North Carolina pastor and national civil rights leader William Barber has been awarded a 2018 MacArthur “genius” grant.
The Guardian notes, “The MacArthur Fellows Program annually gives a series of $625,000, no strings attached awards to people the institution finds to be extraordinarily talented and creative in many different fields.” Barber is the pastor of Greenleaf Christian Church in Goldsboro; the leader of the Poor People’s Campaign, which promotes fairer living standards for low income communities; and one of the founders of Moral Mondays, a nonviolent civil disobedience campaign that challenges voter suppression. Additionally, Barber is known as a champion for immigrants, working class Americans, and those with disabilities. The
MacArthur Foundation writes:“Barber approaches social justice through the lens of the ethical and moral treatment of people as laid out in the Christian Bible, the Reconstruction and civil rights movements of the South, and the US Constitution,” adding, “He is effective at building unusually inclusive fusion coalitions that are multiracial and interfaith, reach across gender, age and class lines, and are dedicated to addressing poverty, inequality, and systemic racism.”