Public theologian and civil rights leader Bishop William Barber II filed a federal lawsuit against AMC Theaters after he was forcefully removed from an AMC theater in Greenville, North Carolina last year for using the specialized chair necessary to accommodate a painful health condition.
The decision came after Barber met with AMC CEO Adam Aron to discuss why the theater felt it was necessary to call local law enforcement rather than abide by the Americans With Disabilities Act. Unfortunately, Barber has been disappointed by Aron and AMC’s failure to take action following that discussion.
Barber is represented by renowned national civil rights attorney Harry Daniels.
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.
On December 26, 2023, was attending a showing of The Color Purple with his 90-year-old mother at the AMC Fire Tower 12 theater 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.
“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.”
“One voice alone may just be shouting to the wind. But we’re not alone and, together, we can tear down the walls of Jericho.”
View a copy of the lawsuit online.
