Barber, the N.C. NAACP president and organizer of Moral Monday legislative protests, visited the Observer's editorial board on Monday. He said blacks, whites and Latinos could come together to transform Southern politics. He called it "the embryonic stages of a third Reconstruction," following Reconstruction after the Civil War and the civil rights movement of the 1950s and '60s.
"The electorate that elected President Obama and pushed Southern states out of the so-called white Solid South was a sign of the birthing of the possibility of a third Reconstruction, which is why we believe there has been such an intensity on denying and suppressing the right to vote," Barber said.
He added:
"I say that we have the potential in the South right now -- we know that if ... registered black voters connect with progressive whites and Latinos, you could transform fundamentally the South. That the old Southern Solid South has a lot of cracks in it and that I believe a morally, constitutionally based fusion movement that stays its course has the potential to assist this birthing of a third Reconstruction. And I believe that is why extremists are not waiting like they did from 1868 to 1896 and from 1954 to 1968, but they are attacking it right now because they see it.
"They are reacting to a future they cannot stop and I believe that the South is once again going to transform the nation."
We suppose it's possible. But it would certainly take a while. Republicans' grip on power in North Carolina has never been stronger, and voters made it even tighter in elections just three months ago. North Carolina has gone from red to purple in recent years, but purple to blue?
Barber is leading a "mass mobilization" in Raleigh this Saturday as part of his "Forward Together Moral Movement." He wouldn't speculate on how many people would show up. He did make clear that he and the grassroots network he has built have no intention of going away anytime soon.
-- Taylor Batten
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15 comments:
Mr.Barber,
This is 2015, not 1868, the same 1868 that saw your Democrat Party recognize the KKK Grand Wizard at their convention that year.
What people in the South and other parts of the country are tired of is the same, lame, failed garbage the NAACP has been spewing for decades.
My suggestion for you is to read the Moynihan Report - again - or for the first time if you've never read it.
Also, take a look at the last election map from 2012 and tell us how much red you see.
What that map doesn't tell are the vast numbers of Democrats who are running away from Obama and his failed policies.
Here's the link to the map:
http://www.wrywingpolitics.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/2012-Election-May-By-County1.png
What Reverend Barber should concentrate on is the crumbling Black family structure & the resulting lack of education amoung young Black males.
Mr. Barber, like Mr. Obama, is in denial and totally failed to understand the mid-term election.
Visited....., I bet he has an office and a parking spot at the observer.
keep spreading the message of victim-hood instead of self-responsibility. That's what the "progressives" want.
taylor..how much of this white guilt trash do you actually suffer from? I hope you're just doing this piece at the bidding of your masters.
Mr. Barber is right and some of the comments made only illustrate the point he is making about a South in denial.
The GOP does see that its majority voter coalition is crumbling and quickly becoming a minority coalition. That is their primary motivation for passing voter suppression laws, favored redistricting, and running an overall campaign of lies and distortions to offset the facts.
There is no denial about the mid-term results. Democrats lost because they ran poor campaigns that generated little interest from the base. A prime example was the campaign ran by Kay Hagan. She unwisely distanced herself from the President. Mr. Obama ran two competitive races in NC and that base and his popularity with that base is still intact.
She should had concentrated on GOTV instead of trying to appeal to citizens like Wiley Coyote or Larry Bumwhatever who would never vote for her. Mr Obama would have helped her GOTV efforts with her base. Being Democrat-lite does not motivate your voting base.
But back to the main point, rapidly changing Southern demographics are turning red states into pink or grey ones. That change can be slowed but not stopped.
A smarter GOP would improve its policies to better serve an expanding electorate instead of its working to restrict the number of its non-supporters that can vote.
Bussta,
Perhaps you should get a history lesson along with Mr. Barber and take a look at the link to the map I posted from the 2012 election.
"These comments" you say "illustrate" points being made by Barber?
The only "points" being made are rebuttals of the same garbage that the NAACP has been spewing for decades and his (and your) failure to understand history.
Regarding your analysis of the Democrat Party and bad campaign management and fracturing of some Democrat coalitions, the same can be said for Republicans with the Tea Party and the mainstream of the party. There is no difference on what goes on in either party.
I'm an Independent and wouldn't be caught dead subscribing to either party platform.
What Mr. Barber and others conveniently forget is if not for Republicans, the Voting Rights Act would have never passed nor the Civil Rights Act.
There is no voter suppression. The only suppression is by the Democrat Party telling their minions how stupid they are and they need to rely on Uncle Government for everything in their lives, including how to think.
Have you received your new card since Democrats changed their name to the Gruber Party?
North Carolina 2012 Congressional Vote
2,220,272 votes for Democrats
2,144,103 votes for Republicans
What's that again, Mr. Coyote ?
Native,
I suggest you hone up on your reading comprehension skills. I said nothing about the North Carolina Congressional vote, so go back, read what I said related to Barber's rant about Republicans in the South.
Again, here is the NATIONAL 2012 map by county:
http://www.wrywingpolitics.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/2012-Election-May-By-County1.png
What's that again Native?
Wiley, when you wrote, "There is no voter suppression" what little credibility you had evaporated…completely.
And also having experienced history instead of simply reading about, I understand it quite well.
Bussta,
There is NO voter suppression.
Virtually every aspect of life in this country requires an ID; to drive, to enter many government buildings, to buy property, etc. so again requiring an ID to prove you are eligible to vote is no different.
And why is it that only Democrats have a problem with getting an ID and can't seem find their way to get one?
You didn't experience the history of 1868 when the Grand Wizard of the KKK spoke at the Democrat Convention that year.
I doubt you've experienced anymore "history" than I have and if so, not by much.
I'll pull out my drivers license if you'll pull out yours and we can compare age.
Oh wait, maybe you don't have an ID.
Cunning and sly, I see you're still trying to live up to your name,Wiley. You know as well as the next non-naive person that requiring an ID was not intended to reduce voter fraud, but instituted by the GOP to reduce voter participation. It was intended to hassle, disenfranchise, frustrate, and discourage voters who mostly likely would vote for Democrats.
It was just one of many strategies used by the GOP to SUPPRESS THE VOTE. Imagine that. In a country where folks have fought hard for the right to vote, there are some who would make it hard for them to vote.
Sell that voters did not get to vote due to having restrictions down the road we are not buying it here.
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-11-11/no-voting-laws-didnt-doom-democrats
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