Education and faith are the hallmarks of the ministry of the Reverend Dr. Calvin O. Butts, III, infusing his life, his work and his teachings. As Pastor of the nationally renowned Abyssinian Baptist Church in the City of New York, and President of the State University of New York (SUNY) College at Old Westbury, Dr.

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, NJ in 1983.

Dr. Cooper is co-editor of The Crunk Feminist Collection (The Feminist Press 2017). She is author of Beyond Respectability: The Intellectual Thought of Race Women (University of Illinois Press, May 2017) and Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower (St. Martin’s, February 2018).  In particular, this work interrogates the manner in which public Black women have theorized racial identity and gender politics, and the methods they used to operationalize those theories for the uplift of Black communities.

The Reverend Matthew Lawrence Watley is the Founder and Senior Pastor of Kingdom Fellowship AME Church headquartered in Silver Spring, MD. The church was established out of Reid Temple AME Church, where he served as Executive Minister for 20 years. Kingdom Fellowship began with more than 5000 members with Rev. Watley preaching three services each weekend. In addition to the thousands that attend worship in-person, thousands more stream through the church’s app, Facebook live portal, and website www.kingdom.global.

Rahiel Tesfamariam is an award-winning activist, journalist, theologian, and speaker. A former Washington Post columnist, she is the founder of Urban Cusp, a cutting-edge online community highlighting faith, social change, culture, and global awareness. 

Speaking Engagements

Sunday, March 15, 2020

Rev. Neichelle R. Guidry, Ph.D., is a highly sought-after teacher, preacher, leader and commentator. Dr. Guidry currently serves as the Dean of the Chapel and the Director of the WISDOM Center at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia. A womanist homiletician and practitioner, she is the author of Curating a World: Sermonic Words from a Young Woman Who Preaches.

Susan K. Williams Smith is an ordained minister, musician, writer, and activist living in Columbus, Ohio. She has written for the Washington Post and Huffington Post, as well as her blog, Candid Observations. She currently serves as one of the tri-chairs for the Ohio Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. She also serves as national scribe for the African American Ministers’ Leadership Council (AAMLC), as communications consultant for the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference, and is the founder of Crazy Faith Ministries.

Marianne Williamson is an internationally acclaimed lecturer, activist and author of four #1 New York times bestselling books. She has been one of America’s most well known public voices for more than three decades. Seven of her twelve published books have been New York Times best sellers and Marianne has been a popular guest on television programs such as Oprah, Good Morning America, and Bill Maher. A quote from the mega best seller A Return to Love, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Speaking Engagements

Sunday, May 05, 2019

Sunday, May 03, 2020