Mr. Jemar Tisby
Scholar, writer, podcaster, and historian, Helena, AR
Wednesday, March 3 ~ Noon and Lent After Dark
Dynamic, significant, and prophetic, Jemar Tisby is a public historian with the ability to explore racial justice solutions and cultural conversations that compel listeners to action. He provides audiences with richly-informed explorations, unflinching moral insight, and clear paths forward.
He has recently taken the position of CEO of The Witness Incorporated, a nonprofit organization he founded, which is dedicated to Black uplift from a Christian perspective. Jemar is the author of two books, The Color of Compromise—a New York Times bestseller—and How to Fight Racism, released in January 2021. His writing has also been featured in the Washington Post, CNN, and The Atlantic among others. Tisby is currently a Ph.D. candidate in History at the University of Mississippi studying race, religion, and social movements in the twentieth century.
Over nearly 20 years at LPS, Marcus Borg challenged assumptions and nurtured lifelong friendships at Calvary. After his death in 2015, several of those friends began an endowment in order to continue his legacy of intellectual and spiritual inquiry. Marcus Borg Endowed Speakers reflect Marcus's willingness to challenge sacred texts and ideas while still remaining grounded in them.
Jemar Tisby came to the Christian faith through a door he never expected: a theologically conservative white evangelical church. As a new Christian and a Black man, Jemar studied the words and actions of Jesus. This led to the desire to understand the history of the Christian church and particularly the ways in which it has been complicit in systemic racism. Jemar’s scholarly work provokes reflection and calls readers to actions that promote justice in line with the way of Jesus. Keeping scriptural texts close, Jemar’s work is reminiscent of Marcus Borg’s: provocative, compelling, transformative.
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Musician: Michelle Pellay-Walker, Assistant Principal Violist of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, an adjunct instructor at Southwest Tennessee Community College, and a 17-year veteran of Calvary Choir's alto section