Lecture: The Power of Hope in Troubling Times

Rev. Traci Blackmon, Associate General Minister of Justice and Local Church Ministries for the United Church of Christ and a leading voice of frontline spiritual leaders during the unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, after the murder of Michael Brown, joins us for a lecture and Q&A session around the power of hope in troubling times. In person only.

Rev. Blackmon will be the featured guest preacher on Sunday, March 12, at the 10:00 am service as part of the Michael B. Curry Distinguished Preachers Series. Learn more here 

About Rev. Blackmon:  Named as one of St. Louis' 100 most influential voices, activist and spiritual leader Rev. Traci Blackmon is the Acting Executive Minister of Justice & Witness Ministries of The United Church of Christ and former senior pastor of Christ the King United Church of Christ in Florissant, MO. She was the leading voice of frontline spiritual leaders influential in leading prayer vigils and engaging in peaceful protests during the unrest in Ferguson, MO, following the murder of Michael Brown in 2014. 

She was appointed to the Ferguson Commission by Governor Jay Nixon and to the President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based Neighborhood Partnerships for the White House by President Barack H. Obama. Rev. Blackmon co-authored the White Privilege curriculum for the United Church of Christ and toured the nation with Rev. Dr. William Barber of Moral Mondays and Repairer of the Breech, Rev. Dr. James Forbes of The Drum Major Institute and pastor emeritus of The Riverside Church in New York, and Sister Simone Campbell of Nuns on the Bus proclaiming the need for a Moral Revival in this nation.

Rev. Blackmon is a co-author of the newly released White Privilege curriculum through the United Church of Christ and has received several awards and recognitions, inclusive of The White House President’s Volunteer Service Award, 2015 Ebony Magazine Power 100, NAACP – Rosa Parks Award, National Planned Parenthood Faith Leader Award, The United Church of Christ – Antoinette Brown Leadership Award, and an Honorary Doctorate from Eden Theological Seminary.

A registered nurse with more than 25 years of healthcare experience, Rev. Blackmon’s clinical focus was cardiac care and in later years her focus shifted to mobile healthcare in underserved communities with the greatest health disparities in her region. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from Birmingham – Southern College (1985), and a Master of Divinity degree from Eden Theological Seminary (2009).