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Organizing in an Economic Crisis

application/pdf iconMayJun09NL.pdf
May/June
2009
Vol. 18
Number 3
ISSN: 
0897-2613

Table of Contents:

From the Editor's Desk: Sobering Statistics
By Christy Pardew

This issue of the RESIST Newsletter focuses on organizing by poor people during a time of economic crisis - a crisis that has existed for decades for the poor but is now spreading to ever more people.

Ending Poverty and Building Power
By Jeannette Garceau

As human beings, we have basic fundamental needs: food, clothing, and shelter to survive; education, love and opportunity to thrive. The United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, the first global expresion of the right of all human beings to these basic necessities. The U.S. has never ratified this declaration (alone among developed nations), but the UN Declaration became a rallying cry for welfare rights and other people's organizations around the world as the minimum standards for meeting human needs and rights.

Organizing Amidst Crisis in the South

With the fourth highest poverty rate in the nation, Kentucky is home to both disenfranchisement and powerful social justice organizing. RESIST interviewed two long-time organizers for their take on what's working now in Kentucky. Khalilah Collins is the Coordinator of Women in Transition, a grassroots organization run by and for poor people, and Attica Scott is the Coordinator of Kentucky Jobs with Justice, a campaign for workers' rights.

Poverty Matters
  • Time needed to apply for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF): 4 hours
  • Time needed to apply for TARP funds (the federal bailout): 27 minutes
  • Number of states who cut their welfare rolls last year: 18
  • Poverty line for a single adult in the U.S. under the age of 65: $29.58 a day
  • Current number of Americans living below the poverty line: 36.5 million
  • Expected growth of that number if economic conditions persist: up to 46.8 million
Hell Yes! Grant Awards

To honor the moral clarity, courage and political commitment of its founders, RESIST created a new tribute grant in 2008: the Hell Yes! Award. This grant recognizes inspiring, radical activism that cuts to the heart of RESIST's mission to challenge illegitimate authority, with particular emphasis on anti-war and anti-imperialist efforts.

In the February grant cycle, RESIST awarded Fuerza Laboral - Power of Workers a Hell Yes! Award. In the April grant cycle two organizations were awarded Hell Yes! Awards: the National Network Opposing the Militarization of Youth and Tamms Year Ten.

RESIST Offers Free Online Trainings

In an effort to make training resources available to more of our grantees, RESIST has begun offering free online technical assistance and fundraising seminars to grassroots organizations around the country.

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