A national leader in the Civil Rights movement will be the keynote speaker at Siena College’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King Lecture Series on Wednesday, March 30 at 7 p.m.
Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II is the president of the North Carolina NAACP and has convened the Forward Together Moral Movement – an alliance of more than 200 progressive organizations working toward social justice that has become known as “Moral Monday” across North Carolina. The group organized a rally of 80,000 people in Raleigh, N.C., in February 2014 — the largest civil rights march in the South since the 1965 Selma march.
His talk is titled, “Moral Dissenters are a Necessity for the Destiny, Choosing the Path to Higher Ground.”
Rev. Barber is the recipient of the 2015 Congressional Black Caucus Chair’s Phoenix Award, and the 2015 Franklin Delano Roosevelt, FDR Freedom of Worship Award, and the author of three books: “Forward Together: A Moral Vision for the Nation,” “Preaching Through Unexpected Pain,” and “The Third Reconstruction: Moral Mondays, Fusion Politics and the Rise of a New Justice Movement.”
“We are honored to have Reverend Dr. Barber as our keynote speaker this year,” said Paul T. Murray, Professor of Sociology and chairperson of the advisory board for the lecture series. “He is not just a national leader on the issue of civil rights and social justice, but a shining example of how to stand up and fight for what you believe in through non-violent means. Reverend Barber continues in the tradition of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., speaking truth to power.”
Rev. Barber serves as pastor of Greenleaf Christian Church in his hometown of Goldsboro, N.C., and has led the congregation there for 24 years.
The lecture is free and open to the public, and will be held in the Sarazen Student Union building on campus.
