Barber is a large black man in a world that does not always know how to deal with that. He's a Christian in a world where that doesn't always mean what he thinks it should mean. He has been on the inside, or close to it—the stage of a national political convention is deeper inside than most of us ever get. But he always sees himself out on the edge. His family moved south to help integrate schools. He wore knockoff Chuck Taylors because he was too poor for the real ones. His body is a wreck and his baby daughter almost died. He can afford a hotel suite. But his mind is out there with the bankrupt and broken.
Three years ago, Barber was a guest on Bill Maher's HBO show, Real Time. He leaned on his barstool, towering over Star Trek's George Takei. Near the end, the conversation turned to atheism. "I'm an atheist, too," Barber said, as Maher did a double take. "When it comes to those folks that say that Jesus is on the side of bigots and on the side of those that hurt people. That kind of God? I don't know him, either."
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