John Edwards road toar visits Marianna, AR - Monday July 16th, 2007

[jsamuel]

http://www.johnedwards.com/news/press-releases/20070709-tour/

Edwards Announces "Road To One America" Tour As Part Of His Campaign To End Poverty In America
Jul 9, 2007 3:00 PM

Chapel Hill, North Carolina – Today, the John Edwards for President campaign announced its plan to take a break from its normal campaign schedule of events and take the campaign on the road for three days, through eight states and 12 towns and cities, in order to bring attention to the 37 million Americans living in poverty.

"Everyday, one in eight Americans wakes up in poverty," said Senator Edwards. "That's not okay. Today, we have Two Americas in our country – one America that has everything it needs and another that is struggling to get by. Our next president needs not only to understand the struggles facing the 37 million Americans living in poverty, but also have a plan to lift them up out of poverty. That is what this tour and my campaign are about – giving them a voice so that we can build One America, where every person has the opportunity to work hard and get ahead."

Beginning Monday, July 16th, the "Road to One America" tour will kick-off in New Orleans, Louisiana and travel more than 1,800 miles before ending on Wednesday, July 18th, in Prestonsburg, Kentucky, where Senator Robert F. Kennedy concluded his 1968 200-mile tour of impoverished regions in Southeastern Kentucky. The tour also includes a stop in Marks, Mississippi, where the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. launched his 1968 Poor People's March to Washington, D.C. Along the way, Edwards will meet with residents devastated and displaced by Hurricane Katrina and with people who have experienced persistent poverty in the Deep South, the Mississippi Delta and rural Appalachia. Edwards will also visit communities in the Rust Belt region that have suffered from the loss of American manufacturing jobs and cities that are struggling to cope with both urban poverty and the rising problem of poverty.

With this tour, Edwards hopes to focus attention not just on problems, but also on solutions and all of the good work that is being done across the nation to help lift people out of poverty. By meeting with these Americans and telling their stories to the rest of the nation, the campaign intends to show the diversity of the problem of poverty in America. The new faces of poverty in America come from a wide variety of racial, ethnic and regional backgrounds – from urban, suburban and rural areas. They range in age from the very young to the very old. Some are suffering from disabilities, which prevent them from finding work, and many are hardworking men and women with full-time jobs who are still struggling to make ends meet. All too often they don't have access to the affordable health care, housing and education they need. And their numbers are growing. Edwards believes we all have a stake in doing something about our fellow Americans living in poverty and believes that working together we can help end poverty.

Edwards has made ending poverty in America a pillar of his campaign and laid out a plan to do so within 30 years. He has also outlined detailed plans to lift up working families by guaranteeing quality, affordable health care for every person in America, rewarding work by raising the minimum wage to $9.50 by 2012, protecting workers' right to organize and making college more affordable. Born to working-class parents, Edwards understands the struggles facing working families and has dedicated his life to fighting for them. For the past two years, Edwards served as the Director of the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He joined with grassroots coalitions to help raise the minimum wage in six states in 2006 and has helped more than 20 national unions organize thousands of workers into unions.

The Road to One America tour will include by a robust online outreach effort, with daily video diaries and photos from Edwards and his staff and a "Road to One America" tour blog available on the campaign website, www.johnedwards.com. The campaign's online grassroots component, One Corps, will also launch a "National Poverty Action Week" on July 16th to coincide with the beginning of the tour.

The "Road to One America" tour schedule is below:

Pre-Tour Event – Sunday, July 15

* Walking tour of Lower 9th Ward with Senator Edwards

Day 1 – Monday, July 16: Rewarding Work & Ending Poverty in America

* New Orleans, LA
* "Good Morning America" Town Hall with Senator Edwards
* Canton, MS
* Marks, MS
* Marianna, AR
* Memphis, TN

Day 2 – Tuesday, July 17: Strengthening Neighborhoods & Cities Rising

* Cleveland, OH
* Youngstown, OH
* Pittsburgh, PA

Day 3 – Wednesday, July 18: Restoring Hope to Rural America

* Wise, VA
* Norton, VA
* Whitesburg, KY
* Prestonsburg, KY

Members of the media are invited to join Edwards for the duration or any portion of the tour. Those interested in traveling with the campaign should contact Audrey Waters at [phone] or [e-mail] for more information.