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Civil
rights
leader
speaks
out on
AMC
theater
seating
incident
abcnews.com
Civil
rights
leader
Rev.
William
Barber
II spoke
out in a
press
conference
Friday
after a
Dec. 26
incident
at an
AMC
theater
in
Greenville,
North
Carolina,
in which
he says
he was
escorted
out of
the
theater.
Barber,
a
prominent
activist
in North
Carolina
who led
the
state's
large
NAACP
chapter
for
years,
said he
suffers
from
ankylosing
spondylitis,
an
inflammatory
disease
that has
prompted
him to
use a
different
type of
chair to
ease his
pain.
He said
he
brought
his own
chair to
the
movie
theater
to watch
"The
Color
Purple"
with his
90-year-old
mother.
He said
he
placed
it in a
section
specifically
designated
for
guests
with
disabilities,
but the
chair's
placement
prompted
safety
concerns
from
theater
employees.
According
to
Barber,
he was
threatened
with
trespassing
charges
when he
refused
to leave
and was
escorted
out by
local
police
officers.
"Our
plans
were
interrupted
when the
managers
of the
AMC
theater
here in
Greenville
chose to
call the
police
rather
than
accommodate
my
visible
disability,"
said
Barber.
The
incident
later
prompted
a
conversation
about
accommodations
for
disabled
people
and
accessibility
in
public
places.
"If I
cannot
sit in
my chair
in a
theater
in
Greenville,
North
Carolina,
there
are
thousands
of other
people
who will
be
excluded
from
public
spaces
in this
nation,"
Barber
said.
"This is
now
about
what
systemic
changes,
policy
changes,
changes
to
training
can
ensure
this
happens
to no
one."
In a
statement
to
ABC-owned
television
station
WTVD,
AMC
apologized
to
Barber
for "how
he was
treated,
and for
the
frustration
and
inconvenience
brought
to him,
his
family,
and his
guests."
AMC
Chairman
and CEO
Adam
Aron has
reached
out to
Barber
and
plans to
meet
with him
to
discuss
the
incident,
according
to the
statement,
which
Barber
confirmed
in the
press
conference.
![](images/amc%20theater%20471-123023.jpg)
PHOTO:
In this
March 5,
2021
file
photo,
the sign
for an
AMC
movie
theater
is shown
in New
York. In
this
March 5,
2021
file
photo,
the sign
for an
AMC
movie
theater
is shown
in New
York.
Amir
Hamja/Bloomberg
via
Getty
Images,
FILE
"AMC
welcomes
guests
with
disabilities,"
the
statement
read.
"We have
a number
of
accommodations
in place
at our
theatres
at all
times,
and our
theatre
teams
work
hard to
accommodate
guests
who have
needs
that
fall
outside
of the
normal
course
of
business."
AMC said
it
encourages
guests
who
require
special
seating
to speak
with a
manager
in
advance
to see
how the
theater
can best
accommodate
them.
The
company,
which
has 900
theaters
and
10,000
screens
worldwide,
said it
is
reviewing
policies
"to help
ensure
that
situations
like
this do
not
occur
again."
The
NAACP
North
Carolina
called
for
concrete
steps to
ensure
accessibility
in all
AMC
theaters
across
the
nation.
"This
incident
serves
as a
powerful
reminder
that we
must
create
spaces
that are
inclusive,
fair,
and
respectful
of the
rights
of every
individual,"
read a
statement
from the
NAACP
local
chapter.
"Discrimination
based on
physical
abilities
has no
place in
our
society,
and we
must
take
decisive
action
to
address
this
issue."
AMC and
the
Greenville
Police
Department
did not
immediately
respond
to ABC
News'
request
for
comment.
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