Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, from North Carolina spoke passionately Friday, June 13, 2014, during a noon time press conference held at the Milwaukee Branch NAACP office, on the importance for NAACP branches across the nation building coalitions.
Dubbed Moral Monday, this movement began in North Carolina as a protest and civil disobedience against the state legislature, which resulted in protestors being peacefully arrested.
Rev. Barber came to Milwaukee on June 13 by request of the Wisconsin NAACP State Conference of Branches. The Milwaukee Branch of the NAACP held the training along with a statewide progressive coalition of labor, social justice and community leaders.
As co-founder of the Moral Monday Movement, Rev. Barber was sought out because of the successes and their corresponding impact on social and political issues, which affect people of all races and economic strata. According to Rev. Barber, the Moral Monday movement, now in its seventh year, “didn’t just happen overnight.” But, because of the uniqueness of every NAACP branch, it’s not necessary to have a national person come in to lead local movements. “When I come in to train, I suggest some best practices. And like the prophets in the Bible, each one had a region in which they worked.”
“You cannot just have one coalition and focus on one issue; you need to have groups involved who support what you’re doing, even if you don’t always agree,” Rev. Barber emphasized.
Coalitions in Milwaukee is nothing new, but this idea of a Moral Monday and holding our elected officials accountable for what we elect them to do is a win – win for all people.
Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, from North Carolina spoke passionately Friday, June 13, 2014, during a noon time press conference held at the Milwaukee Branch NAACP office, on the importance for NAACP branches across the nation building coalitions.
