Go to Cleveland to Hear the Truth

This weekend, the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign is holding a National Truth Commission in Cleveland. This is the cumulation of local Truth Commissions that have been held around the country this year. These Truth Commissions are modeled after the South African Commissions that were created to help heal the nation after the abolishment of apartheed. And in fact, Winnie Mandela is scheduled to be one of the 20 commissioners who will be hearing people's testimonies of how their economic human rights have been violated.

I had always heard of Truth Commissions in international settings, but until this year, had never considered that they could and would be useful tools for healing and change in the United States. So why have a Truth Commission in the United States? According to their website, the PPEHRC says:

The poor have been disappeared from not only the welfare rolls and the workforce, but from the media and the political debates. Our stories are not told and our images are not seen. Our invisibility has allowed our situation to be ignored by our politicians, who have not placed a priority on addressing the increasing number of poor families and our worsening conditions. We know that in order to win this war and to survive, the faces of America's poor must be shown. If the general public knew our stories and saw our faces, we know that something would be done. The timing is critical. We need economic human rights to be a priority or many of us who have been abandoned by political parties in the past, simply will not make it.

Amen! Allowing and encouraging people to tell their stories, to give their testimonies, and to acknowledge to the public, and to themselves, that they have been victims of human rights abuses, is an amazingly powerful thing. The prevailing mindset in this country is that if you are poor, you have somehow brought that upon yourself. You are lazy, unmotivated, stupid, or just trying to swindle the government and the tax payers by receiving public benefits. This mindset is not prevalant only in the affluent sectors of society, but also, tragically, among poor people themselves. Its hard to not believe the hype, and to publicly admit to your own personal and financial struggles, without feeling like you are at fault, and that you are being judged accordingly. This Truth Commission is a chance for people's stories to be told, and witnessed, without the underlying message of blaming the victim. I highly encourage anyone who has the ability to go to the event, to witness people's testimonies, to share them with others, and to ACT.

It is a three day event, beginning with the Truth Commission on Saturday. Sunday is an arts & culture day which includes performances, panel discussions, and an open mic event. Monday is the Day of Action, which includes a march and rally demanding human rights and universal health care (hell yeah!).

Tuesday through Thursday is the group's annual Leadership School, with workshops being held all day Tuesday and Wednesday, and a graduation ceremony taking place on Thursday. I've seen video footage that was recorded during past year's Leadership Schools, and it looks amazing! If you have any questions, you can go to the website, or contact For more information email Cecilia Garza at or Larry Bresler.

Here is a link to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which the US has never signed.
One last link, to the powerful "Faces of the Fallen" campaign website, which reminds us:

This project aims to highlight the millions of Americans who have suffered economic human rights violations in the richest country in the history of the world--those who have been laid off, denied healthcare, lived in shelters, had their children taken away, and gone without food for their families...highlighting these widespread, hidden, preventable economic human rights violations.