South Carolina H 4976: Bishop William Barber

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 4976 Text of Previous Version (Jan. 15, 2026) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 4976

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

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A house RESOLUTION

to recognize and honor Reverend Dr. William Joseph 
Barber II, President of Repairers of the Breach, and to welcome him to the 
State of south Carolina.

Whereas, the House of 
Representatives is pleased to learn that Reverend Dr. William Joseph Barber II 
will visit the Palmetto State the weekend of January 16 and 17, 2026; and

Whereas, Bishop Barber 
graduated from Plymouth High, earned a bachelor's degree from North Carolina 
Central University, a Master of Divinity from Duke University, and a doctorate 
from Drew University, with a concentration in Public Policy and Pastoral Care. 
He has studied in a special fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of 
Technology. Having received many awards for his service, Bishop Barber has had 
twelve honorary doctorate degrees conferred upon him; and

Whereas, Bishop Barber 
served as senior pastor of Greenleaf Christian Church with the Disciples of 
Christ for thirty years, as president of the North Carolina NAACP from 2006 
through 2017, and on the National NAACP Board of Directors from 2008 through 
2020. He is the architect of the Forward Together Moral Movement that gained 
national acclaim in 2013 with its Moral Monday protests at the North Carolina 
General Assembly; and

Whereas, he serves as president 
and senior lecturer of Repairers of the Breach, bishop with The Fellowship of 
Affirming Ministries, executive board member of the Christian Church Disciples 
of Christ, professor in the Practice of Public Theology and Public Policy, and 
the founding director of the Center for Public Theology and Public Policy at 
Yale Divinity School. He is the co-chair of the Poor People's Campaign: A 
National Call for Moral Revival, and is a Kettering Foundation senior fellow; 
and

Whereas, Bishop Barber 
is the author of five books: We Are Called to Be a Movement; Revive Us 
Again: Vision and action in moral organizing; The Third Reconstruction: 
Moral Mondays, fusion politics, and the rise of a new justice movement; and 
Forward Together: A moral message for the nation. White Poverty: How exposing 
myths about race and class can reconstruct American democracy was released 
in June 2024; and

Whereas, in 2015, he 
established Repairers of the Breach to train communities in moral movement 
building through the Moral Political Organizing Leadership Institute and Summit 
Trainings. In 2018, he co-anchored the relaunch of the Poor People's Campaign: 
A national call for moral revival, reviving the 1968 Poor People's Campaign 
organized by the women's rights movement, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 
worker's rights movement, religious leaders, and people of all races to fight 
poverty in the United States; and

Whereas, as a moral 
leader engaging in nonviolent civil disobedience, Bishop Barber has been 
arrested more than fifteen times in various states, standing with those who 
have been marginalized by systematic racism, poverty, and injustice; and

Whereas, Bishop Barber gave 
a keynote address at the 2016 Democratic National Convention; was one of few 
preachers in the nation's history to be invited to give the homily at an 
Inaugural Prayer Service, the 59th Inaugural Prayer Service for President Joe 
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris; and addressed the 5th UNI Global Union 
World Congress to more than twenty-five countries in June 2018; and

Whereas, the South 
Carolina House of Representatives values the dedication of involved citizens 
like William Barber who seek the betterment of our nation, and the members 
appreciate the honor that his visit bestows on our great State. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:

That the members of the 
South Carolina House of Representatives, 
by this resolution, recognize and honor Reverend Dr. William Joseph Barber II, President 
of Repairers of the Breach, and welcome him to the State of South Carolina.

Be it further resolved 
that a copy of this resolution be presented to Reverend Dr. William Joseph 
Barber II.

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This web page was last updated on January 15, 2026 at 11:47 AM