Watch live now: https://t.co/ibHavduBVx pic.twitter.com/8PZVJJjRhl
— Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II (@RevDrBarber) June 7, 2020
This is a sermon, perhaps the best I've heard in years (taking nothing away from the ministers at First UU). This is also ten minutes of sheer beauty from civil rights activist and author Valarie Kaur.
It is not, strictly speaking a promotional video for the Poor People's Campaign's National Call for Moral Revival, scheduled for 20 June, even though it appears on their Facebook page.
I wish I could find and embed my recent tweet in which I referred to PPC's Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, Jr., as the most important leader of our time. In the midst of all the voices crying for justice, Rev. Barber hasn't (yet) achieved the notoriety that MLK and Malcolm X did during their lives, and he may not have their rhetorical gifts, but he is carrying on Martin's work visibly and effectively.
Valarie Kaur reminds us that we are collectively grieving, and that grieving is a launching pad for revolution. It helps to know that, despite the possibility (or the inevitability) of peaceful revolution that should motivate me to purposeful action, I am still grieving. On top of that, there are so many things I could and should be doing, I don't really know where to begin.
There will be yet more grief even as we rise. There will be backlash, too much of it violent, as reactionary America grieves for what it perceives it is losing. But the work of this revolution must continue and draw new resolve from that grief.
As Arundathi Roy famously said, "Another world is not only possible; she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing." We are that new world, if we choose to be. We are George Floyd's breath.
It is not, strictly speaking a promotional video for the Poor People's Campaign's National Call for Moral Revival, scheduled for 20 June, even though it appears on their Facebook page.
I wish I could find and embed my recent tweet in which I referred to PPC's Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, Jr., as the most important leader of our time. In the midst of all the voices crying for justice, Rev. Barber hasn't (yet) achieved the notoriety that MLK and Malcolm X did during their lives, and he may not have their rhetorical gifts, but he is carrying on Martin's work visibly and effectively.
Valarie Kaur reminds us that we are collectively grieving, and that grieving is a launching pad for revolution. It helps to know that, despite the possibility (or the inevitability) of peaceful revolution that should motivate me to purposeful action, I am still grieving. On top of that, there are so many things I could and should be doing, I don't really know where to begin.
There will be yet more grief even as we rise. There will be backlash, too much of it violent, as reactionary America grieves for what it perceives it is losing. But the work of this revolution must continue and draw new resolve from that grief.
As Arundathi Roy famously said, "Another world is not only possible; she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing." We are that new world, if we choose to be. We are George Floyd's breath.
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