The Poor People’s Army Unites Together with Allies in Chicago

By Kevin Murphy, Summer 2024 Intern

Chicago, Illinois: Over the weekend, members of the Poor People's Army, Galen, Cheri, Leela, Nick, Tara, and Vince were hosted once again in Chicago at The Fireplace by Sister Sharon for a Community Dinner which gathered organizations, activists, and fellow comrades in the aArea. The evening was attended by organizations such as the Chicago Liberation Center, Black Alliance for Peace, Healthy Hood Chicago, Southside Together Organizing for Power, Community Organizing & Family Issues, and more. 

The evening started with everyone in attendance contributing to cooking dinner which exemplified our togetherness and group effort. Proving the commitment to the struggle and finding ways forward together, the planned two hour evening lasted well over four hours. Discussions tackled the wide range of issues that we face everyday from housing, hunger, reproductive rights, and the role each of us have in working towards solutions.

The goal of the Dinner goes beyond one evening. Instead, it continues everyday as we move forward and build lasting relationships that will strengthen our interconnected struggles from Palestine to Kensington, to Chicago. 

As the two week march from Milwaukee to Chicago approaches, the Poor People’s Army opened invitations for the group to be a part of it, alongside the First People’s Convention on July 13 & 14 in Milwaukee and People’s Fest on August 18 in Chicago. The March will give an opportunity to bring the discussions had at the Community Dinner into action. We hope to see familiar and new faces on our journey as we March on the DNC next month! 

We would like to thank Sister Sharon, The Fireplace community, and all of the attendees of the dinner for welcoming us to their community.