BOONE—Two prominent North Carolina civic leaders and political activists will speak at Appalachian State University on “The State of the State of North Carolina in 2016.”

John Hood, president of the John William Pope Foundation and former president and current chairman of the board of the John Locke Foundation, will speak on March 24 at 7 p.m. in the Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts on campus. Rev. William J. Barber II, president of the North Carolina NAACP and leader of the N.C. Moral Monday Movement, will speak on March 31 at 7 p.m., also in the Schaefer Center. These public lectures are being offered in advance of the 2016 election season to address concerns of North Carolina citizens and to better inform the public about issues facing the state. A question and answer session will follow the presentations. The events are free and open to the public.

The events are sponsored by Appalachian’s Faculty Senate, the offices of the Chancellor, Academic Affairs, Business Affairs, Student Development and University Advancement, College of Arts and Sciences, Walker College of Business, Beaver College of Health Sciences, College of Fine and Applied Arts, Hayes School of Music, Reich College of Education and Belk Library and Information Commons.

Since 1986, Hood has written a syndicated column on politics and public policy for North Carolina newspapers. It currently appears regularly in the Winston-Salem Journal, Durham Herald-Sun, Gaston Gazette, High Point Enterprise, and newspapers in 60 other communities. He also writes a monthly column, “Free & Clear,” for Business North Carolina magazine.

Hood is a frequent guest on talk radio and serves as a weekly panelist on “NC SPIN,” a political talk show broadcast on 16 television stations in Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro, Greenville, Wilmington, Asheville, and elsewhere. He also created “Carolina Journal Radio,” a weekly newsmagazine broadcast on 18 radio stations. He is the author of seven books, including “Catalyst: Jim Martin and the Rise of North Carolina Republicans” published in 2015 and “Our Best Foot Forward: An Investment Plan for North Carolina’s Economic Recovery” published in 2012.

Barber is best known as the architect/convener of the Forward Together Moral Movement, better known as Moral Monday. The movement is a coalition of over 200 state organizations that support progressive efforts in the arenas of education, labor rights, health care, women’s rights, immigration policy, and the environment.

Barber has an undergraduate degree from N.C. Central University, a Master of Divinity Degree from Duke University, and a doctorate from Drew University. He serves on the NAACP National Board of Directors and is chair of the national NAACP Legislative Political Action Committee.

He is the author of the books “Forward Together: A Moral Message for the Nation” and “The Third Reconstruction: Moral Mondays, Fusion Politics and the Rise of a New Justice Movement,” written with Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove and recently published by Beacon Press.

Barber has served as minister at Greenleaf Christian Church in Goldsboro for the past 24 years.

About Appalachian State University

As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, cost-effective education. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.

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