Local activists will raise poverty issues at Republican Convention

A group of local protesters who belong to the Minnesota-based Welfare Rights Committee are helping to organize a march on the Republican National Convention (RNC) in St. Paul on September 1. It is a grassroots but large-scale effort to bring various poverty issues to a national audience, drawing as many as 50,000 activists from around the country in addition to the projected 45,000 convention attendees.

“Money for human needs, not war” is one refrain the protesters will be chanting, and it epitomizes the message they’re trying to send. They hope to shed light on the profound implications of the Iraq war on the U.S. economy, particularly for the nation’s neediest, which some activists point out is akin to a war on poverty both at home and abroad.

Instead, they argue that the U.S. government should be investing more money into affordable housing, health care, child care, education, jobs and welfare, among other needs. To spread that message, the welfare advocates, a group of mainly women who are single parents and largely on welfare themselves, are part of a broader coalition of local and national folks. Called the “Poor People’s Contingent to Demand Money for Human Needs, Not for War,” the coalition marchers will follow a route near the Xcel Energy Center downtown St. Paul to make their cause known.

It’s noteworthy that the route has been contested because it isn’t the one that activists were banking on (they wanted to be closer to the Xcel). As a result, they’re wrapped up in a lawsuit with the City of St. Paul over the whole ordeal.

However, the activists maintain that they’re committed to the issues that are bringing them there, and so they’ll make do.

Other advocacy organizations such as the Maria Imnagua Campaign for Justice and The Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign will be in the march as well as in another march the next day.

The Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign is currently in the middle of a statewide poverty tour that will continue from now through the RNC, with individual testimonies to be shared at the Truth Commission Hearings slated for the end of August and the March for Our Lives on September 2. Additional humanitarian events will be hosted throughout the days of the convention; for more information about those events, go to ushrnetwork.org.)

A Welfare Rights organizing event last Saturday, August 9, involved a lineup of speakers who testified to what drew them to the movement in the first place. They came from all over the Twin Cities. Part of their presentation touched on the issues that they hope to make a focal point at the RNC, while also getting to work on painting signs and banners, among other convention preparations.

Angel Buechner, a mother of four boys who has been homeless in the past and has been active with the Welfare Rights Committee for six years, said too often policies that deal with welfare are “racist, anti-mother and anti-child.” Trying to bring attention to that is “important to my community, especially communities of color and women… Welfare should be there to support people when they need it.”

Further, said Buechner, “It’s connected to an unjust war. Needs are unmet here and all over the world. We need to get the troops out of there… I’m fed up with the poor-bashing agenda…spending billions on a war that means families’ needs aren’t being addressed. We’re already stretched beyond our means.”

Another welfare rights advocate, Angella Khan, a four-year member of the group, expressed frustration with what she described as the “demonization of the poor that need welfare” when many, like herself, are simply the victims of circumstance. After going through rough times, trying to get established in a job is a challenge, and “people aren’t given enough time to get on their feet.”

Complicating matters is that welfare is vulnerable to political whims that basically “punish people for being poor.” As someone who has firsthand experience with the system, Khan said, “This is a nonpartisan cause. We’re at a critical time in history, and we need to take to the streets again.”

To that end, Juzel Sanders, another member of the group, added, “This is the first time Minnesotans will be at the forefront. We’re speaking out and letting the world know how we feel.” She underscored that because this is a presidential election year, “It is now more important than ever to make a difference. It’s time for change.”

For over a decade, the Welfare Rights Committee has worked to protect welfare — fighting cutbacks on numerous fronts — while also advocating for more funding. Among their triumphs, as organizer Deb Konechne pointed out, they’ve successfully lobbied state legislators to keep Social Security Income intact. (It benefits those with disabilities.)

Each year they’ve introduced legislation that has prevented a number of initiatives that would have been detrimental to welfare, Konechne said. Additionally, they’ve helped reduce co-payments for child care and eliminated requirements that welfare recipients work in order to go to school (a near impossible task for those raising families on their own).

The group has worked to maintain financial assistance for those living in government-subsidized housing, reduced medical assistance bills, and ensured that nobody has to work for free to receive welfare. They also made huge strides amid the state’s biggest cutbacks to welfare in 2003.

“At the time, we were fighting to tax the rich, close corporate tax loopholes, and give back to poor families,” said Konechne, adding that their advocacy led to the first welfare grant increase since 1986. They continue to pressure lawmakers to support the welfare program.

“Whenever there’s a budget deficit, it comes out of our pockets,” Konechne said. “The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. If we don’t get decent wages, we can barely survive on welfare.”

The Welfare Rights Committee will meet at the State Capitol on September 1 at 11 am. They plan to congregate on the capitol mall and direct people to look for their yellow balloons. For those who need transportation, free bus rides will be provided. (Buses depart North Minneapolis at Broadway and Lyndale Avenues at 10 am and from South Minneapolis at Bloomington and Lake Street. St. Paul residents should call 612-822-8020 to arrange a ride.)

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