‘Infinite Hope:’ Theological School Leaders Respond to Racial Injustice - a podcast by HTI Open Plaza

On June 3, 2020—after the murders of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd—the Black presidents and deans of schools and departments of theology and religion released a statement, ”Black Presidents and Deans Say: No More Stolen Black Lives!”, with a list of concrete demands.

That month, school leaders of the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) responded with statements of solidarity:

June 9, 2020: The Latin@ Presidents and Deans of Seminaries of the ATS post a video expressing solidarity “and what Martin Luther King Jr. called infinite hope.” This was followed by the June 17th ATS webinar “Black Lives Matter: Where Do We Go From Here.”

June 18, 2020: Asian and Asian-descent presidents and deans of the ATS issue a statement of solidarity [PDF] with the Black and Latin@ presidents and deans.

June 22, 2020: White Deans & Presidents of ATS Member Schools and Affiliates respond with a Letter of Solidarity and Accountability [PDF].

June 29, 2020: During their Biennial Open Forum for CEOs and CAOs, Presidents of ATS schools begin to answer one of the demands of the June 3, 2020 statement in a Black Lives Matter discussion [video].

Two prominent Latino theological school leaders involved in the June 9 statement are Dr. Frank Yamada, who currently serves as the 6th executive director of the ATS, and Dr. Luis Rivera, who has contributed to the work of ATS Chief Academic Officers Society and the ATS Committee on Race and Ethnicity. In this podcast episode, Dr. Yamada and Dr. Rivera discuss the declarations, unprecedented in the world of theological education.

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