DURHAM, North Carolina (RNS) — An independent investigation into allegations that the Rev. William Barber had been paying his ex-wife alimony from the finances of his nonprofit, concluded that the civil rights leader did nothing wrong.
In a court filing last month, Rebecca Barber, the preacher’s ex-wife, alleged that since November 2023, the nonprofit, Repairers of the Breach, has issued monthly checks for $7,000 to a joint personal bank account shared by Barber and his ex-wife, “under the guise of alimony or financial support.”
The board of Repairers of the Breach, a 10-year-old social change organization founded by Barber, hired the North Carolina law firm Parker Poe Adams and Bernstein to investigate the suit’s claim. In a statement issued Saturday (June 21), the board concluded, “We can confirm that all payments made to Reverend Barber align with approved amounts, and any transfers made to a personal account were made from his own salary, independent of Repairers of the Breach.”
Barber and his ex-wife have been dueling in court over the distribution of their assets. The couple divorced after 37 years in November 2024 after living apart during the COVID-19 pandemic. They have four adult children and raised a daughter from William Barber’s prior relationship.
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When mediation to settle parts of the divorce failed, Rebecca Barber filed a motion to add Repairers of the Breach as a third party defendant.
“Defendant contends that Repairers of the Breach, Inc. is functionally an alter ego of Plaintiff and may possess or control assets that are marital in nature or otherwise relevant to this Court’s equitable distribution determination,” read the motion filed in Durham County, North Carolina, on May 14.
But the board’s investigation found that Barber did not use or direct organizational funds for personal benefit. “The story is that there is no story and we’re moving on with our work,” said Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, chairman of the 10-member board and a frequent collaborator with Barber.
On June 12, a district court judge denied a motion by the Rev. Barber’s lawyer, Tamela Wallace, for a protective order against Rebecca Barber.
Repairers of the Breach paid Barber more than $224,000 in salary in 2023, according to the most recent 990 form filed by private foundations in the U.S. That year, the organization had $8.2 million in net assets.
The organization is best known for reviving the Poor People’s Campaign, an anti-poverty effort bearing the name and the goals of the movement launched by Martin Luther King Jr. shortly before his 1968 assassination.
Recently, Repairers of the Breach has begun a “Moral Monday” campaign with weekly demonstrations at the U.S. Capitol aimed at challenging the Republican-led budget bill, including potential cuts to social safety-net programs such as Medicaid.
Repairers is planning another Moral Monday protest in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday (June 30).
Barber is also founder of the Center for Public Theology and Public Policy at Yale Divinity School, where he also teaches.
Last month he married the Rev. Della Owens, pastor of St. James Church in Wilson, North Carolina, a Disciples of Christ congregation.
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