Rev. William Barber in New Orleans on January 30
22nd January 2019 · 0 Comments
The Rev. William J. Barber, former leader of the NAACP North Carolina State Conference, will visit New Orleans on Wednesday, Jan. 30, to present a lecture at Tulane University’s McAlister Auditorium at 7:30 p.m.
The event is presented by the Amistad Research Center and Tulane University’s Office of Multicultural Affairs.
REV. BARBER
Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II is president of Repairers of the Breach, national co-chair of the 2018 Poor People’s Campaign, and leads an alliance of more than 200 progressive organizations best known as “Moral Monday.” This coalition has led justice work in North Carolina for a decade and inspired organizing across the nation. The Washington Post called Barber’s speech at the 2016 Democratic National Convention “the most engaging” of many strong ones. Dr. Barber was recognized as one of the International Black Achievers by the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool England and his portrait now hangs on the Black Achievers Wall in the Legacy gallery.
As the architect of the Moral Monday he stands for a multi-racial, multi-faith movement fighting for voting rights, public education, universal healthcare, environmental protection, and the rights of women, labor, immigrants and members of the LGBTQ community. In 2013, thousands joined weekly protests at the North Carolina state legislature; more than a thousand were arrested in civil disobedience. Monday coalition continues to draw tens of thousands each year.
For the past two years, Rev. Dr. Barber has led a national organizing tour called “The Revival: Time for a Moral Revolution of Values,” working alongside the Rev. Dr. James Forbes, the Rev. Dr. Traci Blackmon, and Sister Simone Campbell to redefine public morality and support state coalitions to address poverty, injustice, and inequality. Rev. Dr. Barber headed the state NAACP from 2006 to 2017 and serves on the NAACP National Board of Directors. He is currently co-chairs with the Rev. Dr. Elizabeth Theoharis of the Poor People’s Campaign, A National Call For A Moral Revival, which focuses on Systemic Racism, Poverty and Inequality, Ecological Devastation, the War Economy and Militarism, and National Morality.
Rev. Dr. Barber graduated from North Carolina Central University and earned a Master of Divinity degree from Duke University
Barber was awarded the 2006 Juanita Jackson Mitchell Award, Esq. Award for legal activism, the highest award in the NAACP for legal redress for advocacy, he was the 2008 recipient of the Thalheimer Award for most programmatic NAACP State Conference, and in 2010 he won the National NAACP Kelly M. Alexander Humanitarian Award.
North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue awarded him the Order of the Long Leaf Pine in 2009 – a North Carolina citizenship award presented to outstanding North Carolinians who have a proven record of service to the state.
He is the author of a self-published book titled “Preaching Through Unexpected Pain.” His second book, “Forward Together: A Moral Message for the Nation,” was published in 2014. His third book, “The Third Reconstruction: Moral Mondays, Fusion Politics, and the Rise of a New Justice Movement,” was published in 2016.
In 2017, Barber was awarded an honorary doctorate from Drew University, his alma mater, and also delivered the university’s sesquicentennial address at commencement exercises. Barber was also awarded an honorary doctorate from Occidental College preceding his speech (which was also livestreamed) to students, alumni, and community members in Thorne Hall.
This article originally published in the January 21, 2019 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
