Rev Dr William Barber, one of the most prominent civil rights leaders in the US, is trading his pastor’s smock and clerical collar for a professorial role at Yale University. On 17th January, Barber will commence his new mission – training the next generation of "moral fusion leaders" at the Center for Public Theology and Public Policy at the university’s divinity school. As a man who has always set himself gargantuan goals, Barber’s vision for the center includes eradicating US poverty, ending environmental destruction, combating racism and placing moral purpose back at the center of public life. The idea behind the Center is to connect moral values present in both the scriptures and the constitution, with young leaders’ actions in public service. Scholars will come from disciplines including economics, history, social policy, health, civil rights law, and Biblicists and theologians.

The Yale Center will build on the foundations Barber has already established in his activism, spanning more than a decade. In 2016, he made a speech to the DNC which triggered a standing ovation, having raised issues of inequality with Democratic presidential candidates in 2019. He has been arrested multiple times for protests supporting voting rights and ending the US Senate filibuster. Working alongside The Guardian, Barber has also protested for environmental justice in cancer alley, Louisiana, a place where industrial pollution causes sickness and suffering.

Barber intends to utilise what he has learned over his years of exposing social injustice, to inculcate it into young leaders of tomorrow. He wants to teach them not just to have a career, but to make a difference, by guiding them towards their deepest moral principles. Amongst the subjects the Center intends to address, are environmental destruction, racial injustice and poverty eradication.

Barber considers the establishment of the Center to be a baton pass, where leaders teach and inform the next generation, in a continuous cycle of positive growth and change. He compares this to the Torah’s story of Moses who passed the leadership to Joshua, stating, "I don’t believe leaders should just lead, lead, lead and then die and leave all of it in their head, or get despondent and not want to teach because they’re so frustrated, or get killed. Let’s be honest, many of our moral leaders have been killed. I don’t believe Moses has to die for Joshua to rise – you know, that’s a bad model."

Barber views Martin Luther King’s legacy as being incomplete and misunderstood. He is aware that King is celebrated yet forgotten by the US establishment, cutting off his legacy in 1968 and silencing his call for change. Barber wants to recommit to King’s vision and ensure that it lives on. With his background in theology and civil rights activism, Barber is a significant influence in young leaders’ shaping, bringing hope that the seeds they plant will lead to a more just society.

Barber became impassioned, his speech soaring, a hallmark of his oratory style. He expressed sadness at the number of people who attend King events with the aim of commemorating rather than re-engaging. Barber reminded the audience that Martin Luther King Jr. did not leave them, he was murdered. He felt the greatest fear of the southern aristocracy was the poor masses coming together, regardless of race, and far too few people heard that message. It was as if civil rights had become a stagnant museum, but what they needed was an active movement. Furthermore, the only way to honor the prophets was to pick up their baton and continue their journey.

As the new year commences, Barber prepares to continue leading the Poor People’s Campaign with co-chair Liz Theoharis. Expect to see him at the forefront of protest marches and getting arrested by police in 2023. When asked about the main civil rights challenges in the upcoming year, Barber emphasizes that many reforms from King’s 1963 March on Washington remain unresolved, such as living wages, healthcare, and fully protecting voter rights. He also has some strong words for the two main political parties.

Barber perceives Republicans as extremists who want to regress, block women’s rights, and destroy voting rights, treating individuals like things and corporations like people. Meanwhile, Democrats have accomplished good things, such as the American Rescue Plan, but must not rest on their laurels. His message to them is simple; there are currently 140 million poor people in America, and there’s still an extensive amount of work to do.

Listening to Barber can be overwhelming due to the size of the challenge he is calling on everyone to confront. However, Barber appears undeterred. He admitted to having rough days where frustration gets the best of him, but he remains optimistic because of the people he meets. He encounters poor white people in West Virginia, farmers in Kentucky, and fast-food workers in North Carolina who say they won’t be silent anymore. He even met with Black women in Alabama who give him hope.

michaellang

Michael Lang is a 33-year-old professor and blogger who is passionate about writing. He has been blogging for over 7 years and has written for various online publications. Michael is also a seasoned professor who has taught at the college level for over a decade. He is currently a professor of English at a community college in the Midwest.