Washington, May 16 (RHC)-- In the United States, as many as 1,000 people were arrested in civil disobedience protests in cities across the country during a national day of action for the new Poor People’s Campaign. 

On Monday, thousands of low-wage workers, clergy and community activists participated in sit-ins, marches and rallies in 40 states, including in Raleigh, North Carolina, where people joined hands and sang as they blocked traffic in front of the North Carolina Legislative Building. 

Hundreds also gathered for a rally and civil disobedience protest in Washington, D.C.  Monday’s actions come 50 years after Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. launched the first Poor People’s Campaign to protest economic inequality, militarism and racial injustice.