From our Social Justice Coordinator, Teresa Veramendi:
This month, Faith in Action has chosen the North Country Poor People’s Campaign as the recipient for our Social Action Shared Offering on May 9. Over the past two years, my work with the group has become more passionate and outgrown the scope of my job here at the church. This is due to the fact that the Poor People’s Campaign is very well-organized with many opportunities to develop as a leader.
For example, this past year I was asked to help redesign a storytelling workshop for the campaign by collaborating with a state-wide team of activists and media creators. Good storytelling is essential as one of the PPC primary strategies is shifting the narrative by shifting the narrators of our national story. This resonated with me as a practitioner of theatrical storytelling and an activist focused on lifting up the silenced stories of the oppressed.
In the North Country, we want to strengthen these same voices. The disenfranchised of the North Country are many – the Mohawk, the poor white and the poor black, the single mothers, the struggling students, and the abused children, to name a few. The disenfranchised are the majority of this county and country, upholding the industries that create luxury for the few. We at the North Country PPC are working to amplify the voices of poor and disenfranchised in the North Country, to build connections across these historic divisions, and empower our communities to hold political sway over issues and elections.
We ask the members of this community to support the disenfranchised of the North Country by contributing to our fund to purchase outdoor audio equipment. Last year, we held four outdoor forums on economic and racial justice in Canton, Massena, and Ogdensburg, in addition to monthly organizing meetings and various protests. During these events, it became clear that an outdoor sound system was necessary for our campaign. As more and more folks gathered socially distanced, crowds were too spread out for one megaphone to reach all who gathered.
We look forward to making more good trouble this summer and making sure everybody hears us when we chant, Everybody Has a Right to Live! Thank you for supporting our work in the North Country.