From Repairers of the Breach (https://www.breachrepairers.org/):
You may have seen the video of me (Rev. Dr. William Barber) challenging Tennessee Governor Bill Lee to embrace a moral agenda on MLK Day. The press is saying that my speech “called out” Gov. Lee. This is not the entire truth.
The truth is, I was challenging us all. We cannot merely pay lip service to the legacy of Dr. King or, more importantly, religious and constitutional moral values. We must act to secure what is morally right. We must demand and support Medicaid expansion, living wages and safety net programs to uplift the poor. I was in Tennessee to stand with the state’s chapter of the Poor People’s Campaign—a movement crucial to a state where:
- 3 million people—of all colors, races, genders and sexualities—are poor or low-income
- 58 percent of all children are poor
- 51 percent of workers make less than a livable wage
- 140,000 people are uninsured
Tennessee is just one of many states in this country where these problems endure. And, while the 140 million poor suffer across our nation, we see people—in our churches, statehouses and on Capitol Hill—hijack Dr. King’s legacy, the Constitution and our moral and religious values to push an immoral agenda that suppresses our voters, restricts our healthcare, keeps the minimum wage down and calls for the funding of a racist border wall.
I am calling on our mass movement of all colors, creeds, races, classes and sexualities to challenge those who call for unity while punishing the poor through policy violence. Demand elected leaders in statehouses across the country enact policies to truly transform the lives of our poor and suffering: Sign the petition now at https://action.groundswell-mvmt.org/petitions/actions-not-words-stand-for-what-is-morally-right.
The pain millions of people face is not God-ordained. It is a man-made problem, caused by decades of leaders of all kinds—not just politicians like Governor Lee—who have created the conditions that have hurt the poor from inner city Nashville to the hills of South Dakota and to the shores of California.
My speech on Monday wasn’t about “calling out” Governor Lee. It was about the need for our moral fusion movement to challenge leaders in every statehouse across the country who preach hollow words then continue to oppress our poor and suffering. We must challenge these leaders whenever and wherever to let them know there is no escape from opposition to their greed, extremism and policy violence.
By signing our petition, you can directly challenge your state’s legislators TODAY. Sign our petition>>
There is no such thing as “asking too much.” There is no such thing as idealism in our politics. We must always stand for what’s right. And we must demand our leaders stand with us.
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