Poor People’s Campaign Photos Now Available on Dig DC
We are pleased to announce that over 600 Washington Star images documenting the Poor People's Campaign of 1968 and Resurrection City are now available on Dig DC.
The Poor People's Campaign was a civil rights movement initiated by Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in early 1968. The campaign lobbied for economic justice and vital social programs via an Economic Bill of Rights, brought to DC through an organized protest encampment on the National Mall of thousands of people facing poverty from all over the United States. Although Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968, on April 29 the Poor People’s Campaign continued ahead, with caravans arriving in DC on May 12, 1968. Known as Resurrection City, the live-in protest included its own "People's University", The Many Races Soul Center (or "Soul Tent"), a city hall, a circulated newspaper and infrastructure like plumbing, a zip code for mail delivery, and communications wires for telephone booths. Residents of Resurrection City had access to three meals a day, healthcare, clothing, religious services and even haircuts. After a successful rally of performances and speeches on June 19th known as "Solidarity Day", the campaign effectively ended on June 24, 1968 when the camp was cleared by police following the expiration of the National Park Service permit.
You can research DC Public Library Resources on the Poor People's Campaign and Resurrection City in the People's University Online Resource Guide. View the Washington Star images here.
(Image by Bob Schumaker: People Arriving to Resurrection City, May 1968
