The Rev. William Barber II Arrested The Same Day He's Awarded MacArthur Genius Grant

[CousinIT]

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/william-barber-macarthur-fellowship-arrest_n_5bb7b159e4b028e1fe3d83d7

As the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation announced this year’s 25 MacArthur fellows, one recipient of the prestigious award ― a progressive Christian pastor ― was busy getting arrested in an act of civil disobedience.

The Rev. William J. Barber II, a 55-year-old North Carolina pastor, was arrested on Thursday outside McDonald’s Chicago headquarters, according to The Raleigh News & Observer. He was protesting alongside fast-food workers who are fighting to raise the minimum wage and secure union rights.

The arrest is not at all out of character for Barber, a longtime civil rights advocate. He has been arrested at least 15 times, according to The Associated Press.

It was his street-level activism and long history of leading national civil rights campaigns that helped him win one of this year’s MacArthur fellowships. He is the pastor of a small Disciples of Christ church in Goldsboro. After becoming president of North Carolina’s NAACP in 2005, he grew frustrated by policies advanced by the Republican-held legislature that he believed suppressed votes and trampled over the rights of poor, immigrant, LGBTQ and other marginalized communities. In 2013 he started organizing Moral Monday rallies and marches outside his state legislature to protest those policies while engaging in voter registration and education efforts.

[multigraincracker]

1. I count him as one of the greatest living Americans.

[hlthe2b]

6. Me too. A genuine hero.

[Karadeniz]

2. I was raised disciple of christ! For an orthodox based theology, its usually

permissive...not always.... of differences of opinion. My mother's church in Austin, TX, had an adult Sunday school class called the Seekers. One member wrote a fabulous book listing each and every legal accommodation given by the Empire to the Church. Really put a dent in the romantic image of a humble church flourishing because of its eternal Truth.

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. This is from 2018 - any particular reason to note it again? (nt)

[Hekate]

5. Good question

I always appreciate people who check the dates of articles

[Tanuki]

14. He was arrested again today in the Capitol rotunda

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/william-barber-trump-christian-task-force-b2741146.html

"A North Carolina pastor famous for decades of activism for progressive causes was arrested in the Capitol rotunda on Monday, less than a week after the formation of the Trump administration’s task force on anti-Christian bias at the Justice Department.

The arrest occurred Monday afternoon as Reverend William Barber and others were praying at the Capitol; earlier in the day, the reverend delivered a sermon on the Capitol steps and also delivered a Moral Monday address at the Supreme Court. First reported by Jack Jenkins of Religion News Service (RNS), photos showed Barber and others surrounded by US Capitol Police officers, including one wearing a “crime scene” vest."...(more)

[J_William_Ryan]

4. "It was his street-level activism..."

Nothing better than getting into good trouble.

[ancianita]

8. Question: why are we concerned about this seven years later?

[Tanuki]

9. Maybe because he was speaking truth to power today on the steps of the Capitol?

Link to tweet

[ancianita]

11. Maybe since Barber did that today, that should have been the OP?

I've looked but seen no other DU reference to today's news about Barber. Maybe the two put together would have made for a thoughtful news context, right?

[Gingermolly]

10. I saw on Facebook

That he was arrested in the Capitol Rotunda today.

[Tanuki]

13. Thank you! You are correct, and I hadn't heard about it.

More on today's arrest:
https://religionnews.com/2025/04/28/william-barber-arrested-in-capitol-rotunda-after-prayer-challenging-republican-budget/

"While arrests of protesters at the Capitol is not unusual, the response to Barber’s prayer was unusually dramatic: After issuing verbal warnings, dozens of officers expelled everyone in the Rotunda — including credentialed press.

Prominent pastor and anti-poverty activist the Rev. William Barber and two others were arrested while praying in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on Monday (April 28), an action he said would be part of a recurring series of demonstrations aimed at challenging the Republican-led budget bill.

The arrests occurred roughly 15 minutes after Barber, the Rev. Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove and Steve Swayne, director of St. Francis Springs Prayer Center, started praying in the Rotunda as dozens of police stood nearby, some prepared with plastic handcuffs. The three took turns praying, lamenting potential budget cuts to social safety-net programs such as Medicaid, often chanting together: “Against the conspiracy of cruelty, we plead the power of your mercy.

“When we cannot depend on the courts and the legislative power of human beings, we can still depend on … the power of your love and your mercy and your truth,” Barber said in the Rotunda as police began to surround him."...(more at link)

[AllaN01Bear]

12. civil disobediance.

[Mtnmama]

15. Today's republicans would arrest Jesus,

they understand so little of his message. "They have eyes but they see not, ears but they hear not."
Brains, but they understand not.