From 1964 to today, we are committed to full equality.
Dear friends,
ATD Fourth World started its first steps in the city of New York in 1964, at a time of great turmoil with a poverty rate close to 20% in the country. As the ATD Fourth World NYC booklet “Solidarity Through Changing Times’’ puts it, “the city itself was hurting, and many of its residents struggled to live in dignity.’’
Earlier that year, President Johnson had declared an unconditional War on Poverty in his first State of the Union address, launching a series of legislative measures and federal programs to transform the country into a more equitable and just society, which he called "the Great Society." Poverty was identified as a collective responsibility, not an individual failure. In concrete terms, the War on Poverty materialized into the Economic Opportunity Act (1964) which in turn created Job Corps, VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America), Head Start (early education programs for families in poverty), and other acts and programs which we still know today, from Medicare and Medicaid to food stamps (now known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)).
Reducing poverty levels went hand in hand with reducing racial injustices. The struggle for civil rights for African-Americans and accessing economic, social and cultural rights formed two faces of the same coin. The activism of Dr. Martin Luther King, and later, the Poor Peoples’ campaign and the march to Washington DC, demanded a massive federal anti-poverty package towards full employment, decent wages and housing for all.
Desperate needs were also witnessed by the first ATD Fourth World volunteers, as recalled in the NYC history booklet:
“On the Lower East Side, the team learned first-hand how parents were trying to make a decent life for their children. They had to deal with old, dilapidated, and abandoned tenement buildings, fires, unemployment, gangs, drugs, and no support from the city, which was in financial crisis at the time.”
Fast forward to the present, after almost sixty years, poverty rates in the city may be slightly reduced but systemic inequalities compounded with the effect of the pandemic still largely impact the lives of the most marginalized communities. People of color who face higher levels of poverty, unemployment and discrimination are especially impacted.
At a recent visit to the Museum of the City of New York, ATD Fourth World NYC members explored an exhibition called Activism in NYC highlighting multiple civil rights struggles affecting the political, civil, economic, social and cultural rights of many New Yorkers across race, gender and socio-economic backgrounds.
After the visit, ATD Fourth World Activist Rosetta Savana shared: “The activism part of the tour was great. It shows how the work can be continued.” Patrick Lubin, Human Rights Activist and ATD Fourth World member added: “I really liked the room on activism: I felt at home.”
From 1964 to today, the road to full equality and participation remains a long journey which ATD Fourth World in New York stays committed to continue, along with its members, towards the full enjoyment of human rights and dignity for all.
ATD Fourth World NYC Team
Aria, Jackie, Monica, Virginie, Yasmine
COMING UP IN MARCH & APRIL
Open House: Learn more about ATD Fourth World, who we are, and what we do!
Thursday, March 30th
6:00pm to 7:00pm
Fourth World House
172 First Ave, New York, NY 10009
RSVP here: nycteam@4thworldmovement.org
Fourth World People’s University is back!
The theme of this in-person FWPU is "Dignified Work for All." Please note these dates!
Preparation Session 1: Thursday, April 20th, 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Preparation Session 2: Thursday, April 27th, 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Fourth World People’s University: Saturday, May 6th, 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm
RSVP here: nycteam@4thworldmovement.org
COMMUNITY NEWS
In March, Anti-Poverty Activist and ATD Fourth World member James Abro attended the Innovations and Solutions for Ending Unsheltered Homelessness Conference in Oakland, California. When he was asked to speak, he chose to talk about the importance of communities in reducing homelessness in our neighborhoods, emphasizing the role of persons with lived experience in designing programs.
In February, ATD Fourth World was an active participant in the UN Commission for Social Development which was on the theme of decent work. During diverse events organized throughout the Commission, ATD highlighted the relationships between people with a lived experience of poverty and their work. Read more.
In March, the ATD Fourth World followed the Commission on the Status of Women to learn more about how to contribute to next year’s theme on women in poverty.
UN transition: Volunteer Corps Members Aria Ribieras and Yasmine Raouf, both responsible for representing ATD Fourth World to the United Nations, will be ending their mission respectively on April 1st and May 1st. We warmly thank them for the dynamism and innovation they brought to the UN advocacy work as well as their artistic creativity reflected on the walls of the Fourth World House! We also welcome Maryann Broxton as the new ATD Fourth World representative to the United Nations. As the former ATD US Coordinator of the Multidimensional Aspects of Poverty Research, Maryann has been supporting projects that bring together people with a lived experience of poverty and service providers, political institutions, and international organizations, so they can build on the collective experiences to explore sustainable solutions to poverty.