New Wine and Old Wineskins: On Building a New Progressive Movement in NC

Emphasizing that the NAACP is officially non-partisan but not non-political, NAACP President William Barber spoke to the Progressive Democrats of North Carolina's state convention in December of 2007. The loyalty must be to principles of justice. He talked about building a new progressive coalition for change in the state. "You can't put new wine in old wineskins because the old wineskins will burst and they can't maintain or hold onto the newness....You have to use new wineskins." Video clips below:

New Wine and Old Wineskins

Click below for Part II. In this section he talks about institutional racism.

Click below for Part III. This new coalition will be accused of being naive and unrealistic, but that's ok, because without a powerful and energized coalition, none of the common agenda we believe in would be enacted, even piecemeal....Comprehensive agenda-based activism is the new wineskin. We set our own agenda, rather than let the established powers set the agenda. Rev. Barber also talked about the legislative report card, and the legislature's response to it.