North Country Poor People’s Campaign holds regional healthcare rally

by Rachel Hunter

A North Country Healthcare Rally, sponsored by the North Country Poor People’s Campaign, fought for affordable and accessible quality healthcare on Sunday, January 30, at local hospital. In addition to appearing at St. Lawrence Health’s Massena Memorial Hospital, and Canton-Potsdam Hospital and Claxton-Hepburn Hospital in Ogdensburg, the rally came to SLH’s Gouverneur Hospital at 77 W. Barney St., Gouverneur.

This isn’t the first time the North Country Poor People’s Campaign has come to Gouverneur, having held several meetings previous to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis at the Gouverneur Community Center, and the leadership team recognized the benefit of the facility to the whole North Country. What is the Poor People’s Campaign? In 1968, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and many others called for a “revolution of values” in America. They sought to build a broad, fusion movement that could unite poor and impacted communities across the country. Their name was a direct cry from the underside of history… The Poor People’s Campaign. Today, the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival has picked up this unfinished work. From Alaska to Arkansas, the Bronx to the border, people are coming together to confront the interlocking evils of systemic racism, poverty, ecological devastation, militarism and the war economy, and the distorted moral narrative of religious nationalism.

The Poor People’s Campaign understands that the nation is at a critical juncture — and that society needs a movement that will shift the moral narrative, impact policies and elections at every level of government, and build lasting power for poor and impacted people. During the summer of 2018, from Mother’s Day to the Summer Solstice, poor people and moral witnesses in 40 states committed themselves to a season of direct action to launch the Campaign. What ensued was the most expansive wave of nonviolent civil disobedience in the 21st century United States. More than a series of rallies and actions, a new organism of state-based movements was born. Now, in over 40 states, the groundwork for a mass poor people’s movement is emerging and growing.

The North Country Healthcare Rally in Gouverneur, Potsdam, Massena, and Ogdensburg drew many positive responses from the North Country community during the 30-minute time allotment in front of the local hospitals. In Gouverneur, many motorists honked their vehicle horns as the North Country Poor People’s Campaign positioned themselves on the sidewalk in front of the hospital and held signs proclaiming: “Healthcare for all! Nothing less!” “Healthcare is a human right.” And “People over profits. Pass NYS Health Act!” In an interview with the Gouverneur Tribune Press, the leadership team and representatives of the North Country Poor People’s Campaign offered insight on the importance of the rally.

John Tenbusch of Waddington said the following: “Healthcare is important. The pandemic reinforces the fact that it is important. The New York Health Act has been on the table for several years and it hasn't been passed. And it is very important. It would provide insurance, healthcare for everybody in this state. It has been on the table, and it just hasn’t passed… so somebody just needs to give it a kick!”

McKay Burley of Massena then said, “I think also in the North Country a lot of folks are living paycheck to paycheck, and they shouldn’t be put into so much stress over one medical emergency…”

Mr. Tenbusch then added the following: “Healthcare is often provided by your employer, but there are so many jobs that don’t have it. And if you lose a job or leave to go to the next one, you might or might not be covered on your healthcare. Universal healthcare, like the New York Health Act, where everyone is covered and everyone gets what they need is vital.”

Raamitha Pillay of Colton said: “With the Poor People’s Campaign, we always like to hear people’s stories and no one really knows in St. Lawrence County how precarious people’s healthcare is. No one is really talking about it. We are hoping that by engaging with the people, we can hear their stories and get a better idea about what is exactly going on. What exactly is going on? Why are people in this situation? We might hear stories from family and friends, but we don’t really know the system… what in the system isn’t really working. Something isn’t really working, but what really isn’t working, we don’t know. We are hoping that by hearing people’s stories, we can figure that out and fix the system.”

While a six- to seven-minute presentation featuring quotes from the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was prepared for the 1 p.m. rally, it was not given due to low turnout. But the North Country Poor People’s Campaign viewed every vehicle honk as positive responses from the local community members.

The North Country Poor People’s Campaign expects to continue to hold meetings virtually amid the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, and all those who are interested in learning more about the organization or future meeting dates are encouraged to visit the group’s Facebook page: www.facebook.com/groups/northcountryppc. The group also plans to be more visible in the North Country community, including at events such as the weekly farmers markets.

The local chapter of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival plans to stretch their banner even wider in the years to come. Nationwide, the Poor People’s Campaign believes that, together, they can rise and demand that the 140 million poor and low-income people in our nation — from every race, creed, color, sexuality and place — are no longer ignored, dismissed or pushed to the margins of political and social agenda. The group considers themselves as a moral fusion movement to build power, build moral activism, build voter participation, to change the moral narrative and demand that the interlocking injustices of systemic racism, poverty, ecological devastation, the war economy/militarism and the distorted moral narrative of religious nationalism all be ended. They rise to challenge the lie of scarcity in the midst of abundance, and to lift the voices and faces of poor and low-income Americans and their moral allies with a new vision of love, justice, and truth for America that says poverty can be abolished and change can come. For more information on how to join, visit www.facebook.com/groups/northcountryppc.