Pfleger: ‘It’s time to wage war’ on behalf of America’s poor

West/Smiley “not hating” on Obama but lifting up the poor

By Chinta Strausberg

The controversial “Poverty Tour” organizers, famed talk show host Tavis Smiley and Princeton Professor Dr. Cornel West, Sunday told a packed Saint Sabina Church they are not hating on President Barack Obama rather they are lifting up the poor who are forgotten and who have become invisible while the nation’s wealthy wrestle to retain power and increase their wealth.
They made their remarks during a more than two-and-a-half-hour forum at the Saint Sabina Church, 1210 W. 78^th Place, where Father Michael L. Pfleger said, “It is Jesus who spent his life for the forgotten and the downtrodden….” He challenged people to open their eyes and to hear the cries of the poor “who were made to feel invisible.”

Referring to the torrential and sudden rain that caused many people to get soaking wet, Pfleger thanked the packed church for coming “through the monsoon” rain and said their presence at the “Poverty Tour” demonstrated their commitment  “to once again raise the conscience about the poor in America who have been affected. It’s time to wage the war against poverty, again,” said Pfleger.

Joining Pfleger, Smiley, who said “being poor these days is a crime,” and West were Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan, who quoted the bible saying, “blessed are the poor in spirit,” and WVON’s Cliff Kelley, AARP’s Illinois State President Merri Dee and other notables.

Dee, 75, who spent 38-years at WGN and a total of 43-years in broadcasting, said her organization is a major sponsor of the “Poverty Tour.” She introduced Smiley, who along with West, spoke on their tour and field questions from several people from the audience.

Both men expressed displeasure with Obama for signing the debt ceiling bill because it lacked provisions to tax the rich, did not include extending unemployment insurance, did not close tax loop holes for the wealthy and no mention of poor people.  Smiley, who shared some of his time with Minister Farrakhan, believes the new poor are the former middleclass.

West and Smiley emphasized that their “Poverty Tour” is not about President Obama but rather to raise the consciousness of the poor they say have become invisible in American and who are not on any politicians’ agenda. That’s why they are using the “bully pulpit” of the media to get their message across. The event was covered by CNN.

Smiley, who is from a family of 10, said they began their tour on an Indian reservation and were appalled at learning some were making $300 and $400 a month. They are going to Mississippi and West Virginia to spend time with white coal miners who have lost their jobs.

They plan to talk to every ethnicity including a white family of nine children, a dog and two cats in Columbus, Mississippi.  They are also going to spend time in a homeless shelter and in public housing.

“We are trying to raise the poverty higher up on the agenda,” said Smiley. “Referring to the debt ceiling agreement, Tavis called it “wretched” and described it as a “declaration of war on the poor.” He added, “Respectfully, something is wrong with our President when he can sign legislation that does not extend unemployment benefits, that does not close a single corporate loop hole, and that does not tax the rich or the lucky. “ Tavis said this legislation is balanced “on the backs of the poor.” He added, ‘Wall Street got away again,” he told a cheering audience.

During the more than two-and-a-half-hour forum, Smiley was critical of the 12-member congressional committee charged with identifying $1.2 trillion in additional cuts to the deficit for the next ten-years.

According to an article in Politico.com, under this legislation, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, House Speaker John Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi will each appoint three members to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction by August 16^th.  However, if they fail to reach an accord on the cuts by Thanksgiving or if congress does not pass a deficit-reduction plan by December 23^rd, it will result in more spending cuts especially to security and domestic programs.

Smiley wants the full Congress to make these decisions and said he will not be silences “on the assault, this war against the poor.”

And to critics who claim this is just an anti-Obama tour, Smiley denied the allegation. “Let me check you right quick,” he said denying he and West came to Chicago to rub this poverty issue in Obama’s face or to somehow “demonize” him. “This is not about Barack Obama. This is not personal. It’s principle. I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired” of being accused of having a “personal beef with the President,” which he denies.

Smiley said when his rich white friends critique the President like he and West do, they are called “courageous” but when they do it they are labeled personal. “That’s racist, and I won’t stand for it,” Smiley said. “I choose to suffer with the poor.” “This is about aiding and abetting the President. It’s about helping the President.”

Referring to next year’s election, Smiley said with unemployment so high, many lost their homes, and he hopes the President does not ask Americans the question, “Are you better off now than you were three-years ago.” Smiley said the President has to motivate and speak to his base or he fears they’ll stay home come re-election time.

Minister Farrakhan made it clear. “Yes, the people are poor. They are poor in their spirit because they are poor in leadership…. My people will perish for the lack of knowledge….  Barack Obama is poor in spirit…. He needs to set free….” Farrakhan said the poor need to be rallied and that they are the majority in this nation.

“When you go out for the poor, you are saying I am willing to lay down my life for the poor,” said Farrakhan.  “It’s the poor that is carrying the government on their back. It’s the poor that the rich have enslaved and gotten powerful on…the poor….”

West spoke of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his poor peoples’ campaign and how he was “shot down like a dog” while fighting for the poor. He and Smiley are meeting with that same Memphis sanitation union while on their “Poverty Tour.”

West said aid poor people in America have been “criminalized, demonized, terrorized, stigmatized and traumatized” and abandoned economically. He criticized some leaders he says they’ve “sold out.” Wes said we don’t want leaders who are striving for success but rather those who care for the and who are “unbowed and un-bought.”  “Dr. Martin Luther King was not into success. He was into greatness…. We don’t want successful leaders. We want great leaders” who have compassion for the poor and who tell Americans the truth.

And, on Obama, West said, “I still love my brother. I will protect him.” However, West was critical of the $1.8 billion offshore that is not being taxed. Referring to the $2.1 trillion, West said, “They re sitting on and children can’t get suits, 21 percent of our children are living poverty, 38 percent of are blacks and browns… I don’t care what color they are….” He said poverty must be put on the front burner of this nation. “It’s about justice.”

Asked by this writer what criteria did he use to select the cities his tour is visiting and what will he do with the data, Smiley said they chose geographical areas they felt would get an accurate snapshot of poverty in America.

In October, he will have an entire week talking about poverty on PBS and they will appear on public radio as well. They are putting out a white paper on who the new poor are on January. He will be at George Washington University in a roundtable discussion talking about the poor. He said they will be discussing this issue just before President Obama gives his “State of the Union” speech.

Referring Obama’s last “State of the Union” speech, Smiley said, “He is the first president since 1948 to not mention the word poor or poverty in his speech…. That’s a problem. Words have meaning and the worse thing you can do to any individual is to make them feel invisible. If you can’t acknowledge their condition, acknowledge their plight, call them by their name, that’s a real problem.”

Smiley said depending on the success of this campaign, he and Dr. West will probably come back in the middle of the presidential campaign.

Chinta Strausberg is a Journalist of more than 33-years, a former political reporter and a current PCC Network talk show host.