Economic Justice
WNY Peace Center
Economic Justice Taskforce
Mission: To directly confront the economic factors preventing people from living complete and holistic lives, and to work towards justice to honor all of humanity.
Vision: The goal is to facilitate actions and education that allow us as a taskforce to support and replenish the local peace economy and divest from the war economy/war machine, and to engage others in doing so. This may include supporting campaigns, organizations, local businesses and banks that focus on responsibility to justice for local communities and healthy economies.
Current Economic Justice Taskforce Work/Focus:
- Poor People’s Campaign. We’re helping to build the Poor People’s Campaign here in Western New York – Dr. Martin Luther King’s vision before he was assassinated, initially kicked off on the National Mall after his passing.
Focus of the Poor People’s Campaign
The current campaign directly confronts the evils of systemic racism, poverty, militarism/the war economy and ecological devastation. It involves political education, organizing and movement-building, media outreach and cultural arts.
The Poor People’s Campaign in WNY started with a book club reading Rev Dr Barber’s The Third Reconstruction, and continued with the Truth Commission on Poverty in January, the publishing of a highly impactful report by our allies at Partnership for the Public Good in April, and numerous Nonviolent Moral Fusion Direct Action trainings.
The real kick-off was the 40 Days of Action, that started on Mothers’ Day and launched a massive movement to address the evils of poverty, racism, militarism, and ecological devastation. Every week for six weeks all kinds of people across the country congregated at their state capitals to raise awareness about the unique and common ways they are affected by the evils. Well over 100 participated in civil disobedience in NYS, with many more nationally, to withdraw their consent from a status quo that doesn’t prioritize the basic rights and needs of humans. We had trips from Buffalo every week since the beginning of the campaign. Nationally, there were 5,000 activists participating in direct action, 30,000 people participating in actions nationwide, and 20,000-25,000 people participating in the culmination on the National Mall on June 23. There were thousands of articles and media hits, in each of the 40 states participating.
The current focus of the campaign is mobilizing everyone, especially poor and low-income people to VOTE, and to hold their elected officials accountable.
For more information, please visit www.poorpeoplescampaign.org. If you would like to join the campaign, please visit on facebook: Poor People’s Campaign, NYS Poor People’s Campaign, and WNY Poor People’s Campaign;
Like and follow the campaign on facebook to stay up to date on events. https://www.facebook.com/wnypoorpeoplescmpgn
The Poor People’s Campaign will continue to canvas! Join us as we bring news of the Poor People’s Campaign into our communities!
2. Community members are looking for your support for the Securing Wages Earned Against Theft (SWEAT) bill – A486/S2844! The ask: to call legislators to say you support the SWEAT bill, bill number A486/S2844. Right now, when workers win wage theft cases in court, it is legal for employers to hide their assets so that the workers can’t collect. For example, check out this front-page article about a worker who is owed over $300k but can’t collect a dime. The SWEAT bill would allow workers to freeze their bosses’ assets at the start of a wage theft case, so that if they win in court, they can collect the money they are owed. Visit sweatnys.org for more information.
3. Book Club on Poverty- Info coming soon!
We support these current initiatives in the community:
- The African Heritage Food Co-Op has acquired 238 Carlton Ave due to an anonymous donor. Now they are stabilizing it and beginning the build out. If you would like to help to bring healthy food access and options to the Fruit belt neighborhood, call 716-573-1844 or email ahfcinfo@gmail.com to donate. The Co-Op currently has other open locations in Buffalo and Niagara Falls for your shopping enjoyment! Visit myahfc.com for more information. Also, https://www.facebook.com/ahfcbuffalo/
- Fight For $15. Join the fight to lift this country (140million people) out of poverty and a low income, and ensure everyone earns a living wage.
- Universal Healthcare: Our basic health and wellness is connected to access to healthcare. Let’s fight to ensure that all human beings have access to affordable healthcare.
– Support for local and community-based businesses and organizations. Let’s support the community members supporting us! - Health and Wellness for ALL communities, especially low-income communities. Let’s conquer food deserts, physical health concerns such as diabetes and high blood pressure, lack of access to clean drinking water, lead poisoning, asbestos-related issues/fatalities, cancer … and combat them with: much higher access to healthy food and nutrition, holistic community-based physical activities, inclusive and holistic spirituality, and housing renovations, upkeep and repairs, to say the least … to REVITALIZE AND CELEBRATE OUR COMMUNITIES and conquer stagnation and barriers to everyone flourishing in our communities.
We’re looking for volunteers!! If you would like to help manifest any or all of these goals by joining the Poor People’s Campaign or getting involved with the taskforce in the other listed ways, or if you have ideas of your own that could be of benefit to the community, please email economicjustice@wnypeace.org or call 716-332-3904.
Suggested Reading:
CodePink’s 21 Days of Divesting from the War Economy (https://www.codepink.org/local_peace_economy_daily)
Here is a brief synopsis:
*21 Days of Divesting from the War Economy:
Day 1: From Alienation to Connection
Day 2: From Self-Directed to Community Engaged
Day 3: From Competition to Interdependence
Day 4: From Transactional to Relational
Day 5: From Apathy to Engagement
Day 6: From Quantity to Quality
DAY 7: From Distraction to Attention
DAY 8: From Waste to Conservation
DAY 9: From Productivity to Rest
DAY 10: From Either/Or to Both/And
DAY 11: From Reactionary to Investigative
DAY 12: From Us Vs Them to All of Us
DAY 13: From Limitation to Imagination
DAY 14: From Restraint to Pleasure
DAY 15: From Control to Empowerment
DAY 16: From Scarcity to Abundance
DAY 17: From Plastics to the Planet
DAY 18: From Urgency to Wisdom
DAY 19: From Consumption to Creation
DAY 20: From Accumulation to Sharing Resources
DAY 21: From Repression to Revolution
For the complete guide and daily practices, please visit https://www.codepink.org/local_peace_economy_daily.