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In July, 1989, 450 people from 33 states gathered in Philadelphia, PA for the National Survival Summit. The National Union of the Homeless, the National Welfare Rights Union, and the National Anti-Hunger Coalition were leading forces in organizing this gathering. “The Root Doctor” Albert Turner attended as well, and spoke these words. From Skylight Pictures, watch this short clip of Turner at the 1989 gathering on the unity of the poor and dispossessed, neatly summarizing the rationale for why we need a Poor People’s Campaign today.
Albert Turner (1936-2000) would encourage others to become “Root Doctors” just like him, explaining that we shouldn’t play with leaves and limbs, but get down to the roots — the roots of why we are poor. Throughout the struggles of the 1960s, he was a dedicated organizer and freedom fighter in the Black Belt of Alabama. He worked closely with Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the SCLC. He was in the group on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, AL on Bloody Sunday. He was on the ground organizing for the Poor People’s Campaign in 1968, and had the sad honor of leading the mule-drawn wagon carrying Dr. King’s body on the day of his funeral. In years that followed, he continued to serve as a leader, holding the office of Perry County Commissioner in Alabama.
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