SC clergy push moral agenda — raise wages, expand Medicaid

S.C. clergy Monday urged 2016 candidates to push a moral agenda as part of a “Higher Ground Moral Day of Action” held in about 30 state capital cities.

S.C. residents held signs urging the minimum wage — now $7.25 an hour — be increased to $15, equality in education and healthcare access for all.

“We believe in a moral agenda that stands up against systemic racism, classism, poverty, xenophobia and any attempt to promote hate towards any member of the human family,” said Kylon Jerome Middleton, senior pastor at Mount Zion A.M.E. Church.

That national agenda includes:

▪  Pro-labor policies, including living wages, transitioning away from fossil fuels and more affordable housing

▪  Equality in education so that all children receive well-funded public education, access to community colleges and universities, and “securing equitable funding for minority colleges and universities”

▪  Expanding Medicaid in every state, protecting the environment and protecting women’s health

▪  Fairness in the criminal justice system and fighting the proliferation of guns

▪  Expanding voting rights, women’s rights, LGBT rights, religious freedom rights and immigrants’ rights

Evangelist Patricia Wright of Charleston held a sign that read “quality education is a right, not a privilege.”

Many children of color often do not have the same educational resources as white children, Wright said.

This story was originally published September 12, 2016 at 4:08 PM with the headline "SC clergy push moral agenda — raise wages, expand Medicaid."