Making It Plain: Envisioning Freedom in These Yet to Be United States

The Black Religious Scholars Group 29th Annual Consultation | Making It Plain: Envisioning Freedom in These Yet to Be United States The Black Religious Scholars Group Twenty-Ninth Annual Consultation Making It Plain: Envisioning Freedom in These Yet to Be United States Honoring Rev. Dr. Marvin A. McMickle President Emeritus of Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School and Pastor Emeritus of Antioch Baptist Church of Cleveland, Ohio and Honoring Posthumously Dr. Rachel E. Harding Associate Professor Emeritus and Former Chair of the Department of Ethnic Studies at the University of Colorado Denver Rev. Dr. Michael Joseph Brown Former President of Payne Theological Seminary Friday, November 20, 2026 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. Whereas this year marks the 250th anniversary of the American experiment, many of us who are of African descent know that Black life and faith stand boldly as a prophetic witness to the ongoing existential struggle over the story—past, present, and future—of this place the late, great Maya Angelou called "the yet-to-be United States." Therefore, the theme for this year’s BRSG gathering— Envisioning Freedom in These Yet to Be United States —is a call to build new ways forward by centering the divine, dignified, and enduring value of Black humanity. In a nation where race and religion have too often been wielded as tools of division and weapons for control, we seek to reclaim them as sources of healing, resistance, and sacred possibilities. Born from struggle, rooted in love, and shaped through generations of communal wisdom spanning from across the diaspora, Blackness has always carried with it a sacred quality. Furthermore, the notion of the sacred and the vision of a beloved community empowered by this belief are not abstract ideals; they are embodied in the lived experiences of Black people who, even in the face of dehumanization and systemic oppression since the founding of these yet-to-be United States, have forged beauty, brilliance, belonging, and belief. Yet, as we find ourselves in a political atmosphere that strives to marginalize millions of escalate cultural conflicts by leaders who would rather erase than embrace a more inclusive and expansive vision of history, we gather not just to reflect but to advance a vision of Blackness is not a problem to be endured and eventually solved, but a precious inheritance to be redeemed and honored. Council of Griots Rev. Dr. Lee H. Butler, Jr. | Iliff School of Theology Rev. Dr. Obery M. Hendricks, Jr. | Columbia University Rev. Dr. Pamela R. