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Contact: Martha Waggoner | [email protected] | | 919-295-0802
The Poor People’s Campaign will hold a news conference Friday about plans for a rally Saturday that concludes the 27-mile Moral March for Democracy, which will include a special guest.
During the news conference, Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, will announce that a guest with deep roots in the political history of Texas will join both the rally and the Aug. 2 National Moral Monday march scheduled for D.C.
The special guest will join country music legend Willie Nelson, who said Thursday that he will join the rally.
In addition to Rev. Barber, the Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis, co-chair of the campaign, and Beto O’Rourke, founder of Powered by People, will speak at the news conference.
The news conference will be held at 2 p.m. CT/3 p.m. ET Friday at University Baptist Church, 2130 Guadalupe St. in Austin. Reporters can register here. The live stream is available here.
Friday is the third of four days of a 27-mile Moral March for Democracy from Georgetown to Austin, sponsored by the Poor People’s Campaign, along with about 50 partners. The march ends Saturday in Austin, where the rally will be held at the state Capitol.
Marchers are demanding that Congress approve the following actions by Aug. 6, the 56th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act:
- Restoration of the full Voting Rights Act
- Passage of the For the People’s Act
- An end to the filibuster
- An increase in the federal minimum wage to $15/hour
- Fair and respectful treatment of the nation’s 11 million immigrants
The march is part of the Season of Nonviolent Moral Direct Action that continues Monday, Aug. 2, with a march led by faith leaders, poor people and low-wage workers in Washington, D.C.
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SUBJECT LINE: TODAY: Guest with deep Texas roots to join Austin voting rights rally