Back from the Brink joined tens of thousands of people from across the country on June 18th for the Poor People’s Campaign Mass Poor People’s & Low-Wage Workers’ Assembly and Moral March on Washington. It was a spirited day of solidarity and commitment to dismantling the interlocking injustices of systemic racism, poverty, ecological devastation, the denial of health care, militarism and the war economy, the false moral narrative of religious nationalism – and the threat of nuclear war.
This spring, Back from the Brink became a National Mobilizing Partner for the Poor Peoples’ Campaign (PPC) Moral March because we recognize that nuclear weapons are a manifestation of a deeply unjust system. (Read our statement here.) It is outrageous that the U.S. spends billions on weapons that threaten our very existence while 140 million people in this country suffer from poverty and the harms that come with it.
We are very proud of the leadership role we played in getting other peace and disarmament organizations, including a number of BftB coalition partner organizations, to become June 18 PPC Mobilizing Partners. In April, BftB hosted a virtual meeting for the peace and disarmament community featuring PPC leaders which was instrumental in bringing other groups and individuals to the Moral March.
BftB endorsing organizations, partners, and hubs that participated in the PPC June 18 event included Code Pink, Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility, Pax Christi, Physicians for Social Responsibility National, Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles, Syracuse Peace Council, Union of Concerned Scientists, United Church of Christ, Veterans for Peace, Women’s Action for New Directions (WAND), and Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom (WILPF).
Speakers at the PPC June 18 event told devastating personal stories about the pain they experience living in poverty, losing loved ones to gun violence, living in polluted environments, having poor access to healthcare, being excluded and hurt because of who they love or who they are. Yet even amidst the sorrow and pain, the spirit of unity, inclusion, and love prevailed. We marched, chanted, and danced together as one movement family dedicated to making a brighter future for all.
If ever there was a time for those working for peace and racial, economic and social justice to break down issue silos, find common cause and come together, it is now. We are living through perilous times, facing unprecedented assaults on our freedoms, liberty, and democracy while continuing to struggle with the COVID-19 pandemic, climate crisis, and the war in Ukraine and its nuclear dangers. These too are interconnected injustices that can best be met by an interconnected movement for justice.
Back from the Brink is committed to working in solidarity across movements. In the weeks and months ahead, we will share ways that you can get involved, locally in your community and as part of a national movement to change our troubling trajectory and chart a new course that leads to a more just, nuclear weapons free world for ourselves and generations to come.
