'Moral Revolution' tour kicks off in NYC by @BloggersRUs

'Moral Revolution' tour kicks off in NYC

by Tom Sullivan

When Rev. William J. Barber II spoke at Netroots-Detroit in 2014, no one left the hall. The man is riveting. All the more so because he is right—in the moral sense of the word. Barber, North Carolina's NAACP state chair and Moral Mondays organizer, is taking his moral message on the road. And with a little more fire under him after the state legislature passed on March 23 the now-infamous HB2 law targeting not just the LGBT community, but citizens' ability to sue employers over discrimination and cities' ability to pass their own anti-discrimination ordinances. He began a 15-state tour yesterday in New York City:

The leader of the “Moral Mondays” movement and a prominent New York minister are joining forces for a 15-state “moral revolution” tour to counter the nation’s conservative voices.

"Far too much of our national political discourse and activity has been poisoned by the dominance of regressive, immoral and hateful policies directed toward communities of color, the poor, the sick, our children, immigrants, women, voting rights, environment and religious minorities," said Barber, who founded the Moral Monday movement. "Our country is in need of a revolution of moral values to champion the sacred values of love, justice and mercy in the public square."

The Revival: Time for a Moral Revolution of Values aims to be a catalyst for renewed political activism among faith leaders. At each stop, Reverends Barber and Forbes will convene revival services with a twist. Each tour stop will feature a liturgy of musical arts reflective of our deepest moral traditions; testimonies from impacted people; and exhortations from Reverends Barber, Forbes, Blackmon and Sister Simone. The Revival will help bring an end to oppressive governmental policies that threaten public education, impoverish millions, block access to health care, and erect new barriers to voting and political participation, threatening the fabric of American democracy.

“We have seven new branches of the NAACP in Western North Carolina that are predominantly White, but we didn’t get there by going up there and talking about left and right — that language is too puny, we didn’t talk about Democrat vs. Republican — we talked about issues being Constitutionally consistent, morally defensible, and economically sane, and it has allowed us a new way of organizing that is really taking grip in our state.”