William J. Barber, III, will speak on “The Urgency of Now: Equity as a Cornerstone for Solutions to the Global Climate Crisis.”

He will focus on empowering rural communities affected by climate change in eastern North Carolina, which can be achieved by bringing together government, business, environmental, and faith leaders to collaborate on solutions. Barber maintains that the emerging clean energy economy must include members of historically marginalized groups as stakeholders and as entrepreneurs. 

Barber — son of North Carolina-based civil rights leader Rev. William J. Barber, II — is a renewable energy professional with a history of environmental and climate justice scholarship and advocacy. 

The unticketed event is free and open to the public.

Barber’s appearance is being co-sponsored by ECU’s Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences, Whichard Distinguished Professorship in the Humanities, and ECU's Water Resources Center.