Latest news with #AmericanBaptistCollege
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Nashville Then: American Baptist College, founded in 1924, over the years in photos
The American Baptist College started as the American Baptist Theological Seminary to educate Black Baptist ministers. The college was part of Nashville's Civil Rights Movement.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Phyllis Hildreth tapped to lead Nashville Office of Youth Safety
Phyllis Hildreth is set to lead Nashville's first-ever Office of Youth Safety. Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell announced her appointment on April 25. Hildreth will start on May 12. A lawyer, community leader and longtime youth advocate, Hildreth most recently served as chief of staff at American Baptist College and as academic director of the Institute for Conflict Management at Lipscomb University. "Phyllis's passion for supporting our youth goes all the way back to her childhood, where she watched her father support kids in her community as a high school guidance counselor and Sunday school teacher," O'Connell said in a news release. "Her background includes work in both education and juvenile justice — giving her a unique perspective on how we build a resilient ecosystem to support our youth." Young people were key in advocating for the Office of Youth Safety. The Metro Council passed $1 million last year to start the office at the urging of Nashville youth who are part of nonprofit Southern Movement Committee. Dozens of young people from the organization lined up to speak before the council in June. As director, Hildreth will lead the charge in establishing programs for youth violence prevention and conflict resolution. She will also work with other city leaders to make neighborhoods safer for youth and minimize their harmful interactions with the criminal justice system. "The Office of Youth Safety will complement the work ongoing in the city to support young Nashvillians," the release stated. "As director, Hildreth will unite the efforts underway in the space of youth safety and programming." Hildreth earned her Bachelor of Arts in biology from Harvard University before going on to attain a law degree at the University of Maryland. She also has a Master's degree in conflict management from Lipscomb University. She worked as chief counsel for administration at the Maryland Office of the Public Defender, deputy secetary for the Maryland Department of Juvenile Justice and managing director for the Baltimore Juvenile Justice Center. The wife of Meharry Medical College President Dr. James Hildreth, she also served on the Community Oversight Board and Human Relations Commission in Nashville. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Phyllis Hildreth tapped to lead Nashville Office of Youth Safety
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Opinion - This Easter season, make like Jesus and get into some ‘good trouble'
'Pray as though everything depended on God,' Saint Augustine wrote. 'Work as though everything depended on you.' Easter Monday is a celebration of Jesus' resurrection, and a call to action. Let me say that in the language of today's social media clickbait: America's Christians have to 'Practice what we preach.' This is a fearful time for our nation. Last week, Thomas Friedman, the New York Times columnist, wrote that he has never feared for his nation as much as he fears for it today. And in a time of fear, faith demands more than prayers. It demands action and strength. People of faith are called to do what the late Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), a civil rights icon famously urged, guided by his Christian beliefs: We need to get into 'good trouble.' Lewis, a graduate of American Baptist College in Tennessee, told PBS in 2004. 'In my estimation, the civil rights movement was a religious phenomenon. When we'd go out to sit in or go out to march, I felt — and I really believe — there was a force in front of us and a force behind us, 'cause sometimes you didn't know what to do … But somehow and some way, you believed — you had faith — that it all was going to be all right.' As an Episcopalian who regularly attends church, I have learned from the Old and New Testament that Jesus commanded love and care for the poor, the sick, the downtrodden, and the refugee. So how can any Christian, especially Evangelicals, a key base for Trump, defend this president? The old phrase 'WWJD' — What Would Jesus Do? — applies. Would Jesus snatch people off the street and throw them into distant prisons? Would Jesus separate families without due process, with no evidence? Would Jesus smile as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, flashing an expensive Rolex watch, poses gleefully in front of cages jammed with desperate prisoners? Would Jesus applaud as she bragged about their inhumane conditions? How is that crass act acceptable to those who worship Jesus? I have been taught that Jesus would protest Trump budget proposals that take a sledgehammer to financial lifelines for seniors, widows, the disabled, and the poor, including Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, while promising tax cuts for corporations and the wealthiest Americans. In the 1970s and 1980s, the late televangelists Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson fueled the political rise of the 'Moral Majority,' as a dominant force in Republican politics. They transformed abortion into a wedge issue, stirring churchgoers to vote for the Republican Party as an act of faith in Jesus to defend human life. To this day, Christian conservatives continue to invoke scripture to defend unborn life and oppose homosexual marriage. But they somehow ignore that same scripture's calls to heal the sick, feed the hungry, and uplift the downtrodden. Call me astounded by such hypocrisy. Let's not forget: Jesus brought a whip into the temple to drive out the money-changers. The Bible warns heavily against the rich exploiting the poor. Yet Trump accepts big campaign contributions from the richest and allows these unelected oligarchs to set policies that benefit the rich and harm the poor. There's a link between that hypocrisy and the spectacle of Pastor Paula White-Cain, Trump's senior White House faith adviser and a government employee, asking Christians to send her $1,000 because 'ministry costs money.' In return, sounding like a grifter in the temple, she promises 'seven supernatural blessings': angelic protection, prosperity, healing, long life — plus a free crystal cross, if you act now. This unseemly behavior is a minor news item, overshadowed by Trump Administration lawyers' failure to explain to judges their defiance of court orders and indifference to America's promise of justice for all. Trump similarly failed to find an answer when Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde, speaking at an inaugural prayer service, asked him to 'have mercy,' on people 'who are scared now' — specifically people who are immigrants and people who are transgender. His only response was to attack the bishop as a 'radical left hard line Trump-hater,' and call her 'nasty.' Now, in this time of fear, it is up to true Christians to act. Former Congressman Lewis drew inspiration from a faith-driven leader: the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 'King was not concerned about the streets of heaven and the pearly gates and the streets paved with milk and honey,' Lewis said in the 1987 PBS documentary 'Eyes on the Prize' (for which I wrote the companion book). 'He was more concerned about the streets of Montgomery and the way that Black people and poor people were being treated in Montgomery.' On this Easter Monday, the question is how will Trump's Christian supporters answer when confronted with Jesus' concern for others to the point of giving his life to save sinners? How will they answer for these actions when they're one day called to account? Something tells me God will not be impressed with claims that hatred of Democrats or liberals was greater than concern over Trump's wrongdoing. Christianity and most other religions teach that there will be a reckoning for political harm being done in today's Washington. So I pray for hearts to change, but also for true Christians to act urgently and get in 'good trouble.' Juan Williams is senior political analyst for Fox News Channel and a prize-winning civil rights historian. He is the author of the new book 'New Prize for these Eyes: the Rise of America's Second Civil Rights Movement.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
21-04-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
This Easter season, make like Jesus and get into some ‘good trouble'
'Pray as though everything depended on God,' Saint Augustine wrote. 'Work as though everything depended on you.' Easter Monday is a celebration of Jesus' resurrection, and a call to action. Let me say that in the language of today's social media clickbait: America's Christians have to 'Practice what we preach.' This is a fearful time for our nation. Last week, Thomas Friedman, the New York Times columnist, wrote that he has never feared for his nation as much as he fears for it today. And in a time of fear, faith demands more than prayers. It demands action and strength. People of faith are called to do what the late Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), a civil rights icon famously urged, guided by his Christian beliefs: We need to get into 'good trouble.' Lewis, a graduate of American Baptist College in Tennessee, told PBS in 2004. 'In my estimation, the civil rights movement was a religious phenomenon. When we'd go out to sit in or go out to march, I felt — and I really believe — there was a force in front of us and a force behind us, 'cause sometimes you didn't know what to do … But somehow and some way, you believed — you had faith — that it all was going to be all right.' As an Episcopalian who regularly attends church, I have learned from the Old and New Testament that Jesus commanded love and care for the poor, the sick, the downtrodden, and the refugee. So how can any Christian, especially Evangelicals, a key base for Trump, defend this president? The old phrase 'WWJD' — What Would Jesus Do? — applies. Would Jesus snatch people off the street and throw them into distant prisons? Would Jesus separate families without due process, with no evidence? Would Jesus smile as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, flashing an expensive Rolex watch, poses gleefully in front of cages jammed with desperate prisoners? Would Jesus applaud as she bragged about their inhumane conditions? How is that crass act acceptable to those who worship Jesus? I have been taught that Jesus would protest Trump budget proposals that take a sledgehammer to financial lifelines for seniors, widows, the disabled, and the poor, including Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, while promising tax cuts for corporations and the wealthiest Americans. In the 1970s and 1980s, the late televangelists Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson fueled the political rise of the ' Moral Majority,' as a dominant force in Republican politics. They transformed abortion into a wedge issue, stirring churchgoers to vote for the Republican Party as an act of faith in Jesus to defend human life. To this day, Christian conservatives continue to invoke scripture to defend unborn life and oppose homosexual marriage. But they somehow ignore that same scripture's calls to heal the sick, feed the hungry, and uplift the downtrodden. Call me astounded by such hypocrisy. Let's not forget: Jesus brought a whip into the temple to drive out the money-changers. The Bible warns heavily against the rich exploiting the poor. Yet Trump accepts big campaign contributions from the richest and allows these unelected oligarchs to set policies that benefit the rich and harm the poor. There's a link between that hypocrisy and the spectacle of Pastor Paula White-Cain, Trump's senior White House faith adviser and a government employee, asking Christians to send her $1,000 because 'ministry costs money.' In return, sounding like a grifter in the temple, she promises 'seven supernatural blessings': angelic protection, prosperity, healing, long life — plus a free crystal cross, if you act now. This unseemly behavior is a minor news item, overshadowed by Trump Administration lawyers' failure to explain to judges their defiance of court orders and indifference to America's promise of justice for all. Trump similarly failed to find an answer when Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde, speaking at an inaugural prayer service, asked him to 'have mercy,' on people 'who are scared now' — specifically people who are immigrants and people who are transgender. His only response was to attack the bishop as a 'radical left hard line Trump-hater,' and call her 'nasty.' Now, in this time of fear, it is up to true Christians to act. Former Congressman Lewis drew inspiration from a faith-driven leader: the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 'King was not concerned about the streets of heaven and the pearly gates and the streets paved with milk and honey,' Lewis said in the 1987 PBS documentary 'Eyes on the Prize ' (for which I wrote the companion book). 'He was more concerned about the streets of Montgomery and the way that Black people and poor people were being treated in Montgomery.' On this Easter Monday, the question is how will Trump's Christian supporters answer when confronted with Jesus' concern for others to the point of giving his life to save sinners? How will they answer for these actions when they're one day called to account? Something tells me God will not be impressed with claims that hatred of Democrats or liberals was greater than concern over Trump's wrongdoing. Christianity and most other religions teach that there will be a reckoning for political harm being done in today's Washington. So I pray for hearts to change, but also for true Christians to act urgently and get in 'good trouble.'
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
'Untiring service': Longtime American Baptist College President Forrest Harris to retire
After decades of leadership, Forrest E. Harris Sr. will retire as the president of American Baptist College. The small, private and historically Black college sits atop what its leaders and students call "the holy hill" overlooking the Cumberland River in Nashville. It has produced its share of notable leaders over the years, such as the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis, Bernard Lafayette, C.T. Vivian, Julius Scruggs, James Bevel and others who led went on to lead the fight for racial justice. "Since assuming the presidency in July 1999, Dr. Harris has been a visionary force, guiding the institution with a steadfast commitment to theological education, social justice and the empowerment of future leaders," the school said in a news release Wednesday. American Baptist College recently celebrated its 100th year and hosted a centennial celebration of the impact the small-but-mighty-school has had on Nashville and beyond. The college was started in 1924 through a partnership between the Southern Baptist Convention, which was predominantly white, and the National Baptist Convention, which was predominantly Black. It set out with the goal of empowering Black students to earn certifications to preach, teach and lead their communities. "Without the witness and story of American Baptist College, Nashville would not be where it is today," Harris said, going on to say that influence has also touched the nation and the world. "We know that God has built a treasure, a history on the 'holy hill' of American Baptist College." Dennie Marshall, who chairs the college's board, is a longtime friend of Harris and praised his "untiring service" to the school. "Dr. Harris's leadership has been instrumental in strengthening ABC's mission, elevating its national profile, and expanding its impact in Christian ministry, social justice advocacy and higher education," Marshall said in the release. From President Forrest E. Harris: American Baptist College educated John Lewis, CT Vivian and others over the last 100 years The board plans to launch a nationwide search for the next president of the HBCU, according to the release. The college will also host a "Legacy of Leadership Gala" on June 28 to honor Harris and his legacy. It will be held at the Cal Turner Family Center at Meharry Medical College. Additionally, the school will start an endowment in Harris's name called the "Legacy of Leadership Fund." The fund will be dedicated to empowering leaders through the college and supporting its programs on theology and social justice. Information on the gala, the fund and more can be found at or by contacting the school's Office of Institutional Advancement at RoadTo100@ This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Forrest Harris, president of American Baptist College, to retire
