I put on my blue suit today to celebrate Roland Martin and the Black Star Network on the 7th anniversary of “Roland Martin Unfiltered.”

When he could have done almost anything in the media space, Roland chose to build a Black news network for us. He has used this space consistently to tell the truth, challenge anti-Blackness, and humanize all people in a time of meanness and lies. I’m glad to share our conversation about the importance of a free Black press with you here, and I encourage each of you to subscribe to the Black Star Network on Substack.

This coming week, I’m headed back to Yale Divinity School to preach in Marquand Chapel and begin a new semester of our Introduction to Public Theology and Public Policy course. If you missed it last year, NPR’s Jason DeRose visited class, talked with our team and some of our students, and produced a great 7-minute story. You can listen to it here.

I was glad to sit down with my friend Joy Reid, who has taught Sunday School in addition to being a great journalist. We talked about the role theology plays in our public life. I’m glad to share this conversation with you, and I look forward to joining Joy again soon to talk about the San Carlos Apache’s struggle for land and religious freedom that Jonathan wrote about earlier this week.

I was grateful for Dr. Wendell Anthony’s invitation to preach today at Fellowship Chapel in Detroit, Michigan. As so many in the world today wake up each morning to ask what new craziness has happened, I turned to a biblical text that has sustained generations before us times such as these. I’m glad to to be able to share this message with you, and I hope you will pass it on to someone you know who is asking how to stay sane in the midst of insanity.

I was glad to be in Cleveland, Ohio today to have a conversation with the City Club of Cleveland that I pray we can have in every city, town, and hamlet in this nation.

It was a conversation about who we as a nation aspire to be, what we’ve allowed ourselves to become, and what can lead us toward a Third Reconstruction - even in the face of an authoritarian regime.

It was about why we need to gather for a meeting in every one of our communities.

I wanted to share this with you in the hope that you can gather with others, have a meeting in the place you know and love, and plan a public action to cry out against injustice and build a moral fusion witness against authoritarianism where you are.

This evening we had a chance to connect with Texas Representatives Venton Jones and James Talarico, who were on the Texas House floor during a special session Governor Greg Abbot has called in Austin to try to force through a gerrymandered voting map that Republicans think could help them save control of the US House in the 2026 midterm elections.

We talked about why they left the state to break quorum, why they are back, and – most importantly – what all of us must do to fight for a democracy worth saving in this moment. We were also glad to have a chance to pray with them in the midst of this critical struggle.

Before church in Mississippi this morning, I talked with my friend Ali Velshi about Trump’s attempt to take over Washington DC and how it exposes the inhumanity of his authoritarian regime. I’m glad to share our conversation with you.

While Trump aims to project strength, his policies are in fact increasingly unpopular. Republicans in Congress have lined up to support his attacks on vulnerable people, voting to cut healthcare and nutrition assistance so they can give tax breaks to billionaires and increased funding for ICE to terrorize communities. But those same politicians don’t want to own these policies back home.

The people who are being hurt first and worst are demanding to be heard.

That’s why I’m in Mississippi as Moral Mondays challenge Senators who voted for the Big Deadly and Destructive Bill across the South tomorrow, August 18. You can learn more about Moral Mondays at breachrepairers.org/get-involved/events/moral-mondays-in-dc/

Jesus taught poor people and those who hungered for justice in ancient Palestine under Roman occupation that they were the light of the world. Even though they were persecuted by the ruling authorities, everyday people could shine the light of truth because they were children of the One who’d said, “Let there be light,” at the beginning of the world.

Fannie Lou Hamer said her favorite Gospel song was, “This Little Light of Mine, I’m Gonna Let It Shine.” She knew that taking a stand and putting some light on this world’s darkness was a way to find hope in the face of Jim Crow’s authoritarianism.

As I concluded my residency in public theology at First Baptist West in Charlotte, NC, today, I was glad to preach the text in Matthew’s gospel that inspired those first disciples, our foreparents like Ms. Hamer, and so many who’ve struggled for justice throughout history. I’m glad to be able to share it with you and hope you’ll pass it on to anyone who might need it.

