Rev. Barber to W.V. senators: “Care for the poor… Stop filling the pockets of the wealthy”
"The truth in America is we have been walking in this political sin for far too long. There’s too much dirt on us. It’s time to wash it away, and the washing should start right here in West Virginia."
By DOUGLAS J HARDING
Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II and members of the West Virginia Poor People’s Campaign called Thursday upon West Virginia Sens. Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito to fight for legislation protecting and expanding the rights of the masses of poor and working class people across the state.
“Jesus’s last sermon said that every nation will be judged by how it cares for the poor, the hungry, the immigrant, the sick [and] the least of these, and [Jesus] was crucified as a rabble-rouser who loved to be among the poor,” Rev. Barber said Thursday at a rally in Charleston. “We come here today to say that every person in power—and your two senators—need now to heed the word and the examples [and] the morality of God and care for the poor and the low-wealth of the state and the nation, and stop crucifying and undermining policies that will lift everybody. Stop filling the pockets of the corporations and the wealthy so they can walk around with more money than they ever need, and start washing the feet of the poor and low-wealth by passing policies that push back greed and instead promote grace, love and justice to meet the needs of all God’s children.”
Rev. Barber said lawmakers from states like West Virginia with large classes of working poor people should be the fiercest fighters for popular progressive policies such as a $15 minimum wage, universal health care, expanded voting rights and abolishing the Senate filibuster.
“West Virginia ought to be the last place that has senators protecting the filibuster. This ought to be the last place that has senators who are blocking the immediate passing of a $15-minimum wage. This ought to be the last state where senators are standing against and slowing down voter protections,” Rev. Barber said. “And the only way any senator or politician can do these things in West Virginia is because they must have stopped listening to and caring for and washing the feet of the massive number of poor and low-wealth people, and instead they care more about filling the pockets of the few with more money—That’s the only way.”
Rev. Barber, speaking to attendees and live-stream viewers at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Charleston, took a moment to remind W.V. lawmakers and global listeners of the constant crises affecting many of the state’s most vulnerable communities.
“In West Virginia, 42 percent of the people here are poor and low-income—that’s 757,000 people,” Rev. Barber said. “In West Virginia, from 1979 to 2012, the income of the top one percent grew by 61 percent, but the income for the bottom 99 percent went down. In West Virginia, 53,000 veterans have incomes less than $35,000-a-year. In West Virginia, over 133,000 people are uninsured. In West Virginia, 46.9 percent of the census tracts are at-risk for being unable to afford water. In West Virginia […] they’re trying to roll back the automatic registration law. Right here in West Virginia, over 1,300 people are homeless. In West Virginia, in 2017, it would take 66 hours of work per week just to [afford] a basic two-bedroom apartment. In West Virginia, over 350,000 workers make less than $15-[an-hour]—That’s 50 percent of the workforce. In West Virginia, over 320,000 people need SNAP or food stamps.”
Again directly addressing Sens. Manchin and Moore Capito, Rev. Barber said lawmakers from the state should be fighting for substantially more direct help—not less—for its most vulnerable constituents. He said throughout history, the filibuster has served primarily to stand in the way of making real progress in the lives of those people.
“The [filibuster has been used] not just to stop Civil Rights—not just to stop things that impact Black people—the filibuster has been used through history to block the people and shut the people up […] The filibuster is ultimately about shutting people up,” he said. “So West Virginia—and a senator from West Virginia—ought to be the last ones holding onto a filibuster, ought to be the last ones using something like a filibuster that has been the tool of racism and classism and elitism, ought to be the last ones trying to block people from getting $15 [an-hour] and a union immediately. West Virginia ought to be the last state—instead, the senators from here ought to be fighting against the filibuster, [and] they ought to be fighting for voter protections. They ought to be fighting to expand more than $15 on the minimum wage. West Virginia’s senators ought to be saying, ‘$15 is not enough!’ West Virginia’s senators ought to be fighting for an infrastructure bill that targets the poor and low-wealth first.”
He said that while Civil Rights legislation has been “the most familiar target” of the filibuster in the past, it also has been used to combat legislation related to women’s voting rights, labor rights and various consumer protection and welfare initiatives.
“The filibuster keeps the Senate from having deliberative conversation in front of everybody—debate where everybody can see it—and it’s been used to block judicial nominations, to block unemployment benefits, to block national economic emergency benefits, to block environmental protection, to block laws that disclose political [campaign] contributions and dark money; it’s been used to block Civil Rights and block labor rights and block health care,” Rev. Barber said. “We come here today saying it’s time to wash away this injustice. It’s time to wash away the filibuster. It’s time to wash away greed. It’s time to wash away the denial of health care. It’s time to wash away the denial of a living wage. It’s time to wash away voter suppression. The truth in America is we have been walking in this political sin for far too long. There’s too much dirt on us. It’s time to wash it away, and the washing should start right here in West Virginia.”
Listen to highlights from Rev. Barber’s Thursday remarks in Charleston here:
View the full West Virginia Poor People’s Campaign live stream of the event—featuring several additional speakers—here: https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=872568640270170&ref=watch_permalink
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