海角大神

Two earlier periods of reconstruction profoundly shaped the United States. Now, a pair of reverends, coupled with their allies on the Hill, are calling for a third.

The Rev. William J. Barber II and the Rev. Liz Theoharis, co-chairs of the Poor People鈥檚 Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, unveiled a congressional resolution sponsored by Democratic Reps. Barbara Lee of California and Pramila Jayapal of Washington. The resolution鈥檚 title speaks for itself: 鈥淭hird Reconstruction: Fully addressing poverty and low wages from the bottom up.鈥�

But poverty isn鈥檛 its sole focus. The resolution addresses what the campaign calls 鈥渇ive interlocking injustices鈥�: poverty, systemic racism, ecological devastation, the war economy, and the distorted moral narrative of religious nationalism.

The 19-page document is not a bill; it is 鈥渢he road map,鈥� Dr. Barber says in an interview, 鈥渃alling us to the resolve to make sure the resolution is turned into real policies.鈥�

鈥淲e鈥檝e had reconstruction efforts that never came to their completion,鈥� he adds. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why we have to have a third reconstruction effort in this country.鈥�

The post-Civil War Reconstruction was followed by Jim Crow segregation, leaving the second period of reconstruction during the civil rights movement to try to redo what had been started, says Michael Honey, professor of humanities at the University of Washington Tacoma.

Now, with the Supreme Court鈥檚 2013 nullification of major parts of the 1965 Voting Rights Act (VRA), and stringent voting laws now being proposed and passed by state legislatures, the analogy of a third reconstruction is 鈥渁 pretty good one,鈥� says Dr. Honey, author of 鈥淭o the Promised Land: Martin Luther King and the Fight for Economic Justice.鈥�

It also comes at a time when new voting rights legislation has been stymied in the Senate, with a Supreme Court ruling expected before the end of this month that experts believe will erode the VRA further, and after a pandemic in which Black Americans both died at greater rates and disproportionately experienced the economic pain of lockdowns.

鈥淕lad to see them take up the mantle鈥�

Martin Luther King Jr. once聽called聽racism, poverty, and war the 鈥渢hree major evils.鈥� Dr. Barber and Dr. Theoharis pick up where King鈥檚 campaign left off, purposely making the link explicit. King announced his Poor People鈥檚 Campaign on Dec. 4, 1967; the reverends announced theirs on Dec. 4, 2017. Next, the reverends conducted an audit of America that looked at the 50 years since the original campaign assembled on the National Mall in May and June of 1968, just weeks after King鈥檚 assassination. The audit quantifies the condition of America鈥檚 poor people and identifies myths about poverty, such as that poverty is the fault of poor people.

The percentage of Americans living in poverty has fallen only a couple points since 1968, with 10.5% of Americans (34 million) still living in poverty in 2019, according to a Congressional Research Service report. That鈥檚 compared with 12.8% in 1968.

鈥淚 was glad to see them take up the mantle,鈥� says Dr. Bernard LaFayette Jr., the national coordinator for the original Poor People鈥檚 Campaign and a colleague of King鈥檚.

Another veteran of that first campaign and its policy director, Marian Wright Edelman, founder of the Children鈥檚 Defense Fund, advised today鈥檚 leaders to 鈥渂uild it for the long run.鈥� Heeding that counsel, Dr. Barber says the new campaign is 鈥渇rom the states up鈥� with coordinating committees in 45 states. 聽

Yet, while Dr. Barber expresses gratitude for that first campaign, he says the current one is not necessarily using the 1968 playbook. For example, the new campaign also focuses on environmental justice and the threat of religious nationalism in the U.S., in addition to King鈥檚 three evils.

鈥淓very movement draws on the past to some degree,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hen it has to draw new directions in the particular moment in which it lives.鈥�

In a forced adjustment to this moment in time, both last year鈥檚 march on Washington and this year鈥檚, planned for June 21, were virtual. But an in-person Moral March聽will be held in the home state of Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia on Monday, for his聽opposition to聽the For the People Act, which would聽expand聽voting rights.

Putting 鈥渁 face on poverty鈥�

Those prior periods of reconstruction saw significant changes to the Constitution itself, including amendments for the abolition of slavery, birthright citizenship, and suffrage for Black men. During the second reconstruction period, amendments to provide electors to Washington, D.C.; abolish poll taxes; and delineate presidential succession聽were approved.

鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to have a prophetic imagination and transformation before you have prophetic implementation of policies,鈥� Dr. Barber says.

Asked if changing the Constitution is a goal of the 鈥淭hird Reconstruction鈥� resolution, Dr. Barber replies affirmatively, mentioning education as 鈥渁 right."

鈥淲e have state constitutions where education is a right, and we don鈥檛 have education as a right in our federal Constitution,鈥� Dr. Barber says. 鈥淲e need to think deep and hard about what kind of democracy we claim to be and what we want to be.鈥�

To fully address poverty, he says, a 鈥渕oral movement鈥� is needed. 鈥淚t is a restructuring, a third reconstruction of the way in which we do democracy, we do society, and the way in which we do justice.鈥�

鈥淭he problems of poor people are not over,鈥� Dr. LaFayette says. Recalling an early planning meeting for the original Poor People鈥檚 Campaign, he says, 鈥淢artin Luther King鈥檚 purpose, as he expressed it, was to put a face on poverty.鈥�

The echo in Dr. Barber鈥檚 words decades later is unmistakable: 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to put a face on these numbers.鈥