Words & Songs From North Carolina 's Moral Monday Movement

Edited by Azizi Powell

"Moral Monday" is the name of a broad, multi-racial coalition of organizations and individuals that since April 2013 have been protesting the agenda of the Republican led General Assembly of North Carolina. Persons supporting this movement convene on Mondays at the North Carolina General Assembly to protest Repubican policies on social programs, education, criminal justice and taxes. To date, more than 300 people have been arrested for unlawful assembly during these protests.

This post presents my transcriptions of three excerpts of Moral Monday speeches that were made by the head of that coalition, Rev. Dr. William Barber,II. Rev. Dr. Barber is also the head of the North Carolina NAACP.

These speech excerpts are found in a video that was published on YouTube on May 24, 2013. That video is also included in that post.

In my opinion, these speech excerpts-and particularly the last one-should be considered in the same category of great civil rights speeches as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's "I Have A Dream Speech".

This post also includes my transcription of a song which is partially sung three times during that same video. I think that song is entitled "Walking On In Love".

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The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, and inspirational purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Disclaimer: Although I fully support the goals of this movement, I'm not directly involved in the Moral Monday Movement. I'm transcribing these excerpts on my own, with no coordination from or prior knowledge of that movement.

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SHOWCASE VIDEO:

Crowds Grow and Arrests Continue at NC General Assembly | Moral Monday 4th Wave



William J. Barber, II, Published on May 24, 2013

May 20th, 2013 - In this 4th week of public protests on what has come to be known as "Moral Mondays", 57 are arrested and larger crowds gather at the North Carolina General Assembly to voice their opposition to regressive legislation.

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WORDS FROM THE NORTH CAROLINA MORAL MONDAY MOVEMENT
The titles of these excerpts were given by me. The time stamps given in parenthesis indicate when these excerpts were said on the video which is embedded above.

Each of these excerpts were part of speeches [spoken word/exhortations] that were made by Rev. Dr. William Barber,II, Head of North Carolina's NAACP. Transcription by Azizi Powell from the video. Additions & corrections are welcome.

Here's biographical information about Rev. Dr. William Barber from http://www.law.unc.edu/documents/poverty/conference/speaker_bios_summit.pdf [retrieved 6/4/2013]
"Rev. Dr. William Barber is president of the North Carolina chapter of the NAACP. He serves as pastor of Greenleaf Christian Church Disciples of Christ in Goldsboro, a 120-year-old congregation with over 400 members and 30 active ministries. He is chairperson of the Rebuilding Broken Places Community Development Corporation, a non-profit organization involved with building affordable single family homes and senior citizen housing and providing job training, affordable child care, and inner city revitalization in Goldsboro.

Barber has held adjunct faculty positions at both Duke University and North Carolina Central University, and is the author of the book Preaching Through Unexpected Pain. He graduated cum laude with a B.A. in Public Administration from NC Central University, earned his Master of Divinity from the Duke Divinity School, and his doctoral degree from Drew University in Madison, NJ. He has served as executive director for the NC Human Relations Commission, appointed by Governor James B. Hunt, and is a noted advocate for social justice issues in North Carolina."
-snip-
Rev. Dr. Barber is a tall, middle aged Black man who In this video he wears a black clerical robe with a red stole, each side of which has an embroidery of a white intricate cross inside a golden crown.

RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW (.011-.022)
[Rev. Dr. William Barber,II, May 20, 2013 outside the building of the North Carolina General Assembly; The crowd's words are given in parenthesis]

It feels like a movement.
(It feels like a movement)
Right here in North Carolina
(Right here in North Carolina)
Right here
(Right here)
Right now
(Right now)
Right here
( Right here)
Right now
(Right now)
Right here
( Right here)
Right now
(Right now)

*The video started with the second line. This first line is what I presume was said.

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FORWARD TOGETHER (.023-1:04)
[Speaker - Rev. Dr. Barber; Place: indoor auditorium or room, no date not indicated]

"Love and justice has never lost.
It might get crucified.
[a crowd of mostly White people of various ages makes affirmative responses such as “That’s right.” and “Yes”]
It might get beat down.
But at the end of the day
When the game is over,
And the dust settles,
Justice and love always win.
[crowds clap and cheers]
So get your head up.
It’s time to walk. It’s time to march. It’s time to say
FORWARD TOGETHER
(crowd responds: Forward Together!)
Not one step back.
(Not one step back.)
FORWARD TOGETHER
(Forward Together!)
Not
one
step
back.
(Not one step back.)
AAAAH!"

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IT'S TIME TO WAKE UP! (7:05 -8:46)
[Speaker - Rev. Dr: Barber; Place & date same as above.]

"They are making it harder for poor and working people and those who get sick to get health care.
They are making it harder for children to get an education.
They are making it harder for the incarcerated to be redeemed.
They are making it harder for people to vote.
And then they are tryin to make it easier for the wealthy to get wealthier,
for the sick to get sicker, for the private schools to flourish, and to implement a flawed death penalty.
And they are tryin to make it easier to get guns.
This is cruel.
[One male voice from the audience - "Yeah!"
It’s unusual.
[Same voice - "Yeah!"
It’s mean.
[Same voice - "Yeah!"
It’s extreme.
[A number of voices - "Yeah!", "That's right."
And it’s a denial of equal protection under the law.
[Audience applauds with some affirmations.]
And it’s time for all North Carolinians to wake up. Whether you’re red, black, yellow, or white,
it’s time to WAKE UP!
[Audience begins cheering]
WAKE UP!
WAKE UP!
WAKE UP!
WAKE UP!
WAKE UP!
[The audience begins a call & response chant:
1st group begins -Wake up! (clap clap)
2nd group responds “Wake up!” (clap clap)
Reverend - Wake up!
Audience: Wake up (clap clap)
Wake up (clap clap)
One person (Reverend?) says Wake up!
Wake up (clap clap)
Wake up (clap clap)

People*, the matter is that they are driving us down a road backwards
with old South politics.
These are the George Wallace type of interposition and nullification in the 21st century.
We are in the fight now because this is no game.
Real people’s lives will be affected.
Don’t make this about Black or White. This is about right and wrong.
So If you thought that you had a fight a month ago , you ain’t seen nothing yet. "
[Audience cheers.]

*I'm unsure of this transcription. Reverend Dr. Barber may have said "The truth of the matter is..."

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SONG FROM THE NORTH CAROLINA MORAL MONDAY MOVEMENT

WALKING ON IN LOVE
[Two African American women sing portions of this song three times during the video embedded above.

Transcription by Azizi Powell from the video. Additions & corrections are welcome.]

(1:07 -1:22)

I’m gonna hold my head up.
Walking on in love
My mind is made up
I’m on my way up
First singer -I gonna hold
Second singer overlaps first singer with the words - head up
Both -Walking on in love

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(3:52-4:22)

Walking on in love
My mind is made up
I’m on my way up
I gonna hold my head up
Walking on in love
my mind is made up
I said I’m on my way up
I gonna hold my head up
Walking on in love

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(8:49-to end of the video)
We’re gonna hold our heads up
Walking on in love
-snip-
I've not found any information about this song online. If you know something about this song & the name of its composer/s and its singers, please add a comment to this post.

RELATED VIDEOS
[Updated July 9, 2013]

Example #1: "Change is Coming!" | June 17th Moral Monday Protest



William J. Barber, II, Published on Jun 19, 2013

June 17th, 2013 - In this 7th Wave of Moral Monday Protests, thousands gather and 84 people are arrested for speaking out against regressive legislation at the North Carolina General Assembly.
-snip-
Here's a summary of a no longer available video about the Moral Monday Movement:
151 People Arrested at NAACP Protest Against North Carolina GOP Policies!!

posted by TheDiseasedManiac, Published on Jun 4, 2013

RALEIGH, N.C. — A growing group of protesters converged on the state legislature Monday, in what some are calling "Mega Moral Monday," to protest the agenda of the Republican-led General Assembly.

It was the fifth and largest demonstration planned by the state chapter of the NAACP and other civil rights groups to protest GOP policies on social programs, education, criminal justice and taxes.

Police estimated that roughly 1,000 people attended a rally late Monday afternoon behind the Legislative Building on Halifax Mall. Hundreds then entered the building. Upwards of 150 people were arrested outside the doors to the state Senate chambers, where demonstrators chanted, sang and delivered speeches decrying what they called a regressive agenda that neglects the poor.

Activist groups estimated the crowd at about 1,600.

The NAACP has been holding weekly protests in Raleigh since mid-April, and what started with 17 arrests and tens of supporters back then has grown every week, bringing the total number of arrests to nearly 300 after five weeks of protests.

"The people are awake now, and we have decided to stand up," state NAACP chapter president Rev. William Barber told the crowd Monday. "We are a movement. This is not a moment."

Groups ranging from abortion-rights supporters to environmentalists and public educators have joined the rallies, which have attracted people from Greensboro to Rocky Mount.

Protesters have been seeking to call attention to the rightward shift of the state legislature, which was dominated for decades by moderate Democrats.

Thus far, Republican lawmakers say those groups have a right to protest but are not swaying lawmakers.

"We are keeping our promises to voters, and that is what we are doing," said state Sen. Thom Goolsby, a Republican from Wilmington. "The Democrats totally bankrupted our state and we were trying to fix it."
-snip-
It's interesting to see protesters including African American Spirituals as part of their protest repertory -along with call & response chants & unison chants. In one brief portion of this video, the protestors can be heard singing the Spiritual", "This Little Light Of Mine".

Adapted spirituals were an integral part of the civil rights movement of the mid 1960s, but, according to my recollection, the use of Spirituals in protests in the United States was discontinued after that.

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Example #2: Forward Together



Mary Ray WorleyPublished on Jun 5, 2013

Dedicated to the Moral Mondays protesters in
Raleigh, North Carolina
With love and solidarity from the Madison Song Circle
and the Solidarity Sing Along, Madison, Wisconsin

chorus:
Forward together!
Forward together!
Forward together!
Not one step back! (x2)

Those who went before us
Fought and died for our civil rights.
We're not gonna let 'em go,
Not without a fight!

Those who went before us
Thought voting was a civil right.
We're not gonna let it go,
Not without a fight!

Those who went before us
Thought education was a human right.
We're not gonna let it go,
Not without a fight.

Those who went before us
Thought clean water was a human right.
We're not gonna let it go,
Not without a fight!

NEW VERSE (June 14, 2013):
Those who went before us
Thought choice was a woman's right
We're not gonna let it go,
Not without a fight!

~Mary Ray Worley ©2013

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RELATED LINK
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/06/04/1213181/-Black-Kos-Tuesday-s-Chile
Mega Moral Monday—the "Forward Together" movement grows.
Commentary by Black Kos Editor Denise Oliver-Velez.

Hat tip to Denise Oliver-Velez & her post for alerting me to the Moral Monday Movement.

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Thanks to all who are involved in tne North Carolina Moral Monday Movement. Thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.

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