| Dr. Brian Blount Brian K. Blount is President and Professor of New Testament at Union Presbyterian Seminary, Richmond, Virginia, and Charlotte, North Carolina. He was called to this position in 2007 after serving 15 years as the Richard J. Dearborn Professor of New Testament Interpretation at Princeton Theological Seminary. An M.Div. graduate of Princeton Seminary in 1981, he obtained his B.A. from the College of William and Mary in 1978. After graduating from Princeton Seminary, he went on to become the pastor of the Carver Memorial Presbyterian Church in Newport News, Virginia, from 1982-1988. As William and Mary’s first African-American to receive membership in the Alpha Chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society, he received his Ph.D. in New Testament Studies from Emory University in 1992. He returned to teach at Princeton Seminary the same year. He served as the president of the Society of Biblical Literature from 2017-2018. He currently serves as the president of the Association of Theological Schools. Dr. Blount is the sole author of six books and of numerous articles. He also lectures widely and preaches and directs adult education classes in local congregations. He was the 2011 Beecher Lecturer at the Yale Divinity School, Yale University.
| |
| Dr. Rebecca Davis The Rev. Dr. Rebecca Davis, Associate Professor Christian Education at Union Presbyterian Seminary, Charlotte, NC, is a Minister of Word and Sacrament and a Certified Christian Educator in the PCUSA. For over thirty years Becky served in congregations and on presbytery staff. She now teaches those preparing for leadership and advocacy in church and world. Her passion for child advocacy led her to serve as staff at the Children’s Defense Fund and the National Council of Churches Committee for Justice for Children and their Families. She was the organizing chair of the Presbyterian Child Advocacy Network and now serves on the Advisory Council for Educate a Child Initiative and the National Committee for the Self Development of People. Becky was named the Educator of the Year in 2018 by the Association of Presbyterian Church Educators. Her current project is Liberating Sunday School – creating a paradigm of possibility through Freedom Church School curriculum. | |
| Nikkeia Lee Nikkeia is a facilitator, consultant and presenter for a variety of organizations, including colleges and universities, religious institutions, non-profits, and businesses in understanding race, developing equitable practices, and maintaining dynamic communities. Nikkeia is also the founder and Managing Director of The Possibility Project-Charlotte, an organization empowering generations of engaged community leaders using the vehicles of the performing arts and community action. A graduate of Queens University, Nikkeia has worked with individuals and groups for over 20 years to expand their catalogue of ideas, to value the art of collaboration, and to find innovative solutions to a myriad of interpersonal, community and cultural topics.
| |
| Dr. Brandon McCormack Dr. Brandon McCormack received his Ph.D. in Religion from Vanderbilt University, where he was a Fellow in the Theology and Practice Program. His dissertation explored the relationship between prophetic Christianity, political activism and popular culture in the era of hip-hop. He has published articles and engaged in public discourse concerning religious responses (and contributions) to the “moral panic” surrounding contemporary Black youth culture. He is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pan-African Studies and the Department of Comparative Humanities (Program in Religious Studies) at the University of Louisville, where he teaches courses in African American Religion, Religions of the African Diaspora and Religion and Popular Culture. Prior to joining the faculty at University of Louisville, Dr. McCormack taught at American Baptist College in Nashville and the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, where he continues to engage with their program in Black Church Studies. He lives in Louisville with his wife, Shashray, and children, Legend, Legacy and Langston. | |
| Dr. Marvin McMickle Born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1948, Marvin A. McMickle is a 1970 graduate of Aurora University in Aurora, Illinois, with a B.A. in Philosophy. His alma mater also awarded him the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity in 1990 as well as the Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2000. He earned a Master of Divinity degree from Union Theological Seminary in New York City in 1973. That school also awarded him the Unitas Award in 2007. He earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey, in 1983. Princeton later named him a Distinguished Alumnus in the school’s bi-centennial year of 2012. He was awarded the Doctor of Philosophy degree (Ph.D.) from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1998. In 2010 he was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters by Payne Theological Seminary in Wilberforce, Ohio. Dr. McMickle served as the 12th President of Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School in Rochester, New York, from July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2019. Prior to joining CRCDS he was pastor of Antioch Baptist Church in Cleveland, Ohio, from 1987 to 2011 and a member of the Board of Trustees of Cleveland State University in Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. McMickle was also the Professor of Homiletics at Ashland Theological Seminary in Ashland, Ohio, from 1996 to 2011. Upon retiring from Ashland, the faculty named him Professor Emeritus. He is the author of 17 books and dozens of articles that regularly appear in professional journals and magazines. His writings also appear in Feasting on the Word and Preaching God’s Transforming Justice, two recent preaching commentaries. He is a member of the Martin Luther King, Jr., International Board of Preachers at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, and has also served as a Visiting Professor of Preaching at Yale University Divinity School. Dr. McMickle is currently the Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program and Professor of African American Religious Studies at CRCDS. | |
| Dr. Rodney Sadler Dr. Rodney Sadler is the Director of the Center for Social Justice and Reconciliation on the Charlotte campus of Union Presbyterian Seminary. His education and degrees include: Howard University, B.A., Howard University, School of Divinity, M.Div., and Duke University, Ph.D. Rodney's teaching experience includes courses in biblical languages, Old and New Testament interpretation, wisdom literature in the Bible, the history and religion of ancient Israel, and African American biblical interpretation. His first authored book, Can A Cushite Change His Skin? An Examination of Race, Ethnicity, and Othering in the Hebrew Bible, was published in 2005. He frequently lectures within the church and community on Race in the Bible, African American Biblical Interpretation, the Image of Jesus, Biblical Archaeology, and the Dead Sea Scrolls. He was the managing editor of the African American Devotional Bible. Dr. Sadler served as a visiting lecturer and interim co-director of the Office of Black Church Studies at Duke Divinity School in Durham, North Carolina, and was an associate minister in Durham. | |
| Rev. Jason Williams Jason is a pastor, organizer, and trainer. After receiving an MDiv from Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond, Jason spent almost a decade in grassroots urban education under the tutelage of residents of the west side of Charlotte, North Carolina. For over 20 years, Jason has worked with faith-based, non-profits. Currently, Jason is co-pastor with his wife, Joanie, at Hood Memorial Christian Church and co-Chair of the Christian Church of North Carolina’s Anti-Racism/Pro-Reconciliation Commission. Through preaching, speaking and facilitation, Jason focuses on topics that connect race, poverty, theology, leadership, agriculture, and spirituality. | |
