Rev. William J. Barber II: 'If you don’t change the narrative, you cannot change the agenda.'

By Barbara Kuhn and Shenay Nolan
The kick-off for Moral Mondays in Memphis brought a diverse crowd to the sanctuary of Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church to hear the Rev. William J. Barber II, who initiated the Moral Mondays movement while president of the North Carolina NAACP.

Rev. William J. Barber II speaks at the first Moral Mondays
event in Memphis, held at Mississippi Boulevard Christian
Church on Oct. 16. He called for the audience to join his
New Poor People's Campaign.

The Moral Mondays campaign is part of the New Poor People’s Campaign, which is being organized nationally by Repairers of the Breach, of which Barber is president and a senior lecturer.

Moral Mondays began in Barber's home state of North Carolina, but now are held in several cities across the country. The purpose of the gatherings, which sometimes take the form of protest marches, is to develop solutions for social justice issues that affect the community. In Memphis, Moral Mondays are part of the events marking the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.