In this spell-binding video, borrowed from Fred Klonsky’s blog, the Reverend Dr. William Barber speaks at the AFT convention and describes the powerful Moral Mondays movement in North Carolina. This movement has a broad social and economic agenda, and it may well bring down the hard-hearted, mean-spirited governor and legislature of that state.
Do yourself a favor. Watch it. Take hope. What Dr. Barber describes is not a miracle. It is about what we can do when we stand together. Not as Republicans or Democrats. Not as conservatives or liberals. But as people joined in a moral cause, committed to bringing justice to our nation.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I did! My mother did! Spreading the word to my colleagues…
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BREAKING NEWS:
The AFT convention debate is totally rigged in favor of supporting Common Core.
Only pro-Common Core party liners are being allowed to speak.
Watch it live NOW:
http://www.aft.org/convention/live.cfm
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I don’t mean to be ignorant, but my questions about these conventions are:
Do politicians attend? Participate? Care?
All of the education unions can gather, sermon, complain, truth-tell, etc., but if it is just amongst themselves, does it really make a difference?
Preaching to the choir is the phrase that comes to mind.
Do these conventions matter to the people in control?
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Most union members pay no attention to the conventions.
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Yes politicians are invited & speak. So yes it matters a lot. When politicians have an audience of thousands, they care lots – & it’s those friendly to labor & those who we sometimes boo.
The union leadership
Is invited (with guests of course ) & it is up to them how to direct information from the convention to their membership.
Resolutions are passed that help causes.
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Is there a transcript to be read?
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No transcript would do this speech justice. You must watch so you can feel it.
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I have a tendency to dispel/distrust/degrade religious preaching so I am looking for a transcript so I can leave aside the “feel it” part.
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Duane, all preaching is religious in some way.
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Duane, do you prefer to look at a score rather than hear the music too?
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Reverend Barber has some powerful opponents 🙂
Here’s a piece about the influence of money in North Carolina politics and state government. It’s titled “State for Sale”, but it could have been written about a lot of states. This is ONE state senate race:
“Snow, whose defeat was first chronicled by the Institute for Southern Studies, a progressive nonprofit organization, told me, “It’s getting to the point where, in politics, money is the most important thing. They spent nearly a million dollars to win that seat. A lot of it was from corporations and outside groups related to Art Pope. He was their sugar daddy.”
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/10/10/111010fa_fact_mayer?currentPage=all
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Love him, so passionate and an excellent speaker. Watched it with a 15 year old, lots of great discussion.
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Thank you for sharing this video. It was truly inspirational.
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His work has gleaned a LOT of attention – and his work is spreading. One of the bright spots to what has been happening. DO pay attention. AND if possible, join in his movement. As mentioned in the blog, it is ALL people, not Democrats nor Republicans, rich or poor but people for a responsible government.
We are ALL Americans. We have different viewpoints, normal in a varied populace and form of government which we have but we should ALL care about basic human rights which we as Americans have been taught to value. AND history has shown us that we absolutely MUST fight for those rights. We talk a good talk about what our country stands for but history shows us that our ideals which we espouse differ from reality all too often. Over and over again, people have had to die for those rights, not on foreign battlefields but in our own country.
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Amen.
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I found Rev. Barber’s political address at the AFT’s convention problematic. It was an address more fitting for the Democratic convention. Teachers come from all political backgrounds and religious convictions. Rev. Barber was critical of all other political parties but he fail to criticize his own party; e.g., Arne Ducan, Gov. Cuomo… He didn’t criticize President Obama’s Unusual Education Roundtable.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/president-obamas-unusual-education-roundtable/2011/07/18/gIQAf3UJMI_blog.html
These Democrats are wrecking havoc on our educational system. No party is free from blame on the destruction of our educational system. This was an AFT convention and Rev. Barber’s “sermon” was posted on an educational blog. He should have kept his presentation focused on education- there are plenty of moral issues involved in education such as speaking out against some of CC’s recommended readings for sex education. It is not a time to attack other political parties or religious beliefs.
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