I received an email from Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II‘s office yesterday afternoon about the interfaith Moral Witness Wednesday protest rally in Washington DC. We arranged soon after for a video interview this morning.
Reverend Barber had an emergency this morning and could not do the Wirecast up-link broadcast but was kind enough to provide the interview on schedule from his automobile. He gave me a relatively long conversation, and I separated it into three manageable pieces. This one, the first explains the reason for the rally and what they intend to do in DC.
The rally was conceived by Rev. Barber and the Director of the Shalom Center Rabbi Arthur Waskow will highlight policies that have harmed women, immigrants, refugee children and the poor.
Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II: Moral Impeachment of Trump
Dr. Barber said rally leaders and attendees intend to “stand up to what we see as immoral activity breaking with both covenants, our constitution covenant and the covenant with our deepest religious values.” He went on to call out Jerry Falwell and Franklin Graham and others, “who have decided to hijack our religion and try to use it in a way that endorses President Trump and his administration.”
Barber points out that President Trump’s policies violate the core values of Jesus, which include taking care of the poor, the least among us, and the immigrant. He said that is the reason they’ve concluded that they must issue a prophetic indictment and a moral impeachment of the President.
Moral Witness Rally
WHO: Hundreds of clergy, faith leaders, denominational leaders, allies
WHAT: White House Protest Condemning Trump Administration’s Policies
WHERE: March from New York Avenue Presbyterian Church (1313 New York Ave NW Washington DC) to White House
WHEN: Wednesday, June 12, 2019; 10:30 AM march to the White House
In an online petition, leaders of diverse faiths and denominations declare, “As President Trump and his administration let the nation suffer, people of faith and good conscience must lead with a unified proactive and creative response that is not confined by ‘Right’ or ‘Left,’ Democrat or Republican, but is rooted in the clear moral Center of right and wrong. Clergy members and allies will call on the administration to repent for its sins. We, as a nation, have lost our way.”
In the petition, which has garnered nearly 5,000 signatures from Christians, Muslims, Jews and people of other faiths thus far, prominent faith leaders condemned policies propagated by the Trump Administration that “ignore the cries of poor and sick people, children, immigrants and refugees, women, and, even yet, the cries of the lands torn open and polluted.”
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