A search committee previously sued for gender discrimination over its hiring process has announced its pick for the next senior pastor of a prominent New York City congregation considered by some to be the flagship of the Black church in America.
Candidate Kevin R. Johnson, founding pastor of Dare to Imagine Church in Philadelphia, will be recommended for the congregation’s approval to lead the more than 200-year-old Abyssinian Baptist Church, according to an internal church memo obtained by The Associated Press. Church spokesperson LaToya Evans confirmed in a statement that the committee had made its selection.
“The Pulpit Search Committee is confident in Rev. Johnson’s ability to lead and uphold the history and legacy of our institution of faith,” said the memo, dated April 13. “We look forward to presenting the final candidate to you and will announce the date of the congregation vote in the coming days.”
No woman has ever been Abyssinian’s senior pastor; Johnson's selection would continue that streak.
Based in Harlem, Abyssinian became a famous megachurch with the political rise of the Rev. Adam Clayton Powell Jr. perhaps the most influential of the many men who have led the congregation. Powell, pastor from 1937 to 1972, served in Congress for 26 years. Over the years, Abyssinian also has been the spiritual home of many influential New Yorkers, including longtime member and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, the prosecutor bringing the historic hush money case against former President Donald Trump.
If hired, Johnson would fill the top job left vacant after longtime senior pastor Calvin O. Butts III died in 2022. Johnson, 50, had served as an intern and assistant pastor under Butts. He did not respond to the AP’s request for comment but became emotional, crying during one of the Sunday services at Dare to Imagine and making reference to a letter he sent to the congregation in another.
The Rev. Eboni Marshall Turman, a Yale Divinity School professor and Butts’ former assistant pastor, was among the candidates interviewed in the pulpit search, which was criticized for being too long and lacking transparency. After not being named a finalist, Marshall Turman sued the church and the search committee in federal court for gender discrimination, an assertion the church and the committee disputed.
“The blessing of Baptist polity is that we ascribe to the distinctive of the ‘priesthood of all believers,’” Marshall Turman told the AP after learning Johnson was selected. “With the help of God, the power to call a pastor ultimately rests with the congregation. The church still has to vote.”
Johnson is a 1996 graduate of Morehouse College in Atlanta, where he took part in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Chapel Assistants program. He holds a Master of Divinity degree from Union Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Education degree from Columbia University.
He founded Dare to Imagine after a contentious resignation and split with the historic Bright Hope Baptist Church in 2014.
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
In this 2013 photo provided by Regina Fleming Photography, Kevin R. Johnson, founding pastor of Dare to Imagine Church in Philadelphia, poses for a portrait in Philadelphia. Johnson has been selected by a pulpit search committee to lead Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York, known by some as the flagship of the Black church in America. Before he can be hired, the congregation will need to approved his candidacy. (Regina Fleming Photography via AP)
PARIS (AP) — French police removed dozens of students from the Sorbonne university after pro-Palestinian protesters occupied the main courtyard of the elite institution in Paris on Monday.
About 50 protesters set up tents at midday Monday at the Sorbonne university courtyard in support of Palestinians, echoing similar encampments and solidarity demonstrations across the United States.
Protesters unveiled a giant Palestinian flag and chanted slogans in support of Palestinians in Gaza, as Israel continues its offensive following the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas attack that triggered the Israeli-Hamas war. Police entered the university grounds in the early afternoon and removed them.
About 100 demonstrators took part in the protest near the prestigious university amid heavy police presence that were also guarding the university entrance to prevent students from setting up camp inside again.
Lorelia Frejo, a graduate student at the Sorbonne who joined a protest outside the university, said police used force to remove her peers from the courtyard. “They were peaceful and police took them out with no explanation,” Frejo said. Students in Paris were inspired by the protests at New York's Columbia University who remain steadfast despite police pressure, she added.
“They (Columbia protesters) are very strong and want to fight for justice and for peace in Palestine," Frejo said.
The Sorbonne occupies a unique place at the heart of French public and intellectual life. Last week, President Emmanuel Macron chose it as the venue to deliver a speech on his vision of Europe ahead of elections for the European Parliament in June.
