Public Policy and the Black Church : The Urgency of Now
The Public Theology and Racial Justice Collaborative and the Kelly Miller Smith Institute on Black Church Studies are excited to engage our community leaders in this dialog in light of the legacy of Rev. Kelly Miller Smith, Sr. This year marks the 100th year of his birth. His prophetic witness, his legacy of service to the community, and his political tenacity are exemplars to draw from in our tumultuous times. Area clergy will challenge us to place all-hands-on deck as we evaluate public policy that impacts our membership, our communities and our neighbors.
For such a time as this, we will discuss the importance of civic engagement, recent legislative actions impacting our community, and effective ecclesial response to our current policy landscape. The third of three conversations, this panel will include Rev. Dr. Kelly Miller Smith, Jr., Rev. Dr. Napoleon Harris, Min. Nikki Tolliver, Rev. Cherisna Jean-Marie, Rev. Davie Tucker, Rev. Kelli X, and Rev. Dr. Amy E. Steele, moderator.
Session 3: Panelists
Rev. Amy E. Steele, Ph.D. is the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs and Community Life at Vanderbilt University Divinity School. She works with the community in the areas of worship and spiritual formation, exigency plans, student government, social justice and the practice of ministry. She facilitates a seminar in Field Education, occasionally teaches courses on Howard Thurman, and chairs the committee for Life-long Learning. She is a “Double-Dore” having both earned her Master of Divinity and Doctorate of Philosophy in Religion (Ethics and Society) from Vanderbilt. She has published articles, book reviews, and is working on a book-length manuscript on Thurman. She is an associate pastor at Cornerstone United Methodist Church in Smyrna, TN and mother to a high-school junior with a knack for history.
On June 1, 2019 the Rev. Cherisna Jean-Marie started her ministry as the Director of Racial Justice Ministries with Scarritt Bennett Center in Nashville, TN.
Rev. Cherisna Jean-Marie is a Haitian-American born and raised in Newark, NJ to the parents of Joseph (deceased) and Grace Jean-Marie. In 2001 she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Communications from Kean University in Union, NJ. Upon graduation she worked in the University setting in the Division of Student Affairs encouraging college students to tap into their fullest potential and embrace the true and living God. It was during that time she discovered her calling into the pastoral ministry. After five years in Higher Education, Rev. Cherisna answered her call to ministry and matriculated into Vanderbilt Divinity School as a second career student.
In 2010, Rev. Jean-Marie completed her Master of Divinity from Vanderbilt Divinity School. During commencement, she was awarded the coveted Florence Conwell Prize for outstanding preaching. In 2012 she was ordained into the Christian ministry by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) at New Covenant Christian Church in Nashville, TN where she served as an Associate Minister.
She completed her Chaplaincy work in Atlanta, GA in 2014 offering up the ministry of pastoral care and counseling to a diverse community of all walks of life and faith traditions. She is a co-contributor for the African-American lectionary, 3 book projects entitled, “These Sistas Can Say it”, Partner Prayers for Advent 2014 and Prepare: An Advent Devotional 2019 with the Bethany Fellows Group (Disciples of Christ). She is a Bethany Fellow (Disciples of Christ) Alumni and a member of the NAACP- Nashville Branch, and completed her term in 2019 as the Vice President of the Fellowship of Black Disciples Clergywomen.
Rev. Jean-Marie is a visionary who possesses tremendous gifts for ministry. She seeks to personify her calling by boldly professing the Word of God to communities in need of the Good News. Above all Rev. Jean-Marie is a preacher, teacher, mentor, advocate, and organizer who loves God and has dedicated her life to building the Kingdom of God on earth.
Rev. Cherisna Jean-Marie begins her ministry with a vision to lead the Scarritt Bennett Center to becoming a leading voice that proclaims love, justice, and hospitality.
