Bishop Barber: To honor Rev. Spearman, we must finish his work

Contact: Martha Waggoner | mwaggoner@breachrepairers.org 

Remarks by Bishop William J. Barber II at the celebration of life service for Rev. Dr. T. Anthony Spearman 

Following are the prepared eulogistic remarks from Bishop William J. Barber II at the celebration of life service on Aug. 2 in Greensboro for Rev. Dr. T. Anthony Spearman, who died July 19.  Bishop Barber previously issued this statement about Rev. Dr. Spearman’s death.

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2 Timothy 1: 7-12

7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;

9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

10 But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:

11 Whereunto I am appointed a herald, and an apostle, and a teacher  of the Gentiles.

12 For which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

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“In ancient literature there was a sword called the Akanesh, the Herald of Righteousness. It was used in the cause of justice and had the sharpest blade and a perfected tip, designed to do holy damage to evil.

In the Bible, when he was sitting in a jail for the gospel, abandoned by some friends, Paul tells Timothy:

“Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God. He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher.”

A herald was not just a preacher, but one – who, like a spear – was thrown into dangerous places, where the gospel’s love, truth, and justice needed to be declared and lived. Paul was at the tip of the spear, and he was inviting Timothy to join him, to be available for God to use him to deliver the gospel. 

One poet says it like this:

Demons to kill

Obstacles to clear

All required to get through

At the tip of the spear

How sharpened are you

How creative are you

How brave are you

All that can be known at the tip of your spear

T Anthony Spearman was at the tip of the spear. He was steady, sharp, and seriously committed the cause of God. 

North Carolina and the nation have lost a champion for justice and a beloved public servant with the death of Rev. Dr. T. Anthony Spearman. My heart is broken. I have lost a true brother in the struggle. We have all lost a freedom fighter, a man deeply committed to justice, and a man of true faith. We have lost a scholar, a preacher, a voting rights defender, an advocate for prison reform and for the wrongfully accused and a stalwart soldier in the cause of love and justice for all humankind.

The first time I met him was in this city, at a conference where I spoke about how bad the proposed General Assembly budget was, especially for children. I said I was headed to Raleigh, and I wasn’t sure what I would do, but that the speaker, Thom Tillis, needed to be challenged. When I arrived in Raleigh , Spearman showed up about five minutes later. He didn't want the camera; he didn’t want the mic. He simply said, “You won’t go alone. Let’s see if we can’t pierce through the lies.” And with five others, we challenged the Speaker who had refused to meet with us with one simple phrase “what doth the Lord require” and he had us arrested and thrown in jail.

God sent Spearman to be at the tip of the spear. Spearman was a spear-man – willing to go in and make a difference, to open up ways.  To pierce through injustice and do holy damage and exposure,

_ When children needed an advocate in Hickory, he was on the school board at the tip of the spear.

_ When I led the NAACP to take on the biggest lawsuit against modern-day voter suppression tactics, he and his congregations joined as plaintiffs at the tip of the spear.

_ We had joined the fight for Dontae Sharpe’s freedom in 2015. When I had to step down to serve Repairers of the Breach and the Poor People’s Campaign, he served alongside lawyers to serve as a fierce and diligent advocate for the freedom of Dontae and others. He led a 70-day protest, day and night, 24 hours in front of the Governor’s Mansion until a full pardon came. He was at the tip of the spear.

Until the day Spearman died, He was at the tip of the spear: 

_ Challenging discriminatory election laws, no matter the party. 

_ Preparing for an election board meeting to advocate for the restoration of a  voting precinct at N.C. A&T State University that would serve as example for other boards across the state 

He was always at the tip of the spear, trying to be where God had thrown him on the earth to make an opening for justice and love for everybody else to come on through.

A man at the tip of the spear is willing to go where others know we should go but haven’t gone.

A man at the tip of the spear is willing to be alone at first, until others come. 

A man at the tip of the spear is willing to be thrown wherever God wants him to go.

You see, a spear has no power of its own. And the tip surely has no power. But if God picks it up and throws it, uses the tip of the spear to break through the injustices created by other men and women. 

The man at the tip of the spear—a spear man—is just an instrument or a tool. And every generation, God has some tip of the spear-men and women: 

Moses was one 

Paul was one 

Frederick Douglass 

Harriett Tubman

Martin King

Fannie Lou Hamer was one 

Ella Baker 

Medgar Evers 

Harry and Harriet Moore  

They were all tip of the spear men and women.

And I’m so glad that in my life I met another one: T. Anthony Spearman. I’m glad God threw him our way in this time. 

But just like our most precious and well-worn nonviolent morsl weapons and instruments it’s time far too soon to lay my brother T. Anthony Spearman to rest. He gets to lay down his own spear in the sands of time, exchange it for a robe and crown, take off his heavy burdens and study war no more. Now he gets to rest in the arms of Jesus.

So if we want to truly honor him after the funeral, let’s finish the work at the tip of the spear. He believed civil rights organizations ought not only be civil in name, but civil in the way we treat each other. Let’s finish the work at the tip of the spear

Church and pastors ought to all be at the tip of the spear in the fight for justice. Let’s finish the work at the tip of the spear

He believed too many innocent men black men and women are in jail. Let’s finish the work at the tip of the spear.

God may throw us and use us in some hard places. It may require some suffering we may be tossed and driven, but if we take our place at the tip spear. When the war of life is over:

By and by, when the morning comes

All the saints of God are gathered home

We will tell the story how we've overcome

And we'll understand it better by and by

Rest, my brother. We will see you in the morning.”