Wishing to bury the war on the poor

The Poor People's Campaign, started by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. just before he was murdered in 1968, has been re-ignited. The national campaign asked everyone to go to their state capitol to register protest on May 14. I carpooled down to Oregon's capitol, Salem. It was my first time to be there, and it was a bright, hot (86F/30C) day with glare, very difficult for photographs. As usual, I fell in love with the faces of the protesters, stayed up till 1 a.m. processing, and posted 75 photos, but this is the one that tells the story.

It's a nationwide campaign, and in many cities protesters chose to blockade traffic or stage sit-ins in government offices. The Oregon group chose not to be arrested this week, though next week may be different. This time it was just a matter of walking together in the hot sun, carrying signs and listening to speeches. When we all returned home we heard the news from Gaza and were devastated.