Rochester, NY
A LEGACY OF VISION AND EXCELLENCE: THE MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. FELLOWS IN BLACK RELIGIOUS STUDIES 50 YEARSOFLEGACY
TheMartinLutherKingJr.FellowsinBlackReligiousStudiesprogramstandsasa landmarkinitiativeintheadvancementofBlacktheologicaleducation.Itbeganin 1972asacoreelementoftheProgramofBlackChurchStudiesatColgateRochester DivinitySchool(Rochester,NY).SpearheadedbythelateRev.Dr.HenryH.Mitchell andsupportedbytheconsortiumofColgateRochesterDivinitySchool,BexleyHall, andCrozerTheologicalSeminary,theprogramwasmadepossiblethroughthe generosityoftheIrwin-Sweeney-MillerFoundation.
InresponsetotheassassinationofDr.MartinLutherKingJr.,Blacktheological studentsatColgateRochesterDivinitySchoolenvisionedaprogramthatwouldhonor Dr.King’slegacybyfosteringacademicexcellenceandministryleadershiprootedin theexperiencesandtraditionsoftheBlackChurch.Theprogramselectedtwenty distinguishedfellowsforintensivestudyandresearchinpivotallocationssuchas WestAfrica,theWestIndies,theSeaIslandsofGeorgia,theInterdenominational TheologicalCenter(ITC)inAtlanta,andthesponsoringseminaries.
By1975,nineteenoftheseKingFellowsearnedDoctorofMinistrydegrees, culminatingintheestablishmentoftheMartinLutherKingJr.FellowsinBlack ReligionStudiesCorporation.Thiscollectiveofscholar-practitionerswouldgoonto shapethefieldsofBlackChurchStudies,theology,andministryinprofoundways, creatingalegacythatendurestothisday.
AsColgateRochesterCrozerDivinitySchoolcelebratesthe50thanniversaryofthis groundbreakingprograminMay2025,wereflectonitstransformativeimpact.This commemorationwillhonorthevisionarieswhoinitiatedtheprogram,theFellows whocourageouslyadvanceditsmission,andtheindeliblemarkithaslefton theologicaleducationandministry.
Thiscelebrationwillhonortheprogram’sorigins,thescholarsandpastorswho participated,andtheprofoundcontributionstheyhavemadetotheologicaleducation andministry.Joinusinreflectingonthisremarkablelegacyandenvisioningthenext 50yearsofBlackReligiousStudies.
RT. REV. DR. JOHN R. BRYANT
THE REV. DR. JOSEPH D. CLEMMONS, SR
THE RIGHT REV. PHILIP R. COUSIN
THE REV. DR. JAMES A. FORBES, JR
THE REV. DR. H. BEECHER HICKS, JR
THE REV. DR. WILLIAM J. SHAW
HONORING THE FELLOWS WHO CAME BEFORE US
DR. FLOYD MASSEY
REV. DR. SAMUEL MCKINNEY
REV. DR. HAROLD A. CARTER, SR.
REV. DR. WILLIAM AUGUSTUS JONES
REV. DR. JAMES HARGETT
DR. CHARLES HAMILTON
DR. HENRY H. MITCHELL
DR. ELLA P. MITCHELL
REV. DR. JESSE L. DOUGLAS
REV DR. JAMES J. ROBINSON
REV. DR. LEOTIS S. BELK
REV. DR. WYATT T. WALKER
DR. THELMA C. DAVIDSON ADAIR
"Agenuineleaderisnotasearcherfor consensusbutamolderofconsensus."
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., CTS ‘51
