Poverty Scholars Program Leadership School Core Curriculum Sessions

Poverty Scholars Program Leadership School
Charleston, West Virginia
August 9th -15th, 2009

Core Curriculum Sessions

Poverty and the Current Economic Crisis
Monday, August 10th       

This session will include: 1. A presentation on the demographics of poverty, a critique of the poverty line, some current data on particular poverty-related issues; 2. An interactive activity with questions about people's experiences of poverty and the economic crisis and a presentation on the basic stats on the current economic crisis; and 3. A discussion on the short and long term causes of the current crisis including the definitions needed to understand the economic crisis as well as some basic theories of impoverishment.

Reigniting King’s Poor People’s Campaign: Drawing Clarity, Legitimacy, and Inspiration from History
Wednesday, August 12th

This session will draw lessons from Martin Luther King Jr.’s Poor People’s Campaign, along with other historical and contemporary examples, to answer the following questions: 1) Why do we need a social movement?, 2) How do we build a social movement?, and 3) What do we do today?  Lessons learned will ground the whole of the leadership school and guide the experiences we will have in other sessions.

The Role of Religion in the Movement to End Poverty
Thursday, August 13th

This session will include reflection from individuals of various faith traditions about how the values and teachings of their faith have influenced them in their work to end poverty.  Presentation of ideas and experience will happen through a panel discussion with leaders of various organizations and pastors reflecting on how their group has included religion in their organizing work. We will also explore Biblical passages of economic crisis, a textual reflection on the last week of the life of Jesus and the last year of Martin Luther King, Jr., and discuss how to read the Bible in the context of building a movement to end poverty. 

Learning As We Lead, Teaching As We Fight: 
Education and Leadership Development towards Re-Igniting the Poor People’s Campaign
Saturday, August 15th

This closing session will focus on the role of education and leadership development to build a social movement to end poverty. We will share strategies for developing clarity, competency, commitment and connectedness in local organizing campaigns as well as a bigger network working to end poverty. We will spend time exploring ways that participants in the Leadership School can bring lessons and tools back to their own communities and organizations. The session will conclude with some next steps and commitments that participants make as we leave the school.