Bishop William Barber II and political commentator Joy Reid discussed the intersection of Palm Sunday and the nation’s political climate at Howard University’s Cramton Auditorium.
“To call this Holy Week and to not be concerned with what’s going on is actually unholy,” Barber said on Palm Sunday during the morning event, “Important Conversations: The Spiritual and Ethical Dimensions of the Moment.”
Barber is a professor in the Practice of Public Theology and Public Policy as well as founding director of the Center for Public Theology and Public Policy at Yale Divinity School. Joy Reid is a New York Times bestselling author, a former MSNBC host and the current host of “The Joy Reid Show.” Howard students Jayda Gray and Obinna Oramalu joined the discussion, sponsored by Andrew Rankin Memorial Chapel.
Following the “No Kings” protests across the country Saturday afternoon, the guests explored the health of the United States and the implications of a king.
“It’s not just a crisis of democracy,” Barber said. “It’s a crisis of civilization.”
The conversation shifted to “Sinners,” the Warner Bros. film by Ryan Coogler that explores race, vampires and historical contexts in the Jim Crow-era South. Its narrative of a community trying to survive with an evil entity looming resonated with the speakers, aligning it with the current regime.
“How do you stop people from opening the door and letting the vampires in?” Reid asked. “When you open the door, that’s the end.”
“They can’t come in unless we invite them in,” Barber responded, emphasizing the control citizens have over their rights. “Now we have to think about what kind of fight we have to wage to get the sunlight back in.”
Barber also discussed people who told him their reasons for voting for President Donald Trump. They were not satisfied with the power structures, he said, and were willing to do anything for a change.
Reid pointed to the desire for the individuals in power to “loot the country,” before it all falls apart, before they no longer have the majority and must hand the nation back to the multiracial demographic.
The conversation closed with Barber encouraging the audience to look at elections differently.
“Some things are not about Democrat versus Republican or left versus right, but about right versus wrong,” he said. “We have to have a right versus wrong election. A movement of the people.”
Barber is participating with clergies in 12 states, including D.C., in a Moral Monday march near the White House in protest of the “unholy war” tomorrow, Holy Monday. Reid is returning to Howard on Thursday as a panelist for “Reporting While Black: Black Journalists Owning the Story and the Platform.”
Faith Harper covers culture, lifestyles and trends for HUNewsService.com.
