Led by some of the many homeless people of the region, hundreds of members and supporters of CHANGER—Chattanoogans and North Georgians for Economic Rights—held their 2nd annual march through downtown Chattanooga on Friday, October 2nd.


They were joined by a vanload of allies from WIT—Women In Transition—of Louisville, KY. Khalilah Collins, their Executive Director and the recently elected chair of the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign (PPEHRC) Coordinating Council, brilliantly and passionately keynoted the rally at the end of the march. She concluded with an invitation to all to stay with her: “I will go anywhere, march anywhere, until we end this war on the poor and have our rights!”


Others among the marchers were scores of social workers, high school students and teachers, members of the clergy, artists, and a city councilman who, formerly homeless himself, reminded us at the rally that the sooner we identify with the poor, the sooner we will ensure everybody’s human rights. A special message of solidarity was sent to those who dared not attend the march—the hundreds of undocumented workers recruited by local mills in the past and now living in fear, often in the area’s hills and woods, perversely called “illegal”. The age and ethnic diversity of the marchers bore witness to the depth of the economic crisis and the breadth of the commitment to carry out solutions that preserve human dignity and rights.

This year the march and rally were designated as CHANGER’s Zero Evictions Day initiative. Marchers halted in front of the banks that have been aggressively foreclosing the mortgages of thousands of unemployed and underemployed homeowners in the region, changing “no more foreclosures!” Zero Evictions Day—a global effort to end evictions and claim the right to housing for all—will be observed on World Habitat Day, October 5, in Washington, DC, where PPEHRC will hold a press conference and demonstration to bear witness to the failed housing policies in the US and the bailout of the banks that continue to foreclose and evict millions of people across the nation.

For further information about the march and the organization, visit our web site, www.ChattanoogaChanger.org or contact our chair, Brother Ron Fender, at Circle_unbroken@hotmail.com

Labels: Brother Ron Fender, CHANGER, March on Chattanooga, WIT, Zero Eviction Day

CHANGERS: Chattanoogans and North Georgians for Economic Human Rights

URGENT: Media Release

The Second Annual March for Our Lives
Friday, October 2, beginning 5 pm at UTC (McCallie Avenue and University Street intersection)

We will march through downtown and end at Miller Park for free food & music.

We are marching for a living wage, affordable housing and health care and the end to unjust poverty.

Who’s invited: everyone!

Contact: Brother Ron Fender, 423-756-4222, Chattanooga Community Kitchen

Download Flyer


CHANGERS is the local arm of the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign, an international movement working to abolish poverty through the promotion of economic human rights as named in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as Articles 23, 25, and 26. These articles state our right to such provisions as housing, health care, a living wage job, and education. The founding creed of the United States of America, which asserts our rights to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, inspired the formulation of these human rights. Our government signed the UDHR in 1948; its full implementation would mean that our country would be living out the true meaning of its creed. This American Dream is possible because our country is the richest and most powerful in the world.

Poverty is a violation of our human rights. We accept anyone or any organization into this Campaign that unites with these principles.

www.chattanoogachanger.org

Labels: CHANGER, March for Our Lives, March on Chattanooga

Download the flyer for the October 2nd March on Chattanooga by CHANGER here: PoorPeoplesMarchonChattFlyer.pdf

Labels: CHANGER, March on Chattanooga