Theater kicks out civil-rights activist William Barber II over special chair, NC cops say

Minister and civil-rights activist Bishop William Barber II was removed from a North Carolina movie theater after a dispute over accessible seating, according to police and news outlets.

Barber, who has a disability, says he was barred from using a specialized chair he took to the AMC Firetower 12 in Greenville, WNCT reported.

Greenville police were called around 3:20 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 26, on a report of someone trespassing, police said in a news release. The caller said a customer was arguing with staff and they wanted him escorted from the theater.

The moviegoer, later identified as Barber, was there to see “The Color Purple” film with his 90-year-old mother, WITN reported. Due to his physical disability, the bishop said he cannot sit in traditional theater seats and brought a special chair to use in the theater’s accessible seating section.

However, the theater’s staff wouldn’t let him, he said.

“I have serious Ankylosing,” a form of arthritis that affects joints in the spine, knees and hips, Barber told WNCT. “I walk with two canes. I have bad hips and I can’t sit low.”

“So whether I’m on Broadway, the White House, the State House, United States Congress, they always let me bring this chair, “ he told the station, adding it’s “never been a problem.”

AMC issues apology

AMC has since apologized to the reverend and said it will review its policies.

“AMC’s Chairman and CEO Adam Aron has already telephoned him, and plans to meet with him in person in Greenville, NC, next week to discuss both this situation and the good works Bishop Barber is engaged in throughout the years,” a spokesperson told McClatchy News in a statement.

“AMC welcomes guests with disabilities,” the spokesperson continued. ”We encourage guests who require special seating to speak with a manager in advance to see what can best be accommodated at the theater to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for the guest and those around them.”

The Americans with Disabilities Act requires movie theaters to have designated aisle seats “with folding or retractable armrests” and companion seats. At least five wheelchair spaces are also required in theaters with 151 to 300 seats, according to the law.

Former state Supreme Court justice and gubernatorial candidate Michael Morgan said he was “stunned and appalled” by the theater’s “callous” response.

“As legally problematic as it is for the theater to refuse reasonable accommodation to a patron admitted to its grounds, it is amplified by the unnecessary indignity which Reverend Barber and his 90-year-old mother had to endure,” Morgan, who is running in the state’s Democratic primary, wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Barber had ministered at Greenleaf Christian Church in Goldsboro for 30 years before retiring earlier this year and served as president of the North Carolina NAACP from 2006 to 2017, WITN reported.

Greenville is about 80 miles southeast of downtown Raleigh.

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