There have been a flurry of stories trying to interpret the impact of Moral Monday protests and several have implied that they are a tool of the Democratic Party. That’s incorrect. The Moral Monday movement is an issue-based campaign that has roots going back several years and led by a man, Rev. William Barber, who cares far less about political parties than he does about political action.
To fully appreciate Moral Mondays, you need to understand Barber. Barber is an activist. He may also be a showman, but he uses theatrics as a means to an ends and not an end in itself.
Barber has been around politics for years. He’s usually supported progressive Democratic candidates but not always.
In 2002, before he was head of the NAACP, Barber supported Dan Blue’s candidacy for the open U.S. Senate seat. The Democratic establishment, both here and in Washington, got behind the self-funding Erskine Bowles. Barber felt that the establishment walked away from the former house speaker, in part, because he was black. Bowles handily won the primary, which was held in September, and Barber cut radio ads supporting Elizabeth Dole. For Barber, Blue’s candidacy and his ads were about shaking up the status quo and forcing Democrats to take African-Americans seriously instead of just depending on them for their votes.
It’s a theme that flows through his career. He became head of the NAACP by unseating Skip Alston of Greensboro. Barber believed the civil rights organization had become complacent and ineffective. He ran on a platform of returning it to its activists roots.
When he won, he did just that. He launched the Historic of Thousands on Jones Street (HKonJ) rallies shortly after he took over the NAACP. The goal was to promote a 14-point progressive political agenda that the Democrats, who were in power, were largely ignoring. The rallies began small and have grown every year since. The Moral Monday movement is an outgrowth of those rallies.
Barber certainly wants to see the current crop of legislators defeated but, ultimately, he wants to see his agenda enacted. Getting rid the Republican leaders in Raleigh is just part of the process. If somehow, the GOP loses control of the legislature this year, next year, he’ll be protesting Democrats if they oppose his plan.
And that’s the difference between Barber and elected politicians. Barber has a long-term view. He believes that the issues he’s promoting are part of the long arc of history that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said bends toward justice. Unlike politicians, he’s not constrained by an election cycle and he won’t be limited by the success or failure of one political party or the other.
Moral Mondays are not a tool of the Democratic Party. They are part of the long-term strategy of William Barber. Barber and the party may share goals today, but if Democrats ever gain power, they will almost certainly diverge. The Democratic Party is, or should be, primarily concerned with electing political leaders. William Barber is focused on changing society. The two are rarely the same.
Right now, the Democratic Party may be without a leader, but it’s certainly not William Barber.
Thomas Mills is the founder and publisher of PoliticsNC.com. Before beginning PoliticsNC, Thomas spent twenty years as a political and public affairs consultant. Learn more >
Thomas, you are correct in stating that the underpinnings of the “Moral Monday” are the 14 point agenda that has been the foundation of HKoJ since its inception in 2007. Like many citizens, elected officials and affiliated groups, I have generally supported the agenda and marched at every HKoJ since the beginning. We (NCDP) have consistently supported the movement and advocated the notion that the anger generated through “Moral Mondays” must translate into action at the polls. Here is the 14 point agenda: http://www.hkonj.com/14_point_agenda
If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck and looks like a duck…the chances are IT’S A DUCK! This is one of the most hollow articles I’ve read about this movement yet. Where’s the beef?
Thomas Mills gratuitous and snarky comment about no leadership in Democratic Party matters since he is and was an upfront member of the “malignant caucus” which set out in 2012 under Parker, and have successfully split off the main body of the party from the old Hunt/Marshall/Crone/Wood contingent which through massive personal attacks on Voller deliberately kept donations from the Party through 2013 – they are the ones who splintered the party membership. So Mills, cry me a river. You and your rump party destructive friends did this with your own ignorance and spite. Proud of your work – thought you would be – you have no sense of shame or liability! Hey clown, screw up your courage, if you have any, and go talk to Voller and other party leaders, and I do not refer to that malignant, malevolent rump caucus dedicated to the destruction of the NCDP via your theme of “dont give to the party, give to the candidate”. Take responsibility for your own idiocy and malice.
Moral Mondays are not a tool of the Democratic Party, but the Democratic Party endorsed and supported the Moral Monday movement with a formal Resolution of support from its early days. The state and county parties organized buses and carpools to attend and bring national press attention to the success of the rallies.
