Author: Jessica Gregory

A March for Medicaid drew hundreds to the Capitol Sunday, protesting against health and social inequalities.

Led by The Wisconsin Poor People's Campaign, Black Umbrella Global and Disability Pride Madison, demonstrators marched from the Capitol over to the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce office to protest corporate successes during COVID-19 that derive from privatized healthcare.

Speakers at the march relayed stories about their own personal struggles to access affordable healthcare coverage, reports Channel 3000. Wisconsin is one of seven states this week holding protests to call legislators to expand Medicaid, maintaining that healthcare is a human right. 

These demonstrators and activist groups are the beginning of the Nonviolent Medicaid Army, modeled after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's vision in 1967.

Their Facebook event Madison March for Medicaid/We Get Sick, They Get Rich references Wisconsinites' severe impacts from COVID-19 and the disproportionate effects on the state's BIPOC and low-income individuals. 

“While we march against the murders of Black lives, our caste-like healthcare, housing, education, and carceral systems kill countless Black lives daily,” the event description said.

Activists were reminded in the Facebook event that they must wear masks and social distance.