NASHVILLE, TN — New York Times bestselling author Jemar Tisby will be the keynote lecturer for the American Baptist College 2023 Presidential Lecture Series on Friday, November 3. The lecture will take place from 6-7:30 pm (Central) in the Susie McClure Library on the College’s campus, 1800 Baptist World Center Drive, in Nashville.
Tisby is the author of “The Color of Compromise,” a New York Times bestseller, and the award-winning “How to Fight Racism.” He is a professor at Simmons College of Kentucky, a historically Black college in Louisville. He is also the founder of The Witness, Inc., an organization dedicated to Black uplift from a spiritual perspective, and co-host of the “Pass the Mic” podcast. He speaks nationwide on the topics of racial justice, U.S. history, and Christianity. Tisby earned a Ph.D. in history and studies race, religion, and social movements in the 20th century.
The Presidential Lecture Series is a partnership between ABC and Tennesseans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty. The six-week speaker series, which began October 13, focuses on issues spotlighted in a report published earlier this year by the Death Penalty Information Center, “Doomed to Repeat: The Legacy of Race in Tennessee’s Contemporary Death Penalty.” Tisby’s lecture is the fourth in the series; previous topics have included “Laying the Groundwork,” “Art Imitating Life,” and “The Risk of Wrongful Conviction.”
Topics for the final two lectures are “Addressing Harm,” a conversation about restorative justice featuring leaders from TADP and Raphah Institute on November 10, and “Be the Change You Want to See,” a conversation with Tennessee State Senator Charlane Oliver.
In conjunction with each lecture, visitors can also view artwork on display in the McClure Library by Ndume Olatushani, who served 28 years in prison – including 20 on death row – for a crime he didn’t commit.
All Presidential Lecture Series events are free and open to the public.
For more information, contact Stacy Rector at Tennesseans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty at stacy@tennesseedeathpenalty.org, or Terri Woodmore at American Baptist College at twoodmore@abcnash.edu.