'The Poverty Tour 2.0' Hits the Road In Four Battleground States

Tavis Smiley and Cornel West kick off the tour in Ohio, September 12, coinciding with the release of a new U.S. Census Bureau report on poverty

WASHINGTON, Sept. 10, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Census Bureau is expected to announce this Wednesday, September 12, that America's poverty rate is the worst in 50 years. In light of the bureau's latest findings, broadcaster Tavis Smiley and Cornel West, professor of Philosophy and Christian Practice at Union Theological Seminary, kick off "The Poverty Tour 2.0: A Call to Conscience" in Cleveland, OH.

The co-hosts of the nationally syndicated public radio program Smiley & West, from Public Radio International (PRI), hit the road September 12-15 to host six town hall events that are FREE and open to the public.

"The Poverty Tour 2.0," sponsored in part by AARP Foundation and HuffPost Live, will visit the key battleground states of Ohio, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Florida. In addition, one town hall event will be held in the state of Delaware. Smiley and West intend to push the moderators of the upcoming presidential debates to ask the candidates about America's poverty problem, and to urge legislators to support public policy and implement programs that will alleviate poverty.