Powerhouse for Love

Credit: www.poorpeoplescampaign.org

Reverend Barber is a powerhouse for love and justice! His life’s mission is to change policy for the benefit of everyone, especially those who are poor, needy, and under-represented.

Barber does everything he can to lift people. He asks each of us to do our part to bring hope and help to the world.

Reverend Dr. William Barber ll grew up in North Carolina in a farming community. He has 500 years of ministry in his family. His father was a preacher at their local church; and taught Barber to work hard, study hard, and to help his neighbor. He was taught that there is no difference between the love of Jesus and justice.

Barber’s parents were teachers who advocated for everyone to have access to education. Barber’s mother is now in her 80s and retired from teaching for 53 years at the same school she went to as a child. Children of all races call her “mom.”

Barber tells a story of his grandmother that influences his life to this day. She would go out in the community on Saturday mornings. In her apron pockets she carried dust rags, anointing oil, and a bit of money.

When a neighbor fell on hard times, she would offer to clean their house. If they were sick, she would pray with them and anoint them with the oil. She gave them whatever she could. She called it “hoping” people.

In 1985 Barber received a bachelor’s degree in political science from North Carolina Central University, then a Master of Divinity from Duke University, and a Doctorate from Drew University with a concentration in Public Policy and Pastoral Care.

In 2023 Barber retired from Greenleaf Christian Church in Goldsboro, N.C., where he preached for 30 years. Barber accepted a teaching position at Yale Divinity School and will head the university’s new Center for Public Theology.

Barber wants to teach Jesus’ love and justice for all. He reminds us that the bible requires justice, mercy, to love one another, and to walk humbly before God.

In 1968 Martin Luther King Jr. started the Poor People’s Campaign which calls for a “revolution of values” in America. Barber knew that he had to continue the movement in King’s memory.

In 2015 Barber founded Repairers of the Breach, a movement to “uplift our deepest moral and constitutional values to redeem the heart and soul of our country.” The Poor People’s Campaign is a part of Repairers of the Breach.

Barber leads Poor People’s marches across the United States and includes people from all races, all religions, the non-religious, and the LGBTQ+ communities. Barber says when everyone comes together more effective change can be accomplished.

Repairers of the Breach tackles four main reasons for poverty which, according to Barber, are systemic racism, voter suppression, a war economy, and the false morality of Christian nationalism which is the belief that America is only a Christian nation.

 Barber says that Christian nationalism was used to justify slavery and the genocide of Native Americans. He adds that when someone is using Jesus’ teaching to foster racism, hatred, and violence against others, they are committing a form of heresy.

Barber and his wife have several daughters, one of whom holds a degree from Harvard in medicine. Barber does not talk about them very much because he wants to protect them from death threats he receives.

Threats do not scare Barber who believes God will protect him. Barber says that he would rather die fighting for justice then stand on the sidelines.

A bone disease affects many aspects of Barber’s life. When he was arrested during a Poor People ‘s Campaign march, being hand cuffed was a fall risk. He cannot stand for long periods of time. When Barber who walks with a cane has a flare-up, he experiences excruciating pain.

However, Barber will not stop until the job is done, until everyone enjoys equality. A riveting speaker, with a lifetime of passion for love and justice, he touches the hearts of people from all walks of life including those who can help and those who need help. He is calling for a moral agenda for our country.

The Repairers of the Breach’s Higher Ground Moral Declaration says the moral agenda includes “democracy and voting rights; poverty and economic justice; workers’ rights; education; healthcare; environmental justice; immigrant rights and challenging xenophobia; criminal justice; LGBTQ rights; and warmongering and the military.”

According to Barber’s moral agenda, “it is time to move beyond left and right, liberal and conservative, and uphold higher ground moral values!”

Credit: Pixabay

That is the Light winning! That is the Light shining through the darkness. That is the path to a new reality where there can be peace and justice for all, and everyone can soar to their highest potential.

That is the world in which I want to live!

What small step can you take to help create this new world?