A New Poor People’s Movement Must Have Leadership From Poor People

Imagine if the US women’s suffragette movement had been led entirely by men and its rank-and-file had been mostly male. The movement would surely have been far less galvanizing and assertive. American women might still  be denied the vote.

While some white activists made the ultimate sacrifice – their lives – on behalf of equal rights for African-Americans, had the civil rights movement been led and populated primarily by white people, that campaign would also have been far less passionate, insistent and effective. The Voting Rights and Civil Rights Acts might  still be languishing in Congress.

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