Rev. James Forbes Jr. to Keynote Boswell Symposium, "A Fundamental Ambiguity: The Black Church and Politics"

September 20, 2004

September 20, 2004, Greencastle, Ind. - You're invited to attend The Hampton and Esther Boswell Symposium, "A Fundamental Ambiguity: The Black Church and Politics," October 11 and 12 on the DePauw University campus. The Rev. James A. Forbes Jr. -- senior minister of the Riverside Church, an interdenominational, interracial, and international church in New York City -- will provide the symposium's keynote address, Monday, October 11 at 7:30 p.m. in Meharry Hall of historic East College. His lecture, and all Boswell Symposium events, are free and open to the public.

Dr. Forbes has earned three degrees and has been awarded 13 honorary degrees. In 1996, Newsweek magazine recognized Reverend Forbes as one of the 12 "most effective preachers" in the English-speaking world. He also was designated as one of America's greatest black preachers by Ebony magazine in 1984 and 1993.

An Associated Press story notes, "Forbes, Riverside's first black minister, has extended its social activism over the past 14 years. The church trains welfare recipients in hair cutting in its basement; it offers the homeless an opportunity to take showers and do their laundry; it sanctions gay marriages." The same story quotes journalist Bill Moyers as saying that Dr. Forbes is gaining "growing influence on the national stage" (read more here).

On Tuesday, October 12, the Boswell Symposium will present a panel discussion, "A Fundamental Ambiguity: The Black Church and Politics." It will begin at 4:15 p.m. in the auditorium of the F.W. Olin Biological Sciences Building.

Learn more about the symposium by clicking here, or contact Yvonne Williams, Hampton and Esther Boswell Distinguished University Professor, by sending an e-mail here.

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