The Poverty Initiative hosted a Town Hall Meeting with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing Raquel Rolnik on Thursday, October 22, 2009 at Union Theological Seminary to discuss concerns on public housing, social housing, homelessness, and the foreclosure crises in the United States.  Watch the video:

(This recording starts 20 minutes into the evening, but more video is coming soon).

On the occasion of the upcoming UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing Mission to the US, Willie Baptist, Coordinator of Poverty Initiative's Poverty Scholars Program, speaks of the housing crisis in the U.S. and the current struggle in this country for the Human Right to Housing.

The Poverty Initiative at Union Theological Seminary will host a Town Hall Meeting with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing Raquel Rolnik

Thursday, October 22
6:30 PM
James Chapel
Union Theological Seminary
3041 Broadway at 121st Street
New York, New York


Raquel Rolnik, the UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing will be holding a Public Town Hall Meeting at Union Theological Seminary to discuss concerns on public housing, social housing, homelessness, and foreclosure crises in the United States.   Personal testimonials from people directly affected by inadequate housing will be shared.

Picture the Homeless, the Poverty Initiative, and Domestic Workers United rally to support the Abahlali baseMjondolo Shack Dwellers Movement on Friday, October 9 2009 outside the South African consulate in New York City.

Poverty Initiative member Paul Chapman is interviewed about tackling the divisions within society, working with Martin Luther King Jr, and his work with Scotland's poor on the BBC Radio Scotland program 'Life in Question' with Colin MacKay on October 4, 2009. Click here to listen to the interview. (Only available until Sunday, October 11, 2009) Paul is currently working with the Church of Scotland Priority Areas Project.  Members of the Priority Areas Project attended our Poverty Scholars Program Leadership School in West Virginia this past August.  They also organized a Poverty Truth Commission in Scotland this past spring.

Materials from the Poverty Scholars Program Leadership School core curriculum sessions now available:

August 9, 2009: Welcome & Introductions: Introduction to MLK's Poor People's Campaign (Powerpoint in English and Spanish)

August 10, 2009: Poverty and the Current Economic Crisis: Crisis Statistics (Powerpoint in English and Spanish) and Crisis Causes (Powerpoint in English) and 'Stand Up' audience participation questions.

August 12, 2009: Reigniting King’s Poor People’s Campaign: Drawing Clarity, Legitimacy, and Inspiration from History (Powerpoint in English)

August 13, 2009: The Role of Religion in the Movement to End Poverty (Powerpoint in English and Spanish) and Biblical quotes on economic crisis in English and Spanish.  Also, Bible Study and Devotional series focued on the last week of Jesus and the last year of MLK in English and Spanish.

Three radio pieces from the Leadership School produced by the Media Mobilizing Project and Philadelphia Student Union:

"Down With Poverty, Down!" Conversations about Building a Movement
Amendu Evans spoke to Reverend Mavuso Mbhekiseni, who is a member of the Rural Network in South Africa and a part of the Shackdwellers Movement (Abahlali baseMjondolo). Amendu also talked to Chris Caruso, who is part of the Poverty Initiative at Union Theological Seminary. This audio piece captures some of their reflections on the Leadership School. This radio piece was produced by Amendu Evans for Labor Justice Radio.

We, the Poverty Initiative at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, are deeply concerned about recent reports of violent attacks against Abahlali baseMjondolo [AbM], also known as the Shackdwellers Movement, at the Kennedy Road informal settlement in Durban, South Africa. Members of our organization, Christopher Nizza and Dara Kell, were present for the attacks and we have received first-hand accounts of brutal assaults, jailings, and the destruction of people’ s homes in what appears to be a politically motivated attack. Over a thousand people have been forced to flee their homes and death threats have been placed on the heads of the leaders of the movement.

Environmental problems affect the poor disproportionately and unjustly. Issues of water, malnutrition and hunger, agriculture, women's lives, and peace-making intersect in the work toward environmental justice. The economic and political systems that foster injustice must be countered with small steps by churches and individuals that manifest knowledge, clear-sightedness, and moral courage. The work of contemporary theologians working on eco-justice and eco-feminism will be referenced.

On August 20, 2009 the Poverty Initiative at Union Theological Seminary hosted an evening of discussion and film about Abahlali baseMjondolo (the Shack Dwellers Movement) of South Africa. Two of their leaders, Mazwi Nzimande and Reverend Mavuso, presented along with filmmakers Dara Kell & Christopher Nizza from Sleeping Giant Films. Watch a video clip of that discussion:

The Shackdwellers were attending the Poverty Scholars Program Leadership School and prepared a document called "Reclaiming the Poor People's Campaign: Resources from a Living Politics of Abahlali baseMjondolo, the Shackdweller’s Movement, and the Rural Network," sharing their analysis of the struggle of the poor in South Africa and the connection to the struggle of the poor in the United States.