Meet Rev. Dr. Barrion Staples

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Meet Rev. Dr. Barrion Staples

Understanding Cultural Competency Historical and Experiential Perspectives

Rev. Dr. Barrion J. Staples is a distinguished figure shaped by the Civil Rights Movement, bringing over 40 years of experience as an educator, trainer, and advocate for cultural awareness, race relations, and social justice.

Dr. Staples attributes his profound commitment to these causes to the influential figures in his life, including his late father, Rev. A.Q. Staples, his legendary cousins, the Staple Singers, and esteemed mentors like Rev. Dr. C.T. Vivian. He fondly recalls being inspired by leaders such as Stokely Carmichael (Kwame Ture) and participating in Jesse Jackson’s Operation Breadbasket Program during his youth.

Throughout his career, Dr. Staples has made significant contributions to education, working across a spectrum of settings, including pre-K to 12th grade, special education, alternative schools, general education, and higher education institutions. His professional journey also encompasses roles in substance abuse and mental health intervention, the criminal justice system, and hospice services.

A lifelong advocate for unity, Dr. Staples has dedicated himself to fostering positive relationships across diverse cultural and racial communities, striving to create a beloved community. His early experiences with segregation and active participation in the Civil Rights Movement have driven his mission to dismantle barriers and promote harmony among all people.

Dr. Staples’ non-profit organization, Race and Ethics, Corp., offers educational workshops and seminars designed to enhance communication and build positive relationships. Their “Bridging the Divides” program provides communities, individuals, and organizations with practical tools to address cultural, racial, and ethical issues, aiming to eliminate divisiveness through an educational and experiential approach.

Dr. Staples remains inspired by the enduring words of the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: “Judge a man by the content of his character and not by the color of his skin.” His lifelong dedication to these principles continues to influence and guide his efforts in promoting social justice and unity.

Breaking Down The Walls

The patriarch of the Staple Singers, Roebuck “Pops” Staples, conveyed to him the importance of breaking down the walls that divide people. These mentors and other Civil Rights mentors, including his father, often shared their experiences while growing up in the segregated south with similar experiences in the north with Rev. Dr. Staples.

His development and understanding of race relations have been in the process since he was a youth as it related to the social issues and justice concerns that he learned from The Staple Singers and others .

Experience As a Child

Rev. Dr. Staples remembers one specific incident which occurred during naptime when he was in kindergarten. He had laid down on his plush rug his mother had purchased for him next to a little white girl, his friend. They started talking and laughing while laying on their separate rugs.

“Soon after, I felt a hand grab me by my collar and the stinging of that wooden paddle across my backside. I was scared and didn’t know what was happening. The teacher said, “Stop it, stop it! You do not talk or get close to her, she’s not your kind.” The teacher pulled me up by my collar, hit me again with that wooden paddle, grabbed my rug, and had me lay down in the coat closet, alone and away from the class for the remainder of the afternoon in that closet.”

A Mission of Change

Throughout the years Rev. Dr. staples has experienced many similar incidents which were confusing, frightening and disgraceful.

These profoundly personal experiences during childhood, The Civil Rights Movement, and other experiences of today motivates Rev. Dr. Staples to focus on a mission of change and hope. His hope and work is an effort to make this country, communities, and the world a place where all people can develop, work, play, learn, and do life together in harmony.

Rev. Dr. Staples has more than forty years experience of teaching and training in the areas of Cultural Competency, Race and Ethnic Relations, Multiculturalism, Diversity and Human Relations. This experience consistes of populations at the college/university level, as well as the K-12 educational settings.

The philosophy of Rev. Dr. Staples is echoed in the quote by the late, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “Judge a man not by the color of his skin, but by the content of his character.”

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