Lecture by Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis
Peace Education Center
September 9, 2021
Poverty is a policy choice. Which side are you on?
A series of anti-poverty policies and programs in response to the pandemic offers a glimpse of what is possible when we center the needs of the poor in public policy.
the Grio
By Shailly Barnes, The Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, and Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis
August 11, 2021
Hundreds were arrested last week outside the Senate Hart building near Capitol Hill in nonviolent direct action to demand voting rights, an end to the filibuster, and economic rights for all. Organized by the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, the action brought together poor and low-wage workers, clergy and people of conscience, all committed to fighting for a multiracial democracy that works for everyone.
Generations of Struggle: Lessons on Defending Democracy
On Choosing Community Over Chaos
Tom Dispatch
By Liz Theoharis
August 10, 2021
My father, Athan G. Theoharis, passed away on July 3rd. A leading expert on the FBI, he was responsible for exposing the bureau’s widespread abuses of power. He was a loyal husband, dedicated father, scholar, civil libertarian, and voting-rights advocate with an indefatigable commitment to defending democracy. He schooled his children (and anyone who would listen, including scholars, journalists, and activists from a striking variety of political perspectives) to understand one thing above all: how hard the powers-that-be will work to maintain that power and how willing they are to subvert democracy in the process. His life is a reminder that much of American politics in 2021 is, in so many ways, nothing new.
Beto O’Rourke and Poor People’s Campaign take the fight for voting rights to the streets in Texas
American Voices on MSNBC
Interview by Alicia Menendez
July 24, 2021
As 50 Texas Democrats remain in Washington. D.C. to block Republicans from passing a restrictive voting bill, former Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke is teaming up with the Poor People’s Campaign to organize a Selma-style march urging for federal voting rights legislation from home. O’Rourke and Reverend Liz Theoharis, the co-founder of the Poor People’s Campaign, join American Voices with Alicia Menendez to discuss what’s at stake for Texans and Americans as a whole if lawmakers fail to protect voting rights.
Rev. Liz Theoharis of Poor People’s Campaign Arrested in Protest over Voting Rights & Infrastructure
Democracy Now!
July 23, 2021
Nearly 100 women from around the United States were arrested outside the Supreme Court as they marked the 173rd anniversary of the first women’s rights convention at Seneca Falls with a protest calling for voting rights and economic justice. We speak with Reverend Liz Theoharis, co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign and one of those who was arrested. She says Congress needs to scrap the filibuster, pass voting rights legislation and pass a “bold infrastructure bill” that addresses economic inequality, as well as the climate. She also discusses the work of her father, historian Athan Theoharis, who recently died after a lengthy career dedicated to exposing FBI misconduct.
“A Season of Action”: Women at Center of Fight to Protect Voting Rights Step Up to Save Democracy
The attack on democracy currently playing out in D.C. and in state legislatures like Texas is the worst we have seen since Reconstruction. At the center of this crisis are poor women—especially poor women of color.
Ms. Magazine
By Dr. Liz Theoharis and Roz Pelles
July 22, 2021
On Monday, July 19, nearly 100 women were arrested with the Poor People’s Campaign in Washington, D.C. while protesting the filibuster and demanding full voting rights and living wages. These women—a multiracial group of leaders from major labor unions, religious denominations, national organizations and grassroots communities that represent millions of people—demanded action from Congress and the president by August 6, the anniversary of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
We Marched to Protect Voting Rights Because Voter Suppression Threatens Our Future
In this op-ed, protesters Sophia Theoharis Caruso, Isabel Peterson, and Indi Barnes explain why pro-democracy activism is important to them and why they decided to join the Poor People’s Campaign.
Teen Vogue
By Isabel Peterson, Indi Barnes, and Sophia Theoharis Caruso
July 21, 2021
On July 19, 2021, we joined the Poor People’s Campaign as we protested near Capitol Hill with 100 people from all over the country who are willing to risk arrest to get voting rights, and to speak out against the voter suppression tactics rolling out across the country. Even though we’re not old enough to vote yet, we’re still ready to fight for our right to do so when the time comes because we’ve seen from history that democracy has to be fought for.
Attacks on race education are attacks on spiritual and democratic growth
‘Critical race theory’ fearmongering seeks to paint anyone who wants to speak truth as un-American, unpatriotic and un-Christian.
USA Today
By Rev. Liz Theoharis
July 10, 2021
In 2018, a year after then-President Donald Trump took office, I was in Kentucky with the Poor People’s Campaign, along with the Rev. Dr. William Barber. We were in Harlan County, home to historic labor struggles that led to better wages and working conditions for people across the nation, but now a place with some of the highest poverty rates in our country. In the middle of the afternoon, hundreds of residents gathered together to talk about the reasons why poverty is so widespread today and the central role poor people can play in leading a spiritual and material revival.
Juneteenth and Filibuster Fuel Fight for Democracy That Works for Everyone
Some U.S. lawmakers are all too willing to sign off on another holiday, especially if they can use it as cover while actively working to suppress voting rights, block living wages and reparations, fight against healthcare, and more.
Common Dreams
By Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis and Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II
June 23, 2021
Last week, an overwhelming majority of Congress voted to make Juneteenth a national holiday. Just days later, many of the same politicians voted to block the For the People Act and continue to uphold the filibuster and resist other legislative actions to protect our democracy, lift up poor rural and urban areas, raise wages, and expand social programs for the poor.
Have We Entered America’s Third Era of Reconstruction?
The first two have much to teach us about the possibilities and dangers that abound today.
Tom Dispatch
By Liz Theoharis
June 22, 2021
West Virginia, a state first established in defiance of slavery, has recently become ground zero in the fight for voting rights. In an early June op-ed in the Charleston Gazette-Mail, Democratic Senator Joe Manchin vowed to maintain the Senate filibuster, while opposing the For the People Act, a bill to expand voting rights. Last week, after mounting pressure and a leaked Zoom recording with billionaire donors, he showed potential willingness to move on the filibuster and proposed a “compromise” on voting rights.