Poor People's Campaign Continues

I spent Saturday working on a new Medium piece on the creative ways Filipino-Americans are educating us about the atrocities in their home country. I love the piece for the courage and passion of the people in it, but it is attracting fewer readers than any piece I’ve posted so far. I wonder why. Are the words and photographs less moving, less skillful? Maybe it was a mistake to post it on a Saturday? Maybe people are so appalled by what’s going on in the Philippines that they fear to click on it? Any ideas or suggestions?

Today I was asked to document a seven-hour training event for the Poor People’s Campaign but was told not to post anything that could reveal people’s identities. I used shallow depth of field and shot the backs of people’s heads, their feet, their hands. I loved this fellow’s hat and scarf.

The Poor People’s Campaign has released a powerful, well-documented audit that investigates how poverty, systemic racism, the war economy, and ecological devastation have contributed to widespread suffering in the USA. For example, “In 2016, there were 40.6 million people living in poverty, and nearly 140 million were poor or low income. More than 70% of people living in poverty are women and children. 

“From 1973-2016, productivity went up 73.7%, but hourly compensation only went up 12.3%. From 1968-2017, the top 1 percent‘s share of the economy has nearly doubled. In 2017, the 400 wealthiest Americans owned more wealth than the bottom 64% of the US population (204 million). In 2016, there was no state or county where someone earning the minimum wage of $7.25 could afford a 2-bedroom apartment.” 

The full report is jaw-dropping, and is here.