What Will You Do With the Breath You Have Left?

‘Silence is Not an Option’

Rev William Barber is co-chair of the revived Poor People’s campaign, a national movement to challenge inequality in all its forms through moral protest and policy change. 

“When politicians and priests bless policies that hurt the poor,” Barber said, “that’s when the prophets have to rise.” For Barber, this is the prophet’s role: to expose, to indict and to force a moral reckoning in the public square. 

‘What will you do with the breath you have left?’

Breath was a gift and a responsibility. “We’re not gonna sit here and let healthcare die,” he said. “We’re not gonna sit here and let living wages die. We’re not gonna sit here and let democracy die. It’s time to live. It’s time to stand. It’s time to speak. To protest. To live justice.”

“If a group of politicians were going to crucify voting rights and crucify healthcare, then every crucifixion needs a witness.”