Thanks for reading Our Moral Moment w/ Bishop William Barber & Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove! This post is public so feel free to share it.

The extreme agenda that Donald Trump is pushing in Washington would not be possible without Congressional Republicans who are willing to do Trump’s bidding against the interest of the people they represent. The Big Deadly & Destructive Bill that has funded ICE’s assault on immigrants and will soon cut healthcare and nutrition assistance for millions of Americans is incredibly unpopular. Cuts to foreign aid that have devastated American farms are not what the heartland wants.

But this is Project 2025’s agenda, which Trump agreed to implement so he could give his rich friends and benefactors massive tax breaks. While members of Congress are home for their August recess this month, we know exactly which ones have pledged their allegiance to this unpopular agenda. They are incredibly vulnerable politicians.

Trump knows this too. It’s why he called Gov. Greg Abbot of Texas to ask for new Congressional maps that could give Republicans five more seats in Texas. It’s why he unilaterally fantasized this week about declaring a new census.

Many people feel powerless as they watch the speed with which the Trump regime has been able to dismantle the infrastructure of our common life. But Trump is like any would-be dictator: he confesses his greatest fear every time he makes what he imagines to be a bold move. When he signals he’s willing to steal House seats, he’s telling us where he’s vulnerable - and where our power is.

This is why moral leaders across the South with lead delegations to local offices of members of Congress on August 18, lifting up the stories of people who may be killed by the policy violence their representatives voted for. Public health experts tell us that more than 51,000 people will die next year because of the cuts to healthcare in the Big Deadly & Destructive Bill. Our delegations will carry coffins to declare that we will not look away from this death. We stand with those condemned to die, and we will choose life.

We invite you to join a delegation in your state by registering with Repairers of the Breach for Moral Mondays.

You can also share this video of powerful moral voices who’ve been speaking up and taking direct action since Congressional leaders first introduced their plans to collaborate with the Trump regime to bring unnecessary death to our communities.

Don’t believe the authoritarian lie that suggests resistance isn’t possible. Do not obey in advance. Stand with the people who will be most directly harmed by the agenda of this regime, and join a nonviolent action to declare that bowing down is not an option.

We must build a moral fusion movement that can take back the dream of a nation that works for all of us and reconstruct our democracy. Forward together, not one step back!

Today’s guest on Our Moral Moment is Lucid’s Ruth Ben-Ghiat, whose book Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present, traces the patterns of modern authoritarian regimes. We’re glad for the chance to talk with Ruth about how Trump’s regime is tapping into the worst of American history and a global network of contemporary strongmen to advance a hyper-charged assault on the institutions of our society and so many norms of our common life.

While that may not sound like a hopeful conversation, listen to the end. Because an honest look at the kind of challenge we face opens up the possibility of learning from past resistance movements and contemporaries around the world today who have accessed a force more powerful to overcome authoritarians. Those folks have a lot to teach us, as Ruth notes, about the power of love.

Several people asked during today’s live conversation where they could learn more about Moral Mondays. Repairers of the Breach is helping local communities leverage the power of love through moral direct action at Congress members’ district offices during the August recess. Register here to get information about Moral Mondays delegations in your state on August 18th. And let us know if you’d like to connect with others in your state who are organizing.

As Ruth says, now is the time for each of us to use whatever we have while we still have it to stand up for what is right.

I was glad to join my friend Joy-Ann Reid tonight for a Moral Monday on The Joy Reid Show, where she continues the important truth-telling she practiced at MSNBC, but now with more time and freedom. You can watch her new show and read her newsletter, Welcome to Joy's House! on Substack.

Joy announced tonight that we’re going to do a Moral Monday together once a month on her show, focusing on the moral issues in the news and the soul work that’s needed to sustain ourselves in the long fight for justice. I hope you’ll help us spread the word and make plans to join us. Our Moral Moment will deliver these episodes directly to our subscribers once a month.

Our Moral Moment w/ Bishop William Barber & Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove is and always will be a free publication. We’re grateful to those who opt for a paid subscription to support this work.