Real Talk in ATL

Rev. Barber is one of the most vital spokesman for The Democracy (to borrow a 19th C. phrase). His down home voice, though, has been slightly diminished lately. His attempt to go big, turning from a politics rooted in his home-state of North Carolina to a national Poor People’s Campaign, hasn’t got much traction. (Though it’s possible that Campaign helped push provisions in the Covid Relief bill that “will cut child poverty in half.”) Barber’s orating and organizing have seemed out of balance. Messages to grassroots may be cheapened by an itineracy that undercuts on the ground prep work and follow-up with “local people” who are the key to serious politics. There’s a danger of becoming a show horse rather than a work horse, to evoke a contrast that once troubled Jesse Jackson. It’s been daunting, on that score, to see Barber sharing platforms with Cornel West. Not that Barber is about to join the blowhards’ club. Nor is he a goodie. His righteousness isn’t rote (yet). He’s still capable of wonder at the undeniable history of human solidarity. Watch (below) how he’s motivated by the fact of Frederick Douglass’s 1871 refusal of anti-Asian bigotry. Once the record speaks, his own tongue lifts the small crowd he’s addressing until he surprises them (and maybe himself) with a final felt gesture that goes beyond words. B.D.

Fed Up and Fired Up: William Barber’s Latest Acts of Witness

Rev. Barber got hot during his Martin Luther King Day address at Tennessee State University. About 19 minutes into his sermon, he ripped Vice President Pence for equating King’s agenda with Trump’s and called out G.O.P. politicians, including Tennessee’s governor, Bill Lee, who was sitting directly behind him. Barber took off his coat then, signifying he was warmed up. A couple minutes later, he amped up his truth attacks again. (Click on 28:40 below if your time is tight.)

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Bench Press (A Protest Against One of Trump’s Worst Judicial Nominees)

Rev. Barber submitted the following letter to the Senate in opposition to the re-nomination of Thomas Farr to the Federal Judiciary. His words are suffused with felt knowledge of the past: “I have spent my whole life in North Carolina, and I know this nominee. I know what he’s done, what he stands for and just how detrimental he will be to the people of North Carolina and this nation if confirmed.” But he doesn’t ask the Senate to take his word for it. He provides facts and links that make his case undeniable.

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Get Up!

Rev. Barber is a born preacher but he’s a master of other forms of rhetoric too. After you get your lift here, try his letter to Senator Grassley above.