Last week protests broke out at another elite university in the French capital region, the Paris Institute of Political Studies, known as Sciences Po, which counts Macron and Prime Minister Gabriel Attal among its many famous alumni.
Tensions had broken out on campus as pro-Palestinian students inspired by Gaza solidarity encampments at campuses in the United States sought to occupy an amphitheater.
On Friday, pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli demonstrators faced each other in a tense standoff in the street outside the school. Riot police stepped in to separate the opposing groups.
The protest ended peacefully, when students agreed to evacuate the building late on Friday. The head of Sciences Po said an agreement with students had been reached.
AP writer Barbara Surk contributed from Nice, France.
Students demonstrate outside La Sorbonne university with a huge Palestinian flag, Monday, April 29, 2024 in Paris. About 100 Pro-Palestinian students demonstrate near the Sorbonne university in Paris. The demonstration came on the heels of protests last week at another Paris-region school, Sciences Po. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Students demonstrate outside La Sorbonne university, Monday, April 29, 2024 in Paris. About 100 Pro-Palestinian students demonstrate near the Sorbonne university in Paris. The demonstration came on the heels of protests last week at another Paris-region school, Sciences Po. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
A student flashes the V sign during a demonstration outside La Sorbonne university, Monday, April 29, 2024 in Paris. About 100 Pro-Palestinian students demonstrate near the Sorbonne university in Paris. The demonstration came on the heels of protests last week at another Paris-region school, Sciences Po. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Students demonstrate outside La Sorbonne university, Monday, April 29, 2024 in Paris. About 100 Pro-Palestinian students demonstrate near the Sorbonne university in Paris. The demonstration came on the heels of protests last week at another Paris-region school, Sciences Po. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Students demonstrate outside La Sorbonne university with a huge Palestinian flag, Monday, April 29, 2024 in Paris. About 100 Pro-Palestinian students demonstrate near the Sorbonne university in Paris. The demonstration came on the heels of protests last week at another Paris-region school, Sciences Po. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Students demonstrate outside La Sorbonne university with a huge Palestinian flag, Monday, April 29, 2024 in Paris. About 100 Pro-Palestinian students demonstrate near the Sorbonne university in Paris. The demonstration came on the heels of protests last week at another Paris-region school, Sciences Po. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Students demonstrate outside La Sorbonne university with a huge Palestinian flag, Monday, April 29, 2024 in Paris. About 100 Pro-Palestinian students demonstrate near the Sorbonne university in Paris. The demonstration came on the heels of protests last week at another Paris-region school, Sciences Po. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Students demonstrate outside La Sorbonne university with a huge Palestinian flag, Monday, April 29, 2024 in Paris. About 100 Pro-Palestinian students demonstrate near the Sorbonne university in Paris. The demonstration came on the heels of protests last week at another Paris-region school, Sciences Po. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Students demonstrate outside La Sorbonne university, Monday, April 29, 2024 in Paris. About 100 Pro-Palestinian students demonstrate near the Sorbonne university in Paris. The demonstration came on the heels of protests last week at another Paris-region school, Sciences Po. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Students stage a sit-in outside La Sorbonne university, Monday, April 29, 2024 in Paris. About 100 Pro-Palestinian students demonstrate near the Sorbonne university in Paris. The demonstration came on the heels of protests last week at another Paris-region school, Sciences Po. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Students demonstrate outside La Sorbonne university, Monday, April 29, 2024 in Paris. About 100 Pro-Palestinian students demonstrate near the Sorbonne university in Paris. The demonstration came on the heels of protests last week at another Paris-region school, Sciences Po. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Students demonstrate outside La Sorbonne university, Monday, April 29, 2024 in Paris. About 100 Pro-Palestinian students demonstrate near the Sorbonne university in Paris. The demonstration came on the heels of protests last week at another Paris-region school, Sciences Po. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Students demonstrate outside La Sorbonne university, Monday, April 29, 2024 in Paris. About 100 Pro-Palestinian students demonstrate near the Sorbonne university in Paris. The demonstration came on the heels of protests last week at another Paris-region school, Sciences Po. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
