Chuck Barnes was your typical teenager:
Partying a lot. Studying some. Having fun. Not worrying too much about the future.
But that all ended with a life-changing Building Bridges meeting of the Conference on Equality and Justice in the San Bernardino Mountains when he was a student at Wilson High School.
From that meeting, Barnes built his life around understanding and respecting others — and teaching others to do the same.
Honorees at the recent CCEJ (now called Confluence Rising) luncheon held at The Reef on Oct. 8, 2025 are (L-R) Musical Theatre West Executive Director Paul Garman, Musical Theatre West Board President Cynthia Terry, Chuck Barnes, Confluence Rising Executive Director Reena Hajat Carroll and Julie Meenan. (Photo courtesy of Confluence Rising)
Chuck Barnes received the Gene Lentzner Human Relations Award at the Oct. 8, 2025 luncheon for CCEJ, now called Confluence Rising. (Photo courtesy of Confluence Rising)
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Honorees at the recent CCEJ (now called Confluence Rising) luncheon held at The Reef on Oct. 8, 2025 are (L-R) Musical Theatre West Executive Director Paul Garman, Musical Theatre West Board President Cynthia Terry, Chuck Barnes, Confluence Rising Executive Director Reena Hajat Carroll and Julie Meenan. (Photo courtesy of Confluence Rising)
For his decades of social justice work, Barnes was honored with the coveted Gene Lentzner Human Relations Award at the annual meeting of CCEJ, now called Confluence Rising, earlier this month. Lentzner was a legendary Long Beach civil rights leader and CCEJ official who died in 2020.
“Gene’s significant impact on the city of Long Beach is a legacy that should never be forgotten,” Barnes said in emotional comments while accepting his award on Oct. 8 from Justine Arian-Edwards, a women’s empowerment coach and longshore employee at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, who introduced him.
Also honored at the lunch were Julie Meenan, who received the Humanitarian Award for her career spent improving the lives of women and children through her leadership at the Josephine S. Gumbiner Foundation; and Musical Theatre West, which received the Building Bridges award for helping people across differences. Executive Director Paul Garman and board President Cynthia Terry accepted the award on behalf of the theater group.
Also remembered in memoriam were Ann Lentzer, Gene Lentzner’s wife; Rabbi Howard O. Laibson, a longtime CCEJ officer; and Skip Keesal, a strong CCEJ supporter, who recently died.
“Chuck’s presence, his passion and his purpose are a stand for what is right and good in this world where humanity has seemingly gotten away from us,” Arian-Edwards said in her introduction of Barnes. “He is the kind of leader who brings people along, uplifts them, deeply listens, is open and pours into people things he cares about. We need more people like Chuck Barnes being recognized.”
Barnes was born in 1973 in Covert, Michigan, but he moved with his family to Pasadena when he was 1 year old. He eventually moved to Long Beach and attended Hughes Middle School and Wilson High before joining the Air Force.
“I wanted to join the Air Force to travel and see the world,” he told me in an interview after the event before adding, with a laugh: “The ‘world’ turned out to be San Antonio, Texas.”
But it was while he was in Texas that he helped save the lives of three youngsters who had been dragged by a current into the Gulf of Mexico. He was awarded the prestigious Airman’s Medal for saving the children from drowning.
After his time in the Air Force, Barnes got a job as a longshoreman at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles while also starting to work as a volunteer for CCEJ and reconnecting with the Building Bridges community.
He delivered transformative classroom programs across Long Beach schools and created curriculum still used at camp today. His vision also led to the creation of the Building Bridges logo, featured on camp sweatshirts since 2001.
He also was a founding member of Long Beach’s Hate Crime Response Team and, since 1998, has been engaged with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union. Since 2009, he has also worked with the Heart of America Foundation, leading nationwide efforts to revitalize school libraries and STEM labs for underserved students.
In his acceptance speech, Barnes praised the late Mike Smith, a Wilson High teacher, who he said invited him to participate in what turned out to be the life-changing camp program.
“At that moment,” he said, “I had no idea that my life would be transformed forever.”
The wisdom he’s gained, Barnes said, continues to come primarily from youthful students.
“They are the true experts of their own experiences and perspectives,” he said. “My education has flourished because I chose to listen closely and genuinely believe in what they shared with me.
“Despite our diverse identities, experiences and beliefs, we all have the capacity to connect through our emotions,” Barnes said about one of the key lessons he has learned. “We’ve experienced happiness, sadness, pride, guilt, fear and excitement — these feelings unite us. It’s within this shared emotional landscape that we can find common ground with anyone.”
Barnes also thanked his mother, Diana Reid, and two daughters, President and Irish, for helping him understand others. He said his mother has served as a co-director of Building Bridges.
“My daughters, too, have taken up the mantle from their grandmother,” he added, “continuing to inspire and challenge me every day.”
Barnes’ daughter, President, shared two quotes with her that stood out about her father, Arian-Edwards said: “Learn something about everything and everything about something, always willing to try something new” and, “It doesn’t matter what I think, it’s about what you think.”
Arian-Edwards said that Barnes’ curiosity, love of learning and his ability to empower and guide young people rather than pretending he knows everything, makes him approachable, relatable and lovable.”
For the future, Barnes said he sees bridges as more than just a meeting point.
“A bridge symbolizes a pathway toward justice,” he said. “From wherever we stand, we have the opportunity to cross over stereotypes, prejudice, discrimination and oppression to bring justice and peace to those who need it most,” he said. “So let us commit ourselves to building more bridges–in the spirit of brotherhood and sisterhood. Together, we can create a world where understanding and compassion prevail.”
Amen. Gene Lentzner would have been honored with the selection of Chuck Barnes to receive the award in his name.
Originally Published: October 19, 2025 at 6:30 AM PDT