The New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, with so many Americans who are inspired by a vision of a more just society, mourns the death of Bob Edgar. While the long arc of Bob’s public service might be described with terms such as lawmaker or progressive leader, the words of another clergyman, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., more accurately describe him as a “drum major for justice.” Given the tone with which Bob talked about his family, you would also have to warmly define his life with words like “father,” “husband,” “grandfather,” “son,” or “brother.”
Bob was a Methodist minister who pushed for liberal reforms as a six-term Pennsylvania congressman, a leader of American churches, and President of the citizens lobby known as Common Cause.