[vimeo 160296205 w=500 h=281]
Rev. William Barber, best known for leading North Carolina's Moral Monday movement, is launching a 15-state tour of the country, called "The Revival: Time for a Moral Revolution of Values." Denise Oliver Velez, writing at Daily Kos, in "Call for a Moral Revolution of Values," explains:
Rev. William Barber II, Rev. Dr. James A. Forbes, Jr, Rev. Traci Blackmon, and Sister Simone Campbell are spearheading the tour, which, on the first leg will engage people in 15 states, including North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, Texas, Oklahoma, and Washington, D.C.
Barber hopes to change what people think of as morality in politics, to include love and mercy. He is asking faith leaders to join him and let this be a catalyst for renewed political activism.
The Institute for Southern Studies publication, Facing South, quotes Rev. Barber in "Moral Monday leader launches 15-state tour calling for more love in politics":
"Way too much of our national discourse has been poisoned by hateful language and policies," Barber said in announcing the tour. "The extremists see nothing wrong with insulting the poor, the sick, our children, immigrants, communities of color, voting rights, women, LGBTQ people, the environment and religious minorities with their language and their policies. True faith and true evangelicalism place love, justice, and compassion at the center of our public life."
Each stop on the tour will include "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."
This is a video of the Sunday, April 3 tour launch at The Riverside Church in New York City: