U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Jr., church leaders, Vanderbilt scholars and others will discuss the role of the black church in public policy activism during a three-day conference sponsored by the Kelly Miller Smith Institute on Black Church Studies at Vanderbilt Divinity School.
African American clergy and laity, leaders of non-profit organizations and all interested in effective organizing for social justice are encouraged to attend the conference, which is free and open to the public.
The Church and Public Policy Conference runs April 4-6 at the Scarritt- Bennett Center at 1008 19th Ave. S., and Vanderbilt Divinity School, 411 21st Ave. S. on the Vanderbilt campus.
Conference speakers will examine the priorities of African American churches and methods to effectively engage public policy.
Ford, D-Tenn., will speak at 2 p.m. April 5 in the Raintree Room of the Scarritt-Bennett Center on “Government, Public Policy, and Civil Society.”
The complete schedule follows:
Tuesday, April 4, in Social Room E of the Scarritt-Bennett Center
6 p.m., Reception.
Tuesday, April 4, in Wightman Chapel of the Scarritt-Bennett Center
7 p.m., opening statements by James Hudnut-Beumler, dean of Vanderbilt Divinity School, and Forrest E. Harris Sr., director of the Kelly Miller Smith Institute on Black Church Studies.
8 p.m., Brad Braxton, associate professor of homiletics and New Testament at Vanderbilt Divinity School, speaks on “Preaching and Public Policy.”
Wednesday, April 5, in the Raintree Room of the Scarritt-Bennett Center
10 a.m. opening statement by Alice Hunt, associate dean of Vanderbilt Divinity School.
10:10 a.m., Tennessee Health Commissioner Kenneth Robinson speaks on “The Church, Health, and Public Policy.”
10:40 a.m., Victor Anderson, associate professor of religious studies at Vanderbilt Divinity School, speaks on “Black Churches: Moral Actors and Civic Influences.” Robinson will follow with a response and there will be time for audience dialogue.
Noon, lunch break.
2 p.m., U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Jr., D-Tenn., speaks on “Government, Public Policy, and Civil Society.” Dennis Dickerson,
professor of history at Vanderbilt University, will offer a response and there will be time for audience dialogue.
Thursday, April 6, in Room G-23 of Vanderbilt Divinity School
10 a.m., Lewis Baldwin, professor of religious studies at Vanderbilt University, speaks on “The Tradition of Black Church Activism.” Victor Singletary, pastor of Nashville’s First Baptist Church, Capitol Hill, will respond, and there will be time for audience dialogue.
10:40 a.m., Herbert Marbury, assistant professor of Hebrew Bible at Vanderbilt University, speaks on “Civic Priorities for Social Justice Activism,” followed by a response by Edwin Sanders, pastor of Nashville’s Metropolitan Interdenominational Church, and there will be time for audience dialogue.
Noon, closing statements by James Hudnut-Beumler, dean of Vanderbilt Divinity School, and Forrest E. Harris Sr., director of the Kelly Miller Smith Institute on Black Church Studies.
The Kelly Miller Smith Institute on Black Church Studies partners with the African American community to define a future for oppressed peoples shaped by the prophetic vision of God’s justice on earth. It is a vehicle for generating scholarship on the black church and sharing the results at conferences and workshops that enrich the dialogue with lay and clergy leaders.
Portions of the conference will be posted on VUCast, www.vanderbilt.edu/news , Vanderbilt’s news network.
Media contact: Jim Patterson, (615) 322-NEWS
jim.patterson@vanderbilt.edu