Hundreds of voices are being heard across the nation in an effort to shine a light on the millions living in poverty. 

Shortly before his assassination in 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. began the Poor People's Campaign, which aimed to combat poverty across the United States for communities. Now, the campaign is readying a new march in New York state.

Imagine if 53 million low-wage workers across the United States obtained control of politics.  

“We're hearing that this is the most significant election in our history,” Coalition of Black Trade Unionist Shelly Clements said. “That is a fact.”

Sharing firsthand experiences of the war on economy, systematic racism and poverty, the Poor People's Campaign shines a light on the millions of workers who have felt restrained from achieving their American dream.  

"July 9, 2024 is the day that the majority of Black women will actually make the same amount as a full-time working white man by 2023," Clements said. "The wealth gap for women of color who are workers is over a year and can equal up to over $900,000. You know, and when you think about what a family could do if they had that money."

According to a 2023 report by the University of California at Riverside, poverty is the fourth leading cause of death, claiming more lives than homicide, gun violence, diabetes or obesity. Long-term poverty was responsible for nearly 300,000 deaths a year – equivalent to over 800 deaths a day.

"We are the last community-based organization on the east side of Buffalo," African-American Cultural Center Executive Director Dr. Leah Ange Daniel said. "But we're also on the side of the town where we had the massacre in 2022 and the area that has been impacted most by poverty. And so, with that particular ZIP code, that's where someone came in to give names of the people that lived there because they knew that it was an impoverished area. Since then, nothing has changed."

The movement has inspired healthcare workers, community organizations, and faith leaders from across the state to rally and raise the voices of people affected by poverty.

"We don't want people to forget the people that lost their lives in Buffalo, New York, due to living or going to a grocery store in an impoverished city, an area they lost their lives," Daniels said. "And we don't want that to be in vain." 

Organizers participating in the anti-poverty protest anticipate its conversations to drive the movement toward voting. They hope to make this vision a reality as it mobilizes the poor and low-wage voters to elect candidates committed to the issues they care about.

"I was in foster care and going through that process, that system and being, you know, just a young woman, I just felt the weight of the world on my shoulders," Daniels said. "People don't know what they don't know, and if people do know they have a responsibility to assist. And we all have a responsibility to do something."

Organizers say this reality threatens their ability to support themselves and their families, continuing a cycle of generations who cannot afford basic needs. 

"It's not just about today," 1199 SEIU Vice President Tracey Harrison said. "What we are seeing plays out, but it's also about our future, our children, how we can make our future brighter for them."

They are continuing to push for economic justice. Impacted folks and advocates across the country hope to reach 15 million unlikely low-income voters with the message that they do have the power.

"Our strength, our power is always going to come from our unity," Clements said. "So, it's heartwarming. It is hopeful. It is exciting, but it is necessary."