UPDATES

Forward Together Wisconsin:  A Moral Monday Movement
Saturday, June 14, 2014--Milwaukee WI.  Diverse organizations came together at the Milwaukee Area Labor Council for a Training and Brainstorming session led by Rev. William J. Barber.

---

Moral  Dissent is the Pathway to Higher Ground
 

Rev. William Barber visits Madison's Bethel Lutheran Church - March 13, 2014

Madison, WI—March 13, 2014.   Close to 700 Worker, Labor and
Civil Rights activists filed into Bethel  Lutheran Church in Madison, WI on
Thursday evening to hear an address by Rev.  Dr. William Barber II, President of
the North Carolina NAACP and co-leader of  the Moral Monday Movement.  In the
racially diverse audience of progressive activists were a number of members and 
officers of the NAACP of Wisconsin Conference of Branches, including Wisconsin
Conference President, Lillie Wilson and 1st Vice President, Wendell 
Harris.

As  co-leader of the multiracial,  multi-issue social justice
movement, Rev. Barber had been invited to share his  insights and experiences
gained through his involvement with the Moral Monday  Movement with the people
of Wisconsin.   Rev. Barber’s appearance in Madison was at the request of 
Patrick  Barrett of the Labor & Working Class Studies Project (LWCSP), who
along with  Madison labor attorney, Jonathan Rosenblum, led the effort to bring
Barber to  Madison.   Welcoming Rev. Barber to Madison
were, Professor Will
Jones, of the University of Wisconsin; Kevin Gundlach, President, South Central
Federation of Labor and Gwen Jones, Chair of the NAACP   of Dane County
Organizing Committee.

The  program began with an
enthusiastic group “sing along,” led by Madison’s Solidarity Singers, and joined
by the powerful voice of  singer, Yara Allen, who is often referred to as the
”Voice of Moral  Monday.” Rev. Barber’s address, “The People’s Moral Agenda:
Anti-Racism,  Anti-Poverty, Pro-Labor,” electrified the crowd while
simultaneously creating  the feel of a church revival as he delineated what is
moral, by positioning biblical tenets, against the social justice failures being
faced by citizens
throughout the nation. Issues such as voting, health
care, environment and education “are moral issues, faith issues,” Barber said.
Placing much of his presentation in the context of U.S. History, three distinct
periods  of“Reconstruction” were identified. First, 1868 immediately following
the Civil War; the second 1954-1968,  following Brown vs. the Board of 
Education and the third 2008, we are currently in the midst of, was  marked
by the successful candidacy and election of President Barack Obama.  As he
elaborated on each period, Rev.  Barber pointed out that the success of each was
due to a political “fusion”  coalition of diverse groups with differing
interests coming together, each  ultimately seeking justice, and their common
goal made progress possible.  Rev. Barber further stated that  “wherever there
is moral reconstruction, there will be immoral  deconstruction.”  He went on to 
state how historically, the “deconstructionists” attack voting rights,  
educational opportunity, labor rights, fair tax revenue and often assassinate 
white and black progressive leaders.  As he expanded  on creating a “fusion
coalition”, Rev. Barber cautioned the audience to “stop   seeing yourself thru
the eyes of our adversary. “ He explained that successful  relationships must be
transformative, not transactional, and that all   participants must believe in
the rights of all.