On Monday, March 18, members of the New York Poor People’s Campaign marched from the Social Security Administration to the Rennselaer Social Services Agency to bring attention to the New York State budget’s underfunding of social programs, even as inequality and poverty devastate Troy, and urban and rural communities throughout the state. The demonstration was part of a statewide day of action across New York, demanding the state government change course and prioritize ending systemic racism, poverty, militarism and ecological devastation. Other actions took place in Elmira, Hempstead, and New York City.

On March 16, Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis, national co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, gave the 2019 Lamar Lecture at First Presbyterian Church in Albany, followed by a discussion with Willie Baptist of the Kairos Center and Rev. Emily McNeill of the Labor-Religion Coalition of NYS and the NY Poor People’s Campaign.

We are gathered this morning in a state and nation that is divided. To say we are divided has become almost a cliché. The news and our social media feeds are full of people talking about our divisions - between red states and blue, left and right, between religion, race and nationality. In the last few weeks two New York State Senators have even proposed dividing New York in two, because - they say - upstate and NYC are too different to co-exist.