We need a moral movement to revive the heart of American democracy

Latest

Moral Monday protest in North Carolina. Moral Monday is a grassroots movement against the immoral social cuts and discriminatory actions by the state legislature. PHOTO/KEN FAGER

 
Editor’s note: Below we print excerpts from a column by Rev. William Barber, the leader of North Carolina’s Moral Monday Movement and the author of a new book, “The Third Reconstruction.”
On election night I felt a great sadness for America. While we face a dire situation, this is not new.
We faced it during Reconstruction, amid the wreckage of the Civil War.
The experiment of the First Reconstruction faced powerful and immoral opposition. Former Confederates organized the Ku Klux Klan. They said “we came to redeem America.” They used moral messages for immoral activity. By the turn of the century, all the gains had been overturned.
This same pattern repeated itself during America’s Second Reconstruction — the Civil Rights movement.
Inside this long, sad tale lies a road map for today. I believe we are witnessing the birth pangs of a Third Reconstruction.
But just as there’s been a Moral Movement in every era to raise dissent against extremism, we’ve seen in North Carolina what a 21st century Moral Fusion Movement can look like.
What have we learned?
First, we must build a movement from the bottom up. Helicopter leadership by so-called national leaders will not sustain a moral movement. The nation never changes from Washington, D.C. down. It changes from Selma up, from Birmingham up, from Greensboro up.
Secondly, we need to use moral language, like the devotees of the First and Second Reconstructions. A moral movement claims higher ground than a partisan debate. We have to begin to re-frame the conversation.
There would have been no abolition movement without William Lloyd Garrison and other people of deep faith. Without strong voices from the social gospel movement, there may have never been a New Deal. There would have been no Civil Rights Movement without the moral framework. There would not have been a critique on poverty and unchecked capitalism, labor rights, health care, criminal justice reform, climate change, and raising the minimum wage, without a moral premise underneath it.
Finally, we must insist on connecting economic issues with our racial history. Yes, Trump appealed to real economic fears among working people, blowing the dog whistles of race to divide poor and working people. Any resistance to Trump that doesn’t address his divide-and-conquer tactics cannot offer a real political alternative.
We need a moral movement to revive the heart of American democracy and build a Third Reconstruction for our time.

+ Articles by this author

Free to republish but please credit the People's Tribune. Visit us at www.peoplestribune.org, email peoplestribune@gmail.com, or call 773-486-3551.

The People’s Tribune brings you articles written by individuals or organizations, along with our own reporting. Bylined articles reflect the views of the authors. Unsigned articles reflect the views of the editorial board. Please credit the source when sharing: ©2024 peoplestribune.org. Please donate to help us keep bringing you voices of the movement. Click here. We’re all volunteer, no paid staff.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Featured

ICE Terror Campaign Threatens Us All

Several recent Facebook reels show how ICE is ramping up its campaign of terror against immigrants, citizens and protestors alike as the effort to create a police state continues and resistance grows. One creator speaks to the significance of Haitians now being targeted.

Medicaid Defenders in Wheelchairs Arrested Ahead of Senate Budget Vote

Over 60 people, including grandmas in wheelchairs, were arrested in the U.S. Senate Rotunda in a nonviolent protest against cuts like Medicaid and the SNAP food program in Trump’s “Big Beautiful Budget Bill.”

Zohran Mamdani Delivers Stunning Blow to ‘Billionaire-Backed Status Quo’ in NYC

New York City proved that a movement powered by hope, courage, and working class people can beat the money of billionaires.

The American People Want Peace, Not War!

The US's immoral and illegal attack on Iran threatens the whole world with war. The American people have a special responsibility to come out into the streets and rein in the US government, which has become a rogue state.

Juneteenth 2025: ‘We Have to Win this Fight,’ Hannah-Jones Tells Black Graduates

Journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones addressed Black graduates at Harvard University, telling them that "we are about to see unleashed upon us an America that we have not had to live in. And we have to win this battle."

More from the People's Tribune