美国成千上万贫困、低收入的工人、活动人士和宗教团体领袖重新启动了“穷人运动”。民权领袖马丁路德金50年前发起了这个非暴力抵制运动。
2018年“穷人运动”的内容包括在30多个州府和首都华盛顿举行40天的抗议活动，目标是继续50年前开始的努力，再次对贫困、战争、以及收入不平等开战。
马丁路德金1968年在密西西比州的马尔克斯目睹了饥饿后，创建了一个多文化、多宗教的联盟。他计划一支由穷人组成的游行队伍一直行进到华盛顿，要求更好的生活条件和更高的工资。
1968年5月13号，100多人乘坐骡子拉的大篷车出发。当时拍摄的黑白照片显示大篷车上写有标语，包括“让穷人有饭吃”，“不公正就是在上帝面前犯罪”，以及“把人送上月球和在地球上让他吃饱饭，哪个更好”？
新“穷人运动”组织者说，马丁路德金的理想仍未实现。
新“穷人运动”提出了一系列要求，包括修改联邦和州的最低工资标准，使其与21世纪的经济相符；再次开始向公共住房投资；废除2017年共和党主导的税法改革；停止美国正在进行的军国化；把军费转投到教育、医疗保健和绿色基础设施；以及杜绝系统的种族主义。
根据美国人口普查，有4100万美国人生活在贫困中。活动人士说，实际数字很可能更高。根据美国联邦政府2018年的标准，一个四口之家年收入的贫困线是2万5001美元。
Thousands of poor, low-wage workers, activists and religious leaders across the United States have kicked off a revival of the Poor People’s Campaign, a civil disobedience movement founded 50 years ago by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
The 2018 campaign will involve 40 days of protests and action at more than 30 state capitals and Washington, D.C., aimed at relaunching a fight against poverty, war and income inequality that first took root half a century ago.
In 1968, King created a multicultural, multifaith coalition after witnessing hunger in the rural town of Marks, Mississippi. He envisioned a march of the poor, descending on the nation’s capital to demand better living conditions and higher wages.
On May 13, 1968, more than 100 people departed Marks in covered wagons pulled by mules. Black-and-white photos show covered wagons with slogans painted on their canvas tops: “Feed the Poor,” “Injustice is a Sin in the Sight of God” and “Which is Better? Send Man to Moon or Feed Him on Earth.”
Organizers of the new Poor People’s Campaign say King’s vision has yet to be realized.
They are calling for a list of demands, including changes to federal and state living wage laws that are “commensurate for the 21st century economy,” a reinvestment in public housing, a repeal to the 2017 GOP-led tax plan, an end to America’s militarism, reallocation of “resources from the military budget to education, health care, jobs and green infrastructure needs,” and eradicating systemic racism.
According to the U.S. Census, there are nearly 41 million people living in poverty, although activists say the actual number is likely much higher. The federal poverty level in 2018 is considered $25,001 annually for a family of four.