A Q&A with Rev. William Barber of the Poor People's Campaign

[BeckyDem]

by Rebekah Hall
October 15, 2018


The Arkansas Times spoke with the Rev. Dr. William Barber II, co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign and newly awarded MacArthur Genius grant fellow, ahead of the Poor People’s Campaign hearing in Little Rock that will take place at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 15, at the Rufus K. Young Christian Church at 100 Main St. Clarke Tucker, Josh Mahoney, Sen. Joyce Elliott and Rep. Vivian Flowers will also be in attendance.

Congratulations on receiving the MacArthur Genius grant. You were arrested amid an act of civil disobedience when you heard about the award. Will you be using your grant money to spread your street-level activism across the country?

Well, that’s the purpose of the grant, it is to empower the person who receives it to continue the work they’ve been doing. … When they give it, they’re clear that the only thing they want you to do is they give the grant on your ability to expand the work. So that’s actually a part of the reason why the gift was given. It’s not only given based on your past laurels, it’s given based on awarding to you on the potential to continue to work you’ve been doing to benefit society.

[When] I got arrested, I was in police custody in Chicago, having gotten arrested in front of McDonald’s standing with fast food workers and janitors and health care workers because 64 million people in this country make less than a living wage. There’s not one county in the United States today where people making minimum wage can afford a basic two-bedroom apartment. So, I was standing with [them] and others because the Poor People’s Campaign has been very clear that we can no longer have a conversation that only talks about the middle class. We have to deal with more areas: systemic racism, poverty, ecological devastation and the war economy. And we cannot continue to have a society where the 400 top taxpayers make an average of $97,000 an hour and lock people up who simply want $15 and a union. CEOs are making 300 times — some are making 400 times — more than their workers, and yet they refuse to pay people a living wage.



https://m.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2018/10/15/a-qanda-with-rev-william-barber-of-the-poor-peoples-campaign

[violetpastille]

1. We are all in this together

"… What we’re saying in the PPC is there are 5 interlocking injustices.

No. 1 systemic racism as seen through voter suppression, racialized incarceration, and attacks on the immigrant community.

No. 2, systemic poverty.

No. 3, ecological devastation and health care.

No. 4, the war economy, and

No. 5, what we call the false moral narrative of so-called Christians and religious nationalism that tries to suggest that the only thing Christians or religious people should be concerned about is being against gay people and abortion, but they have nothing to say about a living wage and healthcare. "

[BeckyDem]

2. +1 We are.