Release date: Sept. 2, 2005
Contact: Elaine Justice at 404-727-0643 or elaine.justice@emory.edu

America Seeing Face of Poverty, Says Emory's Franklin

Not since Bobby Kennedy toured the Mississippi Delta and came away a changed man has there been such a searing look at the nation's poverty, says Robert M. Franklin, presidential distinguished professor of social ethics at Emory University's Candler School of Theology.

"Bobby Kennedy worked through denial, anger and transformed it into righteous indignation," says Franklin. "Now the question is: Will this change our president? Will America see things it has overlooked, especially when it has learned to see but not apprehend the suffering of New Orleans' poor, the poor who have learned to party (Mardi Gras) and self-medicate through drugs or escapist pursuits?"

"Now is a moment for moral action," says Franklin, who says the steps needed are to rescue, relieve, then reform. Franklin also serves as president of the Regional Council of Churches in Atlanta, whose members are joining with representatives of the Department of Homeland Security and national charity organizations to mobilize the regional response.

"My sources indicate that religious leaders have not been permitted back into the central city where moral authority and voices of hope are desperately needed. The city's largest black mega-church pastor, Bishop Paul Morton, is on the outskirts of New Orleans trying to get back in," says Franklin "The mayor and workers need pastoral care. Their rage reflects that they're on the edge."

Reach Franklin at 404-723-8197 (cell) or rmfrank@emory.edu.

Emory University is known for its demanding academics, outstanding undergraduate college of arts and sciences, highly ranked professional schools and state-of-the-art research facilities. For nearly two decades Emory has been named one of the country's top 25 national universities by U.S. News & World Report. In addition to its nine schools, the university encompasses The Carter Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Emory Healthcare, the state's largest and most comprehensive health care system.

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