MORAL FUSION LEADERSHIP

Labor-Religion Coalition’s work is oriented around building a “moral fusion movement” in New York State. That language originally comes from the Forward Together Moral Movement in North Carolina - one of the movements foundational to the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. “Fusion” refers to the strategic necessity of building unity across lines of division - including race, religion, region, issue, gender, age, ability, and more. We know that throughout history our opponents have cynically used these lines of division to keep poor and working people from joining forces and demanding what we need.

 

We call this a “moral” movement because we are building this unity around shared values and moral commitments - not party affiliation, identity, or a technocratic interest in policy. At its most basic level, these shared beliefs can be summed up in two slogans of the Poor People’s Campaign - “Everybody’s Got a Right to Live” and “When you lift from the bottom, everybody rises.” The first speaks to the inherent dignity of all people and their basic human rights. The second speaks to the understanding that the common good requires us to prioritize the needs of the poor and most marginalized.

These values and moral commitments are not unique to people of faith, and many leaders and participants in our work do not identify with any faith tradition. However religious leaders do have an important role to play in a moral fusion movement, and part of Labor-Religion Coalition’s role is to engage diverse faith leaders and communities in claiming the liberative roots of our traditions, fighting back against the oppressive misuse of religion and organizing people of faith to take action.