ATLANTA - Chase Oliver will join the homeless and disabled, along with activists who serve them, in the Walk in Their Shoes march on Saturday, Sept. 30 in Columbia.
“As an advocate for direct aid in our communities, and someone who believes in keeping government in check,” says Oliver, 38, Rolling Stone’s “Most Influential Libertarian” and Libertarian presidential hopeful. “I join with the Columbia community and others who are disgusted when they see city codes and ordinances that attempt to stop good samaritans from helping those who need it the most.”
Oliver will join activist Ericka Brown, Be Kind Be Great, and You Are the Power in this march that will demonstrate how long it takes to walk and use wheelchairs to get to the only meal location. Columbia City Council has created a central location for the unhoused to get a meal, Christ Central, however, this location is not easily accessible for many. The unhoused and disabled also say they have been attacked at that meal location. The march will begin at Memorial Park, where many of the unhoused find shelter, especially after Finley Park is now a construction zone.
The city of Columbia spends $30 million approximately a year for homeless services to handle a problem that they've just made worse.
Meanwhile, for substantially less money, Brown better serves the needy. How? She asks them what would help, then she does that through the nonprofit she founded. According to their website (bkbg.org) “Be Kind Be Great provides hot meals and growth opportunities to the less fortunate in Columbia and surrounding areas.”
Brown is known as “The Fish Lady” for the monthly fish frys she sponsors for the charity. She continued to serve meals despite threats from Columbia police in May of 2023 for serving meals on public property, according to a report by TheState.com.
You Are The Power is a nonprofit founded by Spike Cohen, a South Carolina resident and 2020 Libertarian candidate for vice president. Its mission is to spread and act on the principle of human respect by creating a network of activists.
LOCAL ACTIVISM
WALK A MILE IN THEIR SHOES
Sponsors: Be Kind, Be Great; You Are the Power
Memorial Park, Columbia, SC
Saturday, Sept. 30 at 10:00 a.m.
Highlights of the campaign so far:
Oliver became the first third-party presidential candidate to speak at the Iowa Political Soapbox, where he appeared on Aug. 19 at the Iowa State Fair.
Oliver spoke at two panel discussions at FreedomFest in Memphis.
As Georgia’s first openly gay Senate candidate, he spent June marching and meeting with many people at Pride events in Chicago, Atlanta, and Kansas City.
Between those appearances, he joined the fight to stop the divisive and unpopular Cop City project in his hometown of Atlanta.
Oliver’s national attention grew following his debate with incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock and an empty podium set aside for opponent Herschel Walker. Oliver garnered over 80,000 votes and forced a runoff between the Republican and Democratic candidates.
Broadcast coverage includes PBS, CNN, Fox Business, and CSPAN. Print coverage includes The New York Times, The Washington Post, Des Moines Register, Bloomberg, and Rolling Stone, which labels him the “Most Influential Libertarian.”
Oliver is available for media interviews, including for university journalism and communications students.
To learn more about Chase Oliver, visit votechaseoliver.com.
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