Racism: the History of the Problem with special guest, Rev. Dr. Willie Jennings, Professor of Systematic Theology and Africana Studies at Yale Divinity School

The Mt. Level Community Based Partnership for Racial Justice partnered with DurhamCares for a roundtable discussion with Rev. Dr. Willie Jennings about the origins of race and racism, the role the Church has played, and where we go from here. Jennings is the publisher of many books and articles. His book, The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race, won the American Academy of Religion Award of Excellence in the Study of Religion in the Constructive-Reflective category the year after it appeared and, in 2015, the Grawemeyer Award in Religion, the largest prize for a theological work in North America. Englewood Review of Books called the work a “theological masterpiece.” His commentary on the Book of Acts, titled Acts: A Commentary, The Revolution of the Intimate (for the Belief Series, Westminster/John Knox) received the Reference Book of the Year Award from The Academy of Parish Clergy in 2018. Jennings spent 30 years in Durham, NC, before joining the faculty at Yale.

If you have questions about future initiatives with the Mt. Level Community Partnership for Racial Justice, email mtlracialjustice@gmail.com.

As a response to Dr. Jennings’s call, if you would like to support equitable development in Braggtown, please sign this petition.

More by Dr. Jennings:

Divinity Magazine of Duke University (Spring 2015) 

My Anger, God’s Righteous Indignation / Willie Jennings (Response to the Death of George Floyd)