There may not have been a lot of talk about poverty and the economy in the coverage of the national political conventions during the past two weeks -- but you can bet there will be a lot of talk about it today at a national convention of community organizers and activists taking place in Los Angeles, Chicago and Birmingham, AL.
Follow me over the fold for the story of how and why more than 16,000 people from across America are coming together to ratify a bottom-up anti-poverty platform that has been more than a year in the making.
The gathering today is the result of a year-long effort by the Equal Voices for America's Families campaign:
Last fall, the Marguerite Casey Foundation and its grantees launched the... campaign... to hear directly from families as to the challenges they face and to change how we as a country address the social and economic needs of our families.Between January and June 2008, approximately 12,000 families from diverse backgrounds, often with children in tow, gave up their weekends and evenings to participate in 65 Equal Voice townhall meetings held across America. The testimonies from families at the townhall meetings were synthesized into a cohesive National Family Platform. Families clearly stated that their well-being is not tied to a single issue, that piecemeal solutions have failed to address the complexities of their lives.
Here's a brief summary video of the journey through those townhalls:
Today, that year-long journey will culminate in three cities as campaign participants gather to ratify a national platform that reflects the input of people living and working in America's poorest communities.
Who's attending the conventions today? For the past week, New America Media has been publishing profiles of some convention attendees. Check out their website to read about today's generation of community organizers.
Also check out the campaign's LifeCasting Across the Digital Divide webpage, in which four campaign participants tell the stories of their lives and communities in a series of webcasts.
How can you learn more? You can watch the convention live on the Equal Voice for America's Families website, or check in on the campaign blog for the latest news and videos from the convention cities. The convention runs from 1-5 pm Eastern today.
And if you want to help amplfy the voices of those gathering today to raise the issues facing America's working families, you can start by signing up for email updates on the campaign website or by becoming a fan of the campaign on Facebook.
We hope you'll tune in.
(Full disclosure: I am helping the Equal Voice for America's Families campaign as a paid consultant.)
Cross-posted at Daily Kos and Open Left.
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