Randy Voller, Chairman of the North Carolina Democratic Party, attended every week, and offered moral and material support to the movement.
Moral Mondays express the platform and belief of Democrats that the people of North Carolina deplore the ending of unemployment insurance, the gutting of education and environmental regulation and protections. The Democratic Party agrees with Barber that it is a real crime that Medicaid expansion and the support of the markets of the Affordable Care Act were denied to the citizens of North Carolina.
True, but the Forward Together Movement would continue to be successful with or without the endorsement of the NCDP, the very fact that there have been Moral Mondays in other states is certainly proof of that. There are also many other groups in North Carolina that have offered buses, carpools, material and money support as well, including Planned Parenthood, NCAE, and LWV. Reverend Barber’s message is that these issues are neither Democratic nor Republican, they are moral issues, a perfect example, a young mother making minimum wage, unable to afford health insurance, in the gap because NC won’t take med. expansion, and diagnosed with cervical cancer, how can our state support that?
Being a movement progressive (or regressive in the case of the NCGOP) vs. being a party apparatchik
The party as a means to an end vs. the party being an end unto itself.
This divide is nothing new.
I would add to Valeria’s list above that when in power NC “Democrats” didn’t even see fit to repeal to ridiculous and unconstitutional crimes against nature law — even after Lawrence v. Texas. Now in the minority, the remaining elected Democrats can’t fall over themselves enough to be pro-LGBT or pro-progressive on a host of issues — now that they can’t be held accountable for it.
Cry me a river, remaining elected Democrats. Enjoy your time in the wilderness and the minority. You earned it well.
As a life-long registered Democrat who has not always seen eye to eye with the Democrats who were in office, particularly the anti-union Democrats, the anti-minimum-wage Democrats, and the teachers-are-working-for-pin-money-they-don’t-need-real-salaries Democrats, I’ve witnessed the Party make some serious changes over the decades–just not always in the right direction. There has been a tremendous amount of infighting, and sometimes it appeared to come as a surprise–even after all the years–that the Republican party had gained strength and moved from a blustery force to a Cat 5 storm just waiting to come to power in Raleigh.
Okay, now they’re in power, and the fractured forces of the NC Democratic Party are not coalescing to pinpoint the things that North Carolinians care about enough to get exercised about them–but Dr. William Barber is doing just that. If Dr. Barber can get people to forget their single issue or put it on their back burner for now in favor of working with others in numbers to fight for justice–racial justice, class justice, education justice, health care justice, environmental justice, justice before the law, and every other kind of justice you can think of–and he is doing just that, then one wonders how long the Democratic Party would have continued to infight, support last century’s ideals, and generally cheat the people of North Carolina of being all they could be.
I pray that the Moral Movement will shake up both the Democrats and the Republicans in this state to take back the state from the forces that want to rape and pillage it for its resources and “cheap” labor and that we can get back on the track to progress before it’s too late.
“from the forces that want to rape and pillage it for its resources and “cheap” labor and that we can get back on the track to progress before it’s too late.”
Was that before, or after, the military coup to install Jim Crow laws, ushering in 100 years of virtually uninterrupted Dem rule?
Was that before, or after, the deforestation of the state for pine tar? And before or after the “cheap labor” of slaves, oppressed blacks, and the massive number of low-wage people who worked our farms, forests and factories during that 100 years?
I mean, until a few years ago, who ran this state, lock stock and barrel?
Seriously, I am amazed when any NC Dem dares bring up history. To believe that any return to that track is completely delusional, demonic or at least trusting that people like me never studied history.
Delusional comment. The democrats during the Jim Crow era are now republicans. You, like the republican base, overall, embrace yesteryear as the reality of today. One can attend any GOP rally, convention, town hall etc. and 90% of those in attendance are white. It reminds people who make up the republican base. Contrast that to Rev. Barber and the Moral Mondays……there is a visual display of the coalition of all ethnic groups protesting together for fairness, equality and against failed republican policies. Art Pope runs NC politics and that mirrors Cheney calling the shots while “W” was POTUS…..it is representative of the non informed voters embracing ignorance, vague and secretive policies that the GOP fail or refuse to acknowledge or express. Folk like you and your ilk seem to get energized over fantasy rather than reality because the former requires no thinking or cognitive rationality…..it is easy and lacks intelligent curiosity. Dumb is easy, smart and real life intelligence requires effort
“The democrats during the Jim Crow era are now republicans.”
