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R.I. rally honors fighter for justice
By
Bill Bateman
Providence, R.I.
Published Jan 9, 2010 8:16 AM
Sixty Rhode Islanders turned out at the State House to show their support for
Henry Shelton, the 79-year-old founder and leader of The George Wiley Center
who has been hospitalized with a stroke. Shelton created the organization in
1981 but has been fighting for economic justice for 50 years, marching in the
1960s with Dr. Martin Luther King and Cesar Chavez.
In October Henry had received the John Brown Award from the RI Peoples Assembly
for his tireless work for economic justice.
Shelton and the Wiley Center have put their main focus on winning a law
governing utilities that will prevent shutoffs for people with low incomes. The
Wiley Center demands that low-income households have their utility costs capped
at 8 percent of their income.
Wiley Center volunteers say that utility companies shut off more than 30,000
gas and electric customers last year and another 5,000 could lose service this
winter.
The George Wiley Center has also embraced the call of the RI Unemployed Council
for a Works Progress Administration-style jobs program and is calling for a
pilot program to be undertaken in Rhode Island immediately.
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