to c/chapotraphouse@hexbear.net

The Poor People's Campaign was a march on Washington D.C. to gain economic justice for poor people in the United States that began on this day in 1968, just one month after the assassination of one of its key organizers, MLK Jr.

The protest was also organized by Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and carried out under the leadership of Ralph Abernathy in the wake of King's assassination.

After presenting an organized set of demands to Congress and executive agencies, participants set up a 3,000-person protest camp on the Washington Mall, where they stayed for six weeks in the spring of 1968.

Among those demands was a proposal for an "economic bill of rights" that included a commitment to full employment, a guaranteed annual income measure, and more low-income housing for poor Americans of all races.

"I think it is necessary for us to realize that we have moved from the era of civil rights to the era of human rights…

When we see that there must be a radical redistribution of economic and political power, then we see that for the last twelve years we have been in a reform movement…

That after Selma and the Voting Rights Bill, we moved into a new era, which must be an era of revolution…"

-MLK Jr., in a 1967 planning meeting

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[-] TerminalEncounter@hexbear.net 10 points 1 day ago

We talked about what we'd all do if we won the lottery at work. A lot of people just want leisure and never to work, a couple wanted to open a Cafe, another person just wanted to paint for the rest of her life. I actually would probably still be doing the same job, it'd be nice to not worry about money anymore though!

[-] sewer_rat_420@hexbear.net 4 points 1 day ago

If I came upon wealth, I would probably spend the first year just thinking about what to do with my life and with the wealth. Hopefully I would be strong enough to use a portion of it for good deeds, but the wealth might just corrupt me and turn me into a bad person

[-] TerminalEncounter@hexbear.net 4 points 1 day ago

I mean, some stuff, I'd pay my debts, buy a house, and probably get facial feminization surgery. But like, thats my big ticket items.

[-] Acute_Engles@hexbear.net 4 points 1 day ago

Interestingly we had a similar discussion yesterday. Couple guys were like "I'd be too bored i would have to work just so i don't drink all day" and man am i glad i was born in the era of videogames because if I didn't have to work i would never run out of shit to do and if i didn't feel like doing anything i could pay games for 12 hours a day for a week if i wanted who cares.

In construction i think they've really had that "work until you literally can't anymore" mentality drilled in there deep

[-] hexaflexagonbear@hexbear.net 4 points 1 day ago

I actually would probably still be doing the same job, it'd be nice to not worry about money anymore though!

I want to guess you’re in academia, but then I’d be surprised everyone else didn’t have the same reply.

this post was submitted on 12 May 2025
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