(AllHipHop News) Educator/rapper Dr. Cornel West and veteran TV broadcaster Tavis Smiley, co-hosts of the syndicated “Smiley & West” radio show, will launch “The Poverty Tour 2.0: A Call to Conscience” this month.
The mini-tour will hit six different states, with a town hall event being held at Delaware State University, which will tackle the issues surrounding both President Barack Obama and hopeful Mitt Romney, in the upcoming elections in November.
Additionally the pair are preparing to talk about the upcoming statistics being prepared by the Census Bureau, which will announce that America’s poverty rate is the worst it has ever been in 50 years.
“These new Census numbers will underscore what we’ve been saying for a long time — poverty is the new American norm,” said Tavis Smiley. “The time is now to force poverty on the agenda; our leaders can’t simply continue to be quiet on this issue.”
The “Poverty Tour 2.0” will hit key battleground states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia and Florida and each stop will be broadcast live via UStream and on the Pacifica Network and Native Voice One.
Confirmed guests appearing on the tour include Peter Edelman, former member of the Clinton administration, and co-founder of the Children’s Defense Fund; Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers; Ralph Nader, Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur, Congresswoman Marcia Fudge, Congressman Chaka Fattah, Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH); and Jill Stein, Green Party candidate for president.
“We’re putting the spotlight on our precious fellow citizens who don’t have access to a decent job, decent housing, and decent healthcare,” added Dr. Cornel West. “We want to hear solutions that can be duplicated and adapted in communities across the country.”
Check out the tour schedule below:
10am-1pm, Wednesday, September 12, Westfield Insurance Studio Theater at Playhouse Square, Cleveland, OH;
5-7pm, Wednesday, September 12, Cuyahoga Community College, Highland Hills, OH;
10am-1pm, Thursday, September 13, T.C. Williams High School, Alexandria, VA;
8-10pm, September 13, Delaware State University, Dover, DE;
10am-1pm, Friday, September 14, Tenth Memorial Baptist Church, Philadelphia, PA
12-3pm, Saturday, September 15, Franklin D. Roosevelt Middle School, West Palm Beach, FL