William J. Barber II

Barber is president of Repairers of the Breach and co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. He is author of We Are Called to Be a Movement.

Recent Articles

The Hypocrisy of Opposing Student Loan Relief

Republicans’ knee-jerk opposition to debt forgiveness conflicts with Christian values.

By William J. Barber II and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove

Voting Rights Isn’t Just a Black Issue

Ahead of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, President Biden visited the grave of Dr. King in Atlanta and gave the angriest speech of his presidency, insisting that the Senate has a moral obligation to...

By William J. Barber II

What Low-Wage Workers Understand About the True Meaning of Christmas

The manger scenes that decorate homes and church yards this time of year remind us that first-century shepherds were the original witnesses to the good news of Jesus. The low-wage workers of their day, shepherds...

By William J. Barber II

Democrats Must Pass Voting Rights Protections, But They Can't Codify a Lie

Back from their summer recess, Senate Democrats announced last week that they have united behind the “Freedom to Vote” Act, a compromise bill that would expand and protect the right to vote in important ways....

By William J. Barber II

William Barber and Bernice King: We Must Reclaim Voting Rights as a Moral Issue

We are in a battle for the ballot. When Democrats flipped both U.S. Senate seats in Georgia during a run-off election in January, Republicans in the statehouse responded by moving to pass an omnibus voter...

By Bernice A. King and William J. Barber II

The Fight for $15 Is Our Selma 

After the public lynching of George Floyd last summer, his cry of “I can’t breathe” galvanized a movement for Black lives that won majority support among Americans. Floyd wasn’t the only one gasping for breath....

By William J. Barber II

'We Must Have a Third Reconstruction.' Read the Full Text of the Rev. William J. Barber II's Sermon at the Inaugural Prayer Service

The Rev. William J. Barber II delivered the homily at the inaugural prayer service at Washington National Cathedral on Thursday, January 21. His sermon is below.Lord, please help, hold and harness us for Your purposes...

By William J. Barber II

COVID Deaths Surge Under 'Pro-Life' Leaders

As the coronavirus surges across the U.S., states across the South and West have reported sharp increases in their daily number of new cases. While the initial outbreaks in New York and Seattle reflected where...

By William J. Barber II and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove

The Evil Tucked Into the $2 Trillion Coronavirus Stimulus Bill

On Friday President Trump signed a third bill to address the COVID-19 crisis. The largest relief package in U.S. history, this $2 trillion bill provides direct cash payments to tens of millions of Americans, immediate...

By William J. Barber II and Liz Theoharis

Rev. Barber: How We Can Address Racial Inequalities in Handling Drug Addiction

Drug overdoses kill more than 64,000 people per year, and are now the leading cause of death for Americans under 50. To document the nation’s devastating opioid crisis, TIME sent photographer James Nachtwey and deputy...

By William J. Barber II

President Trump’s New Judicial Nominee Is ‘Moral Poison’

Picking a civil rights opponent while blocking two qualified African-American women

By William J. Barber II

Why We March 49 Years After Dr. King Was Assassinated

Fifty years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King called for a “revolution of values” in America, inviting people who had been divided to stand together against the “triplets of evil” — militarism, racism and economic injustice....

By William J. Barber II

The Boogeyman of Voter Fraud Does Not Exist

'Raising the issue at the end of a losing campaign is a cynical attempt to manipulate fear'

By William J. Barber II

More Than Half of Black and Latino Workers Are Paid Less Than $15 an Hour

Economic injustice is linked to America’s sins of racism

By William J. Barber II
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