On Friday, April 13, 2007, the Poverty Initiative will convene a second Poverty Truth Commission at Union Theological Seminary. This day-long, public event will include workshops, documentary screenings, art exhibits, worship services, and music.  

The day will culminate in the evening with the Commission itself, when individuals from around the country will testify on violations of their economic human rights that are and have been a direct result of living in poverty in the United States.  Commissioners from many backgrounds, including the academic, political, and religious realms, will bear witness to these stories of injustice. Testifiers for the Poverty Truth Commission on April 13th are members of organizations in Baltimore, Detroit, Ithaca, Philadelphia, New Orleans, New York City, West Virginia, and more.

This event is inspired by the Truth and Reconciliation work done in places such as South Africa and Peru, and the Commission will be based on the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Articles 23, 24, 25, and 26 in particular).

Events will take place beginning Thursday, April 12, leading up to the Commission itself, and follow-up visits to local community organizations will take place on Saturday, April 14.

 

Thursday, April 12

A service of communion focused on the Truth Commission will be led by the Poverty Initiative with Chris Johnson as organist at noon on Thursday, April 12.

On Thursday night from 6 to 8pm, the Union course Reading the Bible with the Poor will be open to the public.  The guest speaker in the class will be Larry Gibson, of the Appalachian organization Stop Mountaintop Removal, who is working to save local mountains from coal mining companies in the area where he and his family have lived for centuries.  This class includes dinner.

Thursday night at 8:30pm, there will be a choir practice open to everyone interested in singing at the Truth Commission the following night.  We are working to place music, art, and culture at the center of this event and of our work in general.  

Friday, April 13
Friday morning will begin with breakfast. There will be another choir rehearsal, as well as a short gathering for testifiers and for commissioners. 

At 10:30am, workshops will begin.   Workshops will be offered on holding Truth Commissions in local communities, on poor people working to organize the poor with a panel of representative from groups participating in the Commission, and sessions on the upcoming 40th Anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr. beginning the Poor People's Campaign in 1967. Students and other community members will also be participating. 

At noon worship will be held in James Chapel, led by the Poverty Initiative, followed by lunch and a continuation of workshop sessions.

There will be a community dinner beginning at 5pm, and the Poverty Truth Commission begins at 6:30pm.  A dessert reception will follow.

Saturday, April 14
Saturday there will be an opportunity for Testifiers, Commissioners, members of the Beloved Communities Initiative, students, and other community members to go and visit organizations doing great organizing work here in New York City.

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