Reverend Dr. Kelly Miller Smith Jr. in his service to us as the proud pastor of First Baptist Church, Capitol Hill (FBCCH). He began serving in September 2010. He is the son of Dr. Alice C. Smith Risby and the late Reverend Dr. Kelly Miller Smith Sr.; he was born in Mound Bayou, Mississippi, and reared in Nashville, Tennessee. He was licensed to preach in 1974 and in 1979 he was ordained here at FBCCH, during the thirty-three-year tenure of his father’s serving as pastor.
Pastor Smith received a B.A. degree in Music from Morehouse College in 1976. He later attended Morehouse School of Religion of the Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC) in Atlanta, graduating with a Master of Divinity degree in 1983. In 1993, he received a Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) degree from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, where he was a Proctor-Moss Fellow. He received a Doctor of Divinity from Williamson College in Franklin TN in 2019.
After serving for six years as pastor of Berean Baptist Church in Nashville, Tennessee, Pastor Smith accepted the pastorate of Mount Olive Baptist Church (Knoxville) in 1991. During his nineteen-year pastorate at Mount Olive, the church experienced tremendous spiritual, numerical, and financial growth. Among the ministries established at Mount Olive is a pre-school called the Garden of Discovery Learning Center, and a music school called The Mount Olive Music Academy. Pastor Smith is the former Executive Director of the Sunday School Publishing Board of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., having served in that capacity from 1997 through 2013.
Under Smith’s pastoral leadership at First Baptist Capitol Hill, God allowed the church to reestablish the foundation upon which the church can build for now and the future. This includes refocusing the ministries of the church, streamlining the church’s structure and guiding the church to pay off a $1.85 million the debt in less than 5 years. Pastor Smith is now working to transform the thinking of the church to move from “membership to discipleship”, and has moved the church to structure herself through that ministry principle. He has also led the church to become more serious about mission work in what they do and contribute. In 2018 the church began doing mission work in Tanzania, East Africa and has committed at least 10% of its budget for various mission initiatives.
Pastor Smith currently serves on the Board of Alive Hospice, Vanderbilt Divinity School Board of Visitors and the Kelly Miller Smith Towers.
Pastor Smith has three children: Sharanda Nechole Smith, Valerie Taneece Molette and Kelly Miller Smith III. He also has seven grandchildren.
In his spare time, Pastor Smith enjoys traveling, playing basketball, baking sweets, playing Scrabble and other word games, and bowling. His favorite Scripture verses are Isaiah 40:31 and Philippians 4:13, and his favorite hymn is “Blessed Assurance.”
Nikki L. Harris Tolliver is a sought after, aspiring scholar, 2nd generation preacher, and innovator who seeks to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. Nikki is a proud alumnus of historic Fisk University and currently a student at Vanderbilt’s Divinity School. Nikki seeks to make every effort to put her educational training to use for the advancement of the Kingdom. She currently serves as Minister of Assimilation & Growth at Watson Grove Missionary Baptist Church, Nashville, TN. Nikki is a product of a generational effort: however she vehemently contends that she is still under construction. Nikki is the proud daughter of Pastor & Mrs. Napoleon Harris IV of Cleveland, Ohio. She is extremely grateful to have married her best friend Rev. Kevin E. Tolliver and together they parent their twin sons Kaelib & Konner. Nikki is also a co-host on The Wolves Podcast.
Kelli X is the Pastor of The Village Church, an African centered Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Madison, TN. Rev. X grew up on the South Side of Chicago and attended Tennessee State University, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology in 2002. Rev. X became an active member of The Village Church in 1999, as it was the first community of faith, she encountered that celebrates its African heritage while loving Jesus and actively answering God’s call to fight for justice for of all of God’s creation.
After nearly a decade of working with children and families living with mental illness and maneuvering the foster care system, Rev. X stepped deeper in her call to ministry by attending Vanderbilt University Divinity School where she earned a Master of Divinity in 2012. Moved by Psalm 150 and Romans 12:1, Rev. X has dedicated her life and inspires her congregation to live lives of worship of God and service to the world. Committed to speaking truth to power, Rev. X has partnered throughout her ministry with organizations such as Nashville Organized for Action and Hope (NOAH), Planned Parenthood, Moral Movement Tennessee, Southern Christian Coalition, Protect Our Care and New Leaders Council (recruitment co-chair) to seek justice for all God’s children.
