Voices from the March (Fresno)

Poverty in Fresno

By 260 Miles of Blogging on March 25

I have seen poverty in many places, but an urban section of Johannesburg, South Africa called Soweto has always served as a benchmark for me. A kind of barometer for just how terribly people in the very same world in which I am living, could be living. In Soweto, a patchwork of AIDS-ridden shanty villages contrast with affluent malls and housing complexes in the suburban foothills. The poor always walk. The wealthy drive. The poor serve. The wealthy consume. In short, the poverty is incredible not only in itself but because resources and opportunity are so nearby.

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When We're Not Walking, Edition 1
By 260 Miles of Blogging on March 24

People have been wondering what we've been doing during the downtime that we have after walking, or when we stay in a city for several days. We stayed in Fresno from Sunday night to Wednesday morning. On Monday night, we loaded up into UDW vans and drove to Cafe Info in Fresno where we were hosted by the Brown Berets. The organization has a long legacy of fighting for change in California, orchestrating the East Los Angeles walkouts of 1968 and leading the cry for better education.

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Rally at Fresno City College
By 260 Miles of Blogging on March 23

On Monday, our marchers went to downtown Fresno where we met up with members of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 8, ACCE and the Brown Berets. We then walked 1.5 miles to the Fresno City College campus. We walked through neighborhoods, passing out flyers and drawing residents toward the campus.

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