webadmin.php

Kinetics will convene the Black Church & Public Life Symposium on May 23, 2008 at the Historic Union Baptist Church in Baltimore, Maryland where Rev. Dr. Alvin Hathaway is pastor. This symposium will look at trends and issues in the African American church and draw on recent research conducted by Dr. R. Drew Smith, director of the Public Influences of African-American Churches Project.

"Questions raised within the presidential campaign about the political content of black churches makes this conference timely, if not urgent." said Dr. Smith.

More than 200 scholars, clergy, elected officials, and community leaders will discuss some of the latest problems, such as the impact of conservative ideology on the traditional social gospel mission and the Obama/Wright controversy; the new technologies that influenced the role of the church in voter turnout and civic engagement, the barriers to church involvement such as the IRS, disenfranchisement, voting machine management, and the role of ministers and churches in public policy making.

The Black church has been central to every major political and social movement in the African American community; however some are concerned that the church has lost its focus in search of individual wealth and prosperity rather then collective struggle and empowerment. Kinetics is excited to bring some of the leading clergy and scholars from around the country to discuss the Public Influences of African American Churches", said BCPL Symposium convener & co-chair Jamye Wooten.

The symposium will launch on Friday morning with four plenary sessions featuring nationally recognized speakers. And will conclude on Friday evening with Generation Next: Connecting the Hip-Hop Generation to the Movement. NAACP presidential candidate Rev. Dr. Frederick Haynes will be the keynote speaker. There will be special performances by Gospel Hip Hop recording artists Japhia Life and Von Vargas and a panel on The Black Church, Hip-Hop and the Prophetic Tradition.

* Dr. Ronald Walters, BCPL Co-Chair and Director, African American Leadership Institute

* Rev. Dr. Walter Fauntroy, civil rights activist, former member of congress and human rights activist

* Dr. Obery Hendricks, scholar and author of The Politics of Jesus

* Rev. Dr. Frank M. Reid, pastor of Historic Bethel A.M.E. Church in Baltimore, MD

* Rev. William Gray, former congressman and founder and chairman of The Amani Group

* Rev. Graylan Hagler, Senior Minister, Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ, Washington, D.C. and National President, Ministers for Racial, Social and Economic Justice

* Rev. Dr. Barbara Reynolds, award- winning journalist and author

* Rev. Dr. Beecher Hicks, Jr., senior minister of the historic Metropolitan Baptist Church in Washington, D.C.

* Dr. Frederick Harris, professor and author of Black Churches and Local Politics: Clergy Influence, Organizational Partnerships, and Civic Empowerment

* Rev. Osagyefo Sekou, international activist and author of Urban Souls

* Rev. Willie Wilson, pastor of Union Temple Baptist Church & Executive Program Director of the historic Million Man March

* Mr. Bill Fletcher, executive editor of Black Commentator and founder of the Center for Labor Renewal

* Dr. Jonathan L. Walton, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, University of California, Riverside

* Dr. Josef Sorett, Ph.D. candidate, Harvard University

* Dr. Tamelyn Tucker-Worgs, Assistant professor of Political Science and African American Studies, Hood College

* Rev. Lennox Yearwood, President and CEO of the Hip Hop Caucus

And more!

About Kinetics
Kinetics is an information ministry designed to disseminate information on spiritual,political, economic, and social issues.

Kinetics mission is to provide the faith community with the tools to advocate and mobilize on local, national, and international issues, to build capacity to solve our own problems, and to use dialogue as a catalyst for social change.