An Invitation to SJPs Across the Country to Join the Poor People’s Army March

Dear Students for Justice in Palestine,

In our joint quest for a transformed, inclusive, and peaceful world, a resounding call to fiercely protest has emerged. We reach out in solidarity and want to invite you to collaborate with us for the Poor People’s Army March on the 2024 Republican and Democratic National Conventions this summer, which will consist of rallies at each convention and a 90 mile two week march between Milwaukee and Chicago. We are a group founded 30 years ago by poor and homeless people. Our mission is to build a nonviolent Poor People’s Army to keep people alive and to build a cooperative economy and society. We hope to work together to build a movement that ends genocide, war and violence abroad and at home.  

The Poor People’s Army has been marching on RNC and DNC conventions for more than 20 years, a testament to the resilience of the marginalized. This year, due to a legal technicality, we are the only march granted a permit for the DNC. This provides a tremendous opportunity for cross-collaboration. We are planning these actions as a powerful symbol of unity, and an organizing tool to bring pockets of revolutionaries together for ongoing collective action. We understand that systemic violence, neocolonialism, and exploitation will not stop until we ourselves put an end to it. 

The USA, the most advanced empire in history, stands at a crossroads. This march transcends discontent; it's a movement rooted in understanding complex societal issues, challenging the existing political order, envisioning a future prioritizing humanity over profit. We march to say - enough is enough. No more war, genocide, hunger, poverty, homelessness, oppression, and exploitation.

Why March? Liberation is Not Up For Negotiation!

Despite extreme abundance, 37.9 million Americans live below the poverty line, and 100 million more can’t afford basic needs. The new generation faces diminished prospects in homeownership, family-building, and financial security. Climate change accelerates, threatening Earth's viability. Advanced technology offers innovation but raises job scarcity. As this changing system takes shape, the corporate elite safeguard their power, leaving the marginalized in uncertainty. Meanwhile, the US government funnels billions of dollars into the genocide and displacement of Palestinians, as well as the ongoing genocide in the Republic of Congo and Sudan. 

The Poor People’s Army March rallies against these oppressive forces, aiming to forge a united front from coast to coast demanding control over basic human necessities. We can clearly see that the Democratic and Republican parties will not stop their genocidal mission and stop serving corporate interests, necessitating this march to rise above their corrupt reign and declare them a dead end.

Defining Poverty and its Connection to Capitalism and Fascism

In defining poverty, we must understand that wealth and power is concentrating into fewer and fewer hands, leaving the rest of us poor, precarious, or destined to be poor in the future - this is why we march as “Poor People’s Army.” Late-stage capitalism is developing into a fascism favoring a privileged few while increasing surveillance, distraction, and repression for the masses. We fight against political suppression and racial, gender, and sexual violence - we are pushing for a nation that stands united, the oppressed at the bottom organizing against their oppressors at the top. We march because poverty is violence, and the two-party system is guilty of crimes against humanity. The Poor People’s Army March demands a dismantling of the system perpetuating suffering. The Poor People’s Army believes in radical system change, focusing on building the one power no one can control - people power.

On July 15, 2024, the Poor People’s Army will march on the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee to challenge the corporate status quo. Beginning August 3rd, we'll continue marching nearly 100 miles to Chicago, culminating on August 19th with a rally confronting the Democratic National Convention. The march will stop in cities and towns along the route, sharing a vision of empowered communities independent of these corporate, war-profiteering and genocidal political parties. We invite organizations like yourselves to host teach-ins along the march, raising the consciousness of the people to fight against the ongoing genocide in Gaza. 

We march against a system that serves only the privileged. We march for the right to truly live - in the United States, Palestine, the Republic of Congo and beyond. Join us! 

You can endorse our march here and for any questions, please reach out to our March Coordinator Leela de Paula at 413-270-2087 and depaula.leela@gmail.com. We very much look forward to meeting your team of revolutionaries!

In Solidarity,

The Poor People’s Army

Cheri Honkala, Galen Tyler, Leela de Paula, Matthew Pillischer, Lisa Richards, Shamako Noble, Erick Jusino and Nick Carmack