A national conversation about poverty won’t happen on its own. As Rev. Barber II, Co-Chair of the Poor People's Campaign, might say, "we have to force it to happen."
By David Elliot
Last month, The Coalition on Human Needs' Voices for Human Needs wrote about an event sponsored by the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. The event featured nine presidential candidates who took turns taking the stage at Trinity Washington University to discuss their plans for fighting poverty in the United States.
At the time of the event, it was noted that when presidential candidates gather for traditional debates, poverty does not exactly take center stage. In the chaotic 2016 election, for example, not one of the 26 presidential debates centered exclusively around poverty. And in 2012, if you watched the four general election debates between President Obama and challenger Mitt Romney, you did not hear a single question about the state of poverty in our country.
So we wondered what would happen when 20 candidates gathered for two debates last week in Miami; would poverty and economic injustice be a focus of attention?
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