No they are all dead. And the vast majority died diehard Dems. Talk about “delusional.” Hell, with something called “google” you can soon get a list of old Jim Crow people, segregationists, and see for yourself!
If a conservative is speaking a conservative is lying.
Tom:
The NCDP does have a leader – his name is Randy Voller. He was elected as Chair in Feb 2013 – perhaps you forgot that. Or were pulling for the other guys.
And the job of the Democratic Party is not just to elect Democrats. That’s what professional political operatives (and wanna-bees) seem to forget. What’s the point of electing Democrats to office if they won’t work to turn the party platform into public policy?
I’ve been a part of HKonJ since the beginning with the Wake County Progressive Democrats, and the PDNC as well as many progressive members of the Democratic Party from all over the state. We wonder why the Democrats who were leaders in the House and Senate when we had majority control were so hostile to things like collective bargaining, reforming the state workers health plan, pollution (those coal ashe piles didn’t just appear overnight once McCrory won in 2012), etc.
Chris, did you even read the article? The entire point was that Barber is not the head of the Democratic party de facto or otherwise. The rest of your points aren’t even relevant to the piece.
Relevant to the piece? Wasn’t relevant at all, much like the State Democratic Party.
Yes Matt I did read the article. I addressed two points made in the article. Thomas wrote that NCDP didn’t have a leader when clearly we do. Then he wrote that the only thing the party is supposed to do is elect Dems to public office. I disagreed with that last one and gave my reason why. The officers and delegates of the NCDP get to decide what our purpose is, and we’ve decided that we have to stand for sone thing more than just electing people with “D”behind their names.
The Moral Monday movement is a great way to show that Dems need to stand for something other than just electing Dems so they can turn their donor agendas into public policy.
The GOP senate filibuster is your answer. The GOP thirst for power even in the minority have an impact on getting things done. When the US Senate requires 60 votes for everything, with blue dog dems within the ranks to get re-elected, the GOP minority stifles legislation that benefit the populace and moves the country in the direction of fairness, equality and common sense democratic governance. On the right, the CONS wallow in the notion that their narrow and failed economic model has problems, have never worked…yet they persist. Doing the same thing over and over while expecting a different result is simply defined as insanity!!!
Just want to make a correction that it was Skip Alston of Greensboro, not Austin.
Thanks.
Tom —
Once again, you and I agree. Which of course will probably cause you to lose face here or something.
Barber is NOT the head of the Dems in NC. Right now, he’s the head of a sizable, well-publicized faction that votes 99.999% Dem (the exception is if Cynthia McKinney is on the ballot). If the local Dem-owned media would stop covering them, chances are they’d wither away and die, kinda like what happened to the Occupy! people a few years ago.
As I see the Dems in NC, they are split more badly than the Dems allege the GOP is split (TEA party, etc).
You have the Bill Barbor branch, composed of a combination of NAACP, Occupy leftovers, etc. Then you have the “damned yankee” faction, who read the NYTimes and WaPost and make sure that both are well informed of whatever NC is doing that they don’t like. Last, you also have those stodgy “conservative” (by Dem standards) traditional southern Dems, who don’t much like those first two groups much.
Granted, such a division is not unheard-of. It rather is the norm. Will Rogers pointed that out 80 years ago or so. And one of my first political memories is of my (Dem) father’s rants about the 1968 convention, and the coverage of the Occupy! protesters of that generation. (Yes, they were anti-war and not anti-Wall Street, but that hardly matters, both groups “got off” on protesting and getting cops involved.) It is why watching a Dem convention is a ton more entertaining than the boring, tied-down GOP conventions.
Your comment is baffling. Given the turn back to the days of Southern bigotry, privilege etc., supporting an unknown political strategy that has failed repeatedly makes absolutely no sense…..unless that antiquated viewpoint rewards you at the expense of those more deserving. One thing that those on the right must understand is this….going back is never the way forward!!!
“One thing that those on the right must understand is this….going back is never the way forward!!!”
Well, “FORWARD” was hardly a good thing either in the past 5 years. Just because you CHANGE doesn’t mean you didn’t make it WORSE. Which is something those on the Left should understand, even after their faddish fascination of their cause du jour wanes.