December 21, 2024
Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II filed a lawsuit in opposition to AMC Theaters on Thursday, accusing the corporate of incapacity discrimination.
A revered minister, civil rights activist, and theology professor out of North Carolina is suing AMC Theaters for being escorted out of the Greenville location final 12 months on claims his particular wheelchair was a hearth hazard.
Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II took his 90-year-old mom to the flicks the day after Christmas final 12 months to see The Colour Purple however by no means received to see the movie after theater employees had him eliminated, WITN stories. In his swimsuit, Barber claims he was discriminated in opposition to as a consequence of his wheelchair, which is used for a extreme spinal situation.
“He was embarrassed, defamed, accused of committing a criminal offense, and topic to a horrific injustice by workers on the AMC theater,” his legal professional, Harry Daniels, stated throughout a Dec. 19 press convention.
“Seeing that film at the moment is an expertise that I’ll by no means be capable to give to her,” Barber stated.
Barber, who makes use of a wheelchair as a consequence of his prognosis of ankylosing spondylitis—a type of arthritis that causes irritation within the backbone’s joints and ligaments—believes his incapacity led to police being referred to as to forcibly take away him from the theater. He claims the expertise violated the Individuals with Disabilities Act (ADA).
“I stated to them I can’t depart. My intestine, my coronary heart, my character, my dedication to justice is not going to enable me to go away this house once I know legally and morally I’ve a proper to it,” Barber stated.
Barber, a former North Carolina NAACP President and civil rights activist, revealed that he met with AMC’s chairman and CEO simply days after the incident. Whereas he isn’t in search of private monetary acquire from the lawsuit, he’s requesting damages exceeding $25,000 on two counts of psychological and emotional misery.
The founding director of the Heart for Public Theology & Public Coverage at Yale Divinity College additionally goals to convey justice to others who could have skilled discrimination as a consequence of their disabilities. He’s in search of a preliminary injunction to stop AMC from barring him from bringing his wheelchair to any of its places and to ban retaliation in opposition to him or others for exercising their rights.
“No matter your incapacity is, you might be disabled, however you aren’t poor,” Barber stated. “You’re as a lot part of this human household as anyone else.”
AMC issued a formal apology to Barber on the time of the incident and a promise to evaluate “our insurance policies with our theater groups to assist be certain that conditions like this don’t happen once more.”
“We sincerely apologize to Bishop Barber for a way he was handled and for the frustration and inconvenience delivered to him, his household, and his friends,” a spokesperson for AMC Theaters advised Faith Information Service, as cited by Deadline.
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