Purpose Social justice Region United States | Location St. Louis, Missouri Executive Director Jeff Ordower | |
Organizers Arielle Klagsbrun, Derek Laney, Julia Ho, Molly Gott, Zach Chasnoff Affiliations New Economy Coalition
Rising Tide North America
Organization for Black Struggle
Hands Up United | ||
Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment (MORE) is an nonprofit, nonpartisan and social justice activist organization based in St. Louis, Missouri focused on improving economic equality for citizens of Missouri. The organization partners with a number of activist networks in the United States including New Economy Coalition, Rising Tide North America, and others.
Contents
Fed Up, 2014
In November 2014, MORE was involved in the "Fed Up" campaign composed of 20 community and labor groups who met with Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen to present proposals related to extending central bank stimulus and increasing public input on monetary policy.
United Nations Committee Against Torture statement with parents of Michael Brown, 2014
On November 12, 2014, Michael Brown's parents submitted a prepared statement with Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment, Hands Up United and the Organization for Black Struggle to the United Nations Committee Against Torture stating that their son's death and the "excessive force by police officers on peaceful protesters" in Ferguson in the weeks that followed violated the principles of the U.N. convention entitled Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. The statement made several requests of the United Nations including: recommending the immediate arrest of police officer Darren Wilson, the resignation of Police Chief Thomas Jackson, and granting amnesty to protesters arrested during related demonstrations. It also urged that the Ferguson Police Department be held responsible for "systematically targeting and harassing residents of color in a predatory and degrading manner".
Controversy
In May of 2015, MORE was accused of paying protestors $5,000 a month to demonstrate during the Ferguson unrest. Hired protestors with the Black Lives Matter movement started a #CutTheCheck hashtag and held a sit-in. George Soros gave $33 million to Open Society Foundation a nonprofit that funds MORE.