The Time is Now-Faith in Formation
Are you ready to be an agitator? Because it is time for a #moralrevival. Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, and a 2.0 rainbow coalition have done some amazing work in North Carolina. They have led marches and boycotts against injustice. Their victories are amazing — even to the point of defeating an incumbent governor, who preferred the unjust business as usual. North Carolina isn’t the first state to have embraced the philosophies of FORMER Gov. Pat McCrory and the republican majority state house. And, the loss of the NC governorship & a victorious challenge to the voting policies in the state were no small feats — which hasn’t made some people too happy.
Rev. Barber means what he says and has stepped down from the leadership of the North Carolina NAACP to restart this important work that was snuffed out before it could get started. The beginning of King’s Campaign was killed, literally, with his assassination 49 years ago. With daily stories of bigotry, human rights violations & even unatoned murders — reminiscent of the state of the union 50 years ago — this work won’t be easy, no doubt, but it won’t be stifled or lost in partisanship bickering (I pray).
While our cities, schools and other domains may be segregated, poverty isn’t. The increasing wealth-divide is gaining traction in the public conscious, thanks, in part, to the Bernie Sanders presidential bid. Combine that with the Occupy Movement and other social justice defenders, this could be something really big (bigger than bigly).
The North Carolina movement was successful because UNITY has been central to the recipe for justice. Common interests trumped the traditional divisions of politics, race and religion. And, it will be met with the same rhetoric & resistance as the first one, based upon this comment: “At hearing news that Barber will leave the NAACP to advance the Poor People’s Campaign, the chair of the state GOP told The News & Observer, “I think it would have helped him and his causes had he been more of a negotiator than an agitator.””
Rev. Barber isn’t taking this on alone. The formation of this Poor People’s Campaign has some other heavyweights on the team. He’s joining faith & justice allies, the Rev. Dr. James A. Forbes, the Rev. Dr. Traci Blackmon, and Sister Simone to reignite the multi-faith, multi-race, nonpartisan Moral Revival.
The movement is growing and will focus on 25 states/cities , including Washington DC. The voices of the poor will be heard with this movement.
Other organization who are engaging in faith & justice work:
African American Denominational House at Chautauqua Institution
The Black Church Center for Justice & Equality
Sojourners and their Summit for Change convenings
Folks are hard at work mobilizing Black leaders and getting support for Black-led Social Change in our communities.
Don’t lose heart — get involved. Faith Matters — and without works it’s dead. Time to get in formation and get to work!
From the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture.
