Barber told Religion News Service earlier this year that while Poor People’s Campaign representatives have repeatedly asked for the meeting — and even publicized the request via an open letter in September — it has yet to materialize. The North Carolina pastor personally pressed the president about the proposal in March while attending a bill signing at the White House. Officials, Barber said, told him they were “going to work on” the meeting.
“I’m going to believe, because I’m a person of faith, what was said at the White House … a few weeks ago,” Barber said on Monday, adding he doesn’t want to make the request into a “personality battle” with the president.
But frustration with Biden on the issue was palpable during the event, with Barber admitting he was “bothered” by the lack of response.
The press conference highlighted the contrast between recent silence from the White House about the meeting and Biden’s recurring outreach to the group during his most recent campaign for president.
Biden’s 2020 campaign was notable for its comparatively aggressive outreach to a range of religious voters, particularly Catholics and Black Protestants. But Biden singled out Barber in particular for praise, referencing him during speeches and speaking at multiple Poor People’s Campaign events before and after he was elected president.
“I want to be part of your movement,” Biden declared during a September 2020 Poor People’s campaign event.
RELATED: Biden talks faith and poverty at Poor People’s Campaign event
Barber, in turn, endorsed Biden in his personal capacity. While Barber and others affiliated with the Poor People’s Campaign have at times criticized Biden during his tenure as president, the group has also repeatedly staged major protests against lawmakers — including Democrats such as Sens. Joe Manchin and Kirsten Sinema — who stymied efforts to pass bills on voting rights and social programs key to Biden’s proposed legislative agenda.
Addressing reporters on Monday, Barber referenced the sermon he delivered at Biden’s inaugural prayer service.
“Surely if we’re good enough to do the inaugural sermon we’re good enough to bring a group of impacted people into the White House with economists and religious leaders,” Barber said.
Renewed calls for a White House confab coincide with the ramp-up to a major Poor People’s Campaign event slated for June 18 in Washington, when the group plans to assemble throngs of supporters for a “Mass Poor People’s and Low-Wage Workers’ Assembly and Moral March.”
