A social justice movement started by Rev. William Barber kicked off 40 days of action this week, and activists in Greensboro got a pep talk from the man himself Friday, along with some high-profile friends.
Barber was originally supposed to appear in person, but after getting stuck in traffic on a return trip from Washington, D.C., he rallied the troops via speakerphone instead.
His message: in the coming weeks, his Poor People's Campaign will be taking direct action to fight poverty, voter suppression, equal pay for women, and more.
The meeting also included several other religious leaders from around the community, along with a national figure.
The keynote remarks came from Rabbi Rick Jacobs, the President of the Union for Reform Judaism, which represents nearly two million people.
Jacobs says his organization has been agitating for issues similar to the Poor People's Campaign for a long time, and at the end of the day he sees the partnership with Barber as a natural fit.
“These are things that we, as a Reform Jewish movement, have fought for decades, but now, it's even more essential,” Jacobs said. “With Rev. Barber and the whole coalition of the faithful, we actually have the strength to make an impact.”
Jacobs also acknowledged the history hanging over this campaign. Fifty years ago, Martin Luther King, Jr. had organized a Poor People's March with many of the same intentions as Barber's project. King's march largely disbanded after his assassination.
“History is informing our work, and so is the notion that faith wasn't just given to humanity to come to houses of worship and to pray,” Jacobs says. “If faith matters, and it does, it's got to actually go out into the world and shape a more just and compassionate world.”
The Poor People's Campaign is the latest project of Barber, the former head of the North Carolina NAACP and founder of the “Moral Monday” marches in Raleigh.