I had the privilege of hearing Rev. Dr. William Barber II at a recent virtual conference. Barber co-chairs the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival (named for the 1968 campaign founded by Martin Luther King). What Barber means by a “moral revival” is calling people into the public sphere to address the many systemic and interlocking crises we face, including poverty, racism, false nationalism, climate change, and the lack of adequate healthcare for many. He is calling for a spirituality and religion that live out the command to love one another by addressing the injustices we face. He is calling us to find, in the words of Biblical scholar Walter Brueggemann, a “prophetic imagination”.
Prophetic imagination is needed to envision a world in which Black lives are not threatened or harmed. Prophetic imagination is needed to find the hope and courage to address unjust situations around the world. Prophetic imagination is needed to act in ways that make real change. And prophetic imagination is needed to sustain our strength in the long haul of the work ahead.
The religious holidays of this season—Passover, Holi, Easter, Ramadan, Eid, and Vesak—remind us of the values and vision that each tradition contains: liberation, justice, joy, love, and peace. Whether or not we claim a religious affiliation, these values can shape a new vision for our world and give us the courage to continue to work for change.
May we continue to seek a prophetic imagination that gives us a lofty vision of what is possible and grounds us in the work that needs to be done, here and now.
Carolyn Fure-Slocum, College Chaplain