Notes from the Field
Vouchers Are Not an Economic Bill of Rights for the Disadvantaged
Submitted by Frank Murphy, February 10, 2011
Martin Luther King was deep in the midst of organizing the Poor Peoples’ Campaign when he was assassinated in 1968. The objective of this ambitious endeavor was to press for the passage of an Economic Bill of Rights for the disadvantaged. King was determined to seek economic freedom for all Americans regardless of race. He envisioned a great society. It would be one where all citizens would be fully employed. In the country he dreamed of, there would be affordable housing and equal educational opportunities for all poor people. His dream was large and it contained multitudes.
When King and the other leaders of the Southern Leadership Conference committed to organizing the Poor People’s March on Washington, a second phase of the Civil Rights movement was initiated. These famous
