Don't miss the February meeting of the DC Guaranteed Income Coalition, which will center Black history and the ongoing struggle for Black Americans' economic freedom. In this context, our featured speaker, ONE DC member Dominic Moulden, will discuss the economic justice mission and framework of ONE DC's worker-centered initiatives.
Join us in-person Thursday, February 20th at 1pm at the Black Workers and Wellness Center, at 2500 Martin Luther King Jr Ave, SE! Our work is vital, as we live in consequential times with dangerous policies that pose existential threats to the economic status of all Americans and many across the globe.
Daunting though it is, we must continue this multigenerational fight. We must forge ahead with confidence, standing atop the shoulders of our ancestors. In 1967, Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote “I am now convinced that the simplest approach will prove to be the most effective — the solution to poverty is to abolish it directly by a now widely discussed measure: the guaranteed income.” See Where Do We Go From Here.
Dr. King called upon policymakers and the American people to support economic measures to alleviate widespread, racialized poverty. He did this during the 20th century American civil rights struggle, in concert with Black women activists like National Welfare Rights Organization leader Johnnie Tillmon pushed for the prioritization of poverty on the civil rights agenda.
Together with Ms. Tillmon, Dr. King and others laid the foundation for the movement upon which DC Guaranteed Income Coalition and allies stand. Ms. Tilllmon described our North Star in Ms. Magazine in 1972: "We put together our own welfare plan, called Guaranteed Adequate Income (G.A.I.), which would eliminate sexism from welfare. There would be no "categories” men, women, children, single, married, kids, no kids just poor people who need aid.“
The struggle for civil rights and economic liberation is an old one that has followed us into the twenty-first century. Movements for human needs now face unprecedented assaults. Bring your sorrows, your hope, and your determination to fight to our gathering. Let's fortify ourselves at the February 20th meeting, with a celebration of Black Americans' history of perseverance in the pursuit of racial and economic justice. With concerted effort, we can bend the arc of the moral universe back toward justice.
Email us at events@dcgicoalition.org to rsvp.