Public theologian and civil rights leader Bishop William Barber II will join his attorney, renowned national civil rights attorney Harry Daniels, for a news conference at The Hope Center at Pullen (3112 Cox Avenue, Raleigh, NC) today (Thursday, December 19) at 11:00 AM to announce his lawsuit against AMC Theaters.
Barber was attending a showing of The Color Purple with his 90-year-old mother at the AMC Fire Tower 12 theater on December 2023 when theater staff confronted him and tried to prevent him from using a specialized chair necessary due to his medical condition. Barber is afflicted with ankylosing spondylitis, a form of arthritis which causes inflammation in the joints and ligaments of the spine. Rather than recognize his condition, however, theater staff called the local police and, threatening trespassing charges, had him escorted from the theater. The event sparked national outrage and calls for justice across North Carolina and beyond.
AMC Theaters didn’t treat Bishop Barber like a man in pain or even like an honest American. They treated him like a criminal and used local law enforcement like paid thugs even though they were the ones breaking the law,” Daniels said. “We’re not here for coffee and conversation. We want action, not empty apologies.”
“This isn’t about me,” said Barber. “This is about corporations like AMC who think they can treat people anyway they want and get away with it. It’s about every man, woman and child who faces pain and physical obstacles every single day and the CEOs who couldn’t care less.”
Today’s news conference will be on the first floor of The Hope Center at Pullen and will feature remarks from Barber and Daniels after which they will answer questions from the media.
In addition to being a pastor for over 30 years and former chair of the North Carolina NAACP, Bishop Barber is the national founder and president of Repairers of the Breach and the current co-chair of the National Poor People’s campaign. Currently he is the founding director and professor at Yale’s Center for Public Theology and Public Policy and his groundbreaking book White Poverty: How Exposing Myths About Race And Class Can Reconstruct American Democracy has received national praise and acclaim.
Leave a Reply