WV joins Moral Monday caravans of mourning for COVID relief; elderly couple died within days of each other

West Virginia joins Moral Monday caravans of mourning for COVID relief; 
self-employed housekeeper tells of the elderly couple who contracted COVID-19
and died within days of each other.

Attendees will be decorating their cars with pictures of victims,
brief press availability and caravans around state Capitol

WHAT: The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival will organize Moral Monday caravans to mourn the nearly quarter-million Americans who have died from COVID-19, demand a smooth and open transition of power and lift up the moral policies we need immediately and in the first days of the new administration. 

WHO: The Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II and Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis, co-chairs of the Poor People’s Campaign, along with local press contacts and protesters in their cars. 

Participating states include: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia. 

WHEN: 2:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 23 Caravan participants will gather at 1:30 at location below

WHERE: Caravan participants will begin to gather at 1:30PM at Laidley Field, 1549 Piedmont Rd., Charleston, WV to put signs and memorials on their vehicles before heading onto the route to Kanawha Blvd. where cars will circle the Capitol. 

You can also join online at https://vote.poorpeoplescampaign.org to hear reports from each participating state capitol. An online mourning wall for COVID-19 victims and a petition demanding short- and long-term action from the White House and Congress will be shared on the website in the days before the caravans. 

WHY: This Thanksgiving, a day already marked by many Indigenous people as a day of mourning, families across the country will remember and mourn the loss of loved ones who have died from COVID-19 and poverty. Millions of poor and low-income households also face mounting bills, evictions and hunger after months of unemployment, cuts in wages and the government’s failure to pass a comprehensive COVID-relief package.  

The COVID-19 crisis feeds on the fissures of inequality already felt by the 140 million people who were living in poverty before the pandemic, or who were one emergency away from poverty. 

Recently, West Virginia DHHR reported 934,835 total confirmed laboratory results received for COVID-19, with 34,460 total cases and 585 deaths.  These numbers have been increasing daily.

We are now approaching 250,000 deaths while  millions remain without health care. Thirty million workers have lost their jobs or significant hours of work, and nearly every state is facing sharp drops in revenue that will threaten even more cuts to essential social programs and jobs. The U.S. economy remains deeply depressed and,  as Federal Reserve Chair Powell warns, may never return to “normal” — the greatest impact of further economic shifts will be on low-wage workers and others deemed “essential,” but who are still unable to afford all the essentials of life.

Ending the suffering of our families and communities is a moral mandate to all who are tasked with governance now and in the new year. Calls for cooperation cannot compromise with injustice. 

Our political leaders must reject a politics of austerity and meet their commitment to visionary policies that address human needs and cultivate human capacities. They must overcome the divisions caused by hunger, poverty and racism in the richest country in the world. America must direct its resources and creativity towards the poor and most marginalized rather than lobbyists, insurance companies, financial institutions, pharmaceutical companies, and wealthy corporations. 

**The event will be ASL interpreted and captioned. 

BACKGROUND: More than 140 million poor and low-income people live in the United States, or 43% of the country’s population, and that was before the COVID-19 pandemic. The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, with organizing committees in 43 states, is building a moral fusion movement to address the five interlocking injustices of systemic racism, systemic poverty, ecological devastation, the war economy and militarism and a distorted moral narrative of religious nationalism. Our demands are reflected in our Jubilee Platform.

For additional information: poorpeoplescampaign.org  https://youtu.be/PmOjcUoDhEs

Twitter: @unitethepoor / Instagram: @poorpeoplescampaign / Facebook: @ANewPPC

CONTACT: Jean Evansmore: 123goodforme@gmail.com | 304-578-7707

Martha Waggoner:  mwaggoner@breachrepairers.org | 919-295-0802