Rev. X has been happily married to Rico X for over 17 years. Together they share two amazing children, Kijani and Asatira.
Pastor Davie Tucker, Jr. was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee and was educated in the Nashville public school system. After spending nine years in the United States Marine Corps, he began a career in corrections. He served as jail administrator for the Davidson County Sheriffs Department. Before entering the ministry, he was COO of TransCor America, Inc. He answered the call to the ministry in 2001. He has been the pastor of Beech Creek Missionary Baptist Church in Nashville, Tennessee since January 2007.
He graduated from American Baptist College in Nashville, TN with an A.A. in Pastoral Studies and a B.A. in Biblical Studies. During his matriculation at American Baptist College, he served as President of the Student Government Association. In addition, Reverend Tucker completed the Executive Leadership Development Program at Harvard University in Cambridge Massachusetts. In 2012, he completed the Masters of Pastoral Studies with an emphasis in Counseling.
Pastor Tucker’s mantra for ministry can be found in the Lucan text: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.” This is what the Gospel looks like and what the Gospel does.
He is a member of the Interdenominational Ministers Fellowship, Nashville Baptist Ministers Conference and director of the Center for Equity, Change and Sustainability.
He is married to the former Ms. Carla Williams and they have one son, Michael Tucker; nephew, Jarrod Williams and two grandchildren, Michael, Jr. and Miricah.
Napoleon Harris is the proud pastor of the First Baptist Church of South Inglewood in Nashville, TN. He has served God through the pastoral ministry for over a decade. Pastor Harris’ pastoral ministry has been characterized by a holistic approach to ministry, community outreach, and a dedication to transformative preaching and teaching.
Pastor Harris was born in Cleveland, Ohio to Reverend Napoleon Harris IV and Linda Gayle Harris. Minister Harris was licensed and ordained by his two spiritual mentors: his father, and pastor, Rev. C.W. Goodwin Sr., who both instilled in him a dedication to the gospel ministry through advocacy and activism for justice and equality.
With a strong commitment to education Pastor Harris attended Tennessee State University, graduating Magna Cum Laude before reenrolling to obtain an M.Ed. in Educational Administration. In May of 2008, he received the Masters in Divinity (M.Div.) from Vanderbilt Divinity School. While attending Vanderbilt, he received a certificate from the Kelly Miller Smith Institute Black Church Studies; and in the same year began pastoring the Shiloh Baptist Church in Norwalk, CT. In May 2011, he continued his commitment to education earning a Sixth Year Certificate in Elementary Education. In 2013, he earned a cross endorsement in Special Education from Southern Connecticut State University while working bi-vocationally as a Special Education High School teacher. Pastor Harris is anticipating graduating with his doctorate in Educational Leadership from Tennessee State University in December of 2020. His dissertation was entitled “Turning Sentiment into Cents: Understanding Alumni Donor Motivation at a Southern HBCU.” As a Graduate Assistant, Harris initiated the Million 4 MUREP capital campaign to raise funds for minority and underrepresented children to achieve in STEM areas, contributed towards a successful grant from NASA, and has presented at multiple academic conferences on STEM achievement by underrepresented minority students. He was also inducted into the Morehouse college of Preachers in 2020.
Outside of the pulpit and academy, Pastor Harris prides himself on being a devoted husband and father. His greatest aspirations in life are to be an exceptional father and husband. He holds that after salvation, his wife is the greatest blessing to have ever happened to him. His lovely wife is the former Sherma Nyasha Douglass of the Murray’s Village region of Kingstown, St. Vincent. Along with his wife, Napoleon enjoys spending time with his two spirited daughters Grace, and Kara Joy. He is also a proud member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Incorporated. Additionally, he has also served civically with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee. Professionally, he has received various service awards and community recognitions, from newspaper articles to commendations from state officials. God has blessed Pastor Harris with a passion and gift for writing; his work has been published multiple times across multiple platforms, and he has traveled the country lecturing, preaching, and conducting workshops.