 November
24- Jackson, Mississippi |
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In
Jackson, Mississippi we were hosted for lunch at Mikhail's
Northgate Conference Center by Jaribu Hill, Executive Director
of the Mississippi Workers' Center for Human Rights. Their
motto is "workers' rights are human rights". The
Center performs advocacy and training for low-wage workers,
who primarily work in non-union workplaces.We were also
joined for lunch by workers from the University of Mississippi
Medical Center who are currently in a struggle against discrimination.
Mire
este sitio en espanol.
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Jeribu
Hill (right) said, "We know that it is one struggle.
Whether you are talking about race or class, its one struggle
against a system that basically strangles people, and forces
them to live without dignity.. We don't want to just exist.
We want to thrive. We want to build a future for our children
and we cant' do that a lot of times. Many times we are blocked
at the gate... We often have to battle from day to night every
day." |
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Bill
Chap, a union organizer in the South for over 30 years, who
is now organizing with the Hotel Employees and Restaurant
Employees Union. told us about some of the working conditions
in Mississippi: "Mississippi has the second largest gaming
area, next to Los Vegas, but workers here are paid the lowest
of all hotel and casino workers in the country. They do not
have paid benefits. They don't have retirement. They don't
have a voice on the job. They don't have grievance procedures.
They don't have any kind of job security. So we have a real
struggle to organize." |
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After
lunch, Ryan Donahue, a member of the Bus's Media Team, shows
some of the children how to use the camera. In addition
to documenting the tour, training is an important part of
the Media Team's job on the bus.
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Children
on the bus must keep up with their schoolwork, and are also
all keeping journals. Following are excerpts from the journal
of a 12-year-old girl who's riding the whole bus (taken
with permission): "I was really impressed to see so
many poor people fighting for their rights. I used to think
that poverty was only in cities..."
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"Now
I see that there are poor people all over- Black people, white
people, children and grown-ups. When you see so many poor
people like we have seen, you hope that everybody will fight
for their rights." |
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Daily
Prayer for the New Freedom Bus Tour
The Rev.
Noelle Damico, Catalyst, School of Theology, University
of the Poor
Sunday, November 24
God who comes in
the still small voice, we quiet ourselves today to listen
for your direction. We open ourselves and center ourselves
that we might be able to receive and share with each other
in such a way that the hearing and the telling are holy experiences.
We give you thanks for those moments of this tour when we
have glimpsed the holy in each other and in the faces of your
people in the little towns, and big cities, on the farms,
and in the union halls, singing in church, and waiting at
the shelters. God we know you are present. Use us to create
a true community that hears, and sees, and understands. Amen.
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About
the Campaign 
