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“Remember who you are.”
An admonition to viewers, attendees, and America from the Reverend Dr. William Barber II’s keynote speech at the Martin Luther King Jr Day commemorative service in Atlanta, Ga.
The statuesque activist and preacher gave the advice to spur the confidence of those fighting for equality but discouraged by the events in our nation. Mainly, the re-election of Donald Trump as president.
In his speech, Barber referenced the Apostle Paul and his similar message to the Romans.
“It was in the first century, emperors were on the throne who were committed to turning things backwards. The people of God got weary. Some wanted to go back rather than press forward. The Apostle Paul himself got weary. Within his weary moments he decided to preach. To the Hebrews who considered turning back he said in the tenth chapter of Hebrews, let me remind you who and whose you are. “We are not of those who shrink back unto destruction, but we are those who persevere until the salvation of the soul’,” he said.
The Biblical passage referenced is poignantly titled ‘A Call to Persevere in Faith.’ Barber explained that we are living in the result of Dr. King’s perseverance. The generations that followed the civil rights leader are experiencing better because he and his supporters fought discrimination, sabotage, and discord.
Albeit, the work is not done.
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Barber echoed Dr. King’s messages noting the present injustices we’re still facing. Addressing the nation’s “schizophrenic” state, he challenged the country to live up to its ideals. “The Lady Liberty statue stands in the harbor beckoning the tide and the hub of masses longing to be free, but at the same time people who say they love freedom are talking about mass deportation. The truth is, the rules they are talking about using, if they were used 100 years ago, their own grandmothers wouldn’t have gotten in the country,” he stated.
The speaker also took time to address poverty and hunger gaps. Issues that travel across color, location, and citizenship status lines. “Here we are talking about saving Tik Tok and we haven’t saved the 140 million poor folk in this country, yet,” Barber said. “When it comes to poverty, if you can’t pay your light bill, we’re all black in the dark. If your children don’t have anything to eat, their stomachs don’t growl black or white they growl hungry.”
On the eve of his death, King said, “Right now when you’re at your most worried, nothing would be more tragic than for us to turn around at this point.” Barber used Dr. King’s last words to encourage faith of those listeners.
He closed his message by telling the 2,000 in-person guests and 140,000 streamers to “finish the work.” Raising the examples of the Appalachian Coal Miners, the Social Gospel Movement, Thurgood Marshall, Rosa Parks, and others as the blueprint, to keep fighting until things change. “This is not the time to turn around. We must refuse. We can see the glory when we go to work.”
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