Reverend Doctor William Barber II spoke on Thursday night at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, drawing uproarious applause.
Related: Watch 2016 DNC live
Rev. Barber is president of the NC NAACP and has led the Moral Mondays demonstrations, which has called for political progress in the state on issues such as voting rights, access to healthcare, a living wage, reforming the criminal justice system, LGBTQ rights, public education, women’s rights and the environment.
Related: Moral Mondays presents new ‘LGBTQ Agenda’ on poverty, education, voting rights
Rev. Barber spoke clearly and passionately, calling on America to move forward, and not take one step back, just as he has called North Carolina to do, time and again.
In times like these, we have to make some decisions. And I might not normally be here as a preacher and an individual, but when I hear Hillary’s voices and positions, I hear and I know that she is working to embrace our deepest moral values and we should embrace her.
But let me be clear. Let me be clear that she, nor any person can do it alone. The watchword of this democracy and the watchword of faith is “we.” The heart of our democracy is on the line this November and beyond.
Now, my friends, they tell me that when the heart is in danger, somebody has to call an emergency code and somebody with a good heart will bring a defibrillator to work on a bad heart. Because it’s possible to shock a bad heart and revive the pulse.
In this season, when some want to harden and stop the heart of our democracy, we are being called like our foremothers and fathers to be the moral defibrillators of our time.
We must shock this nation with the power of love. We must shock this nation with the power of mercy. We must shock this nation and fight for justice for all. We can’t give up on the heart of our democracy. Not now, not ever.Â
Watch Rev. Barber’s speech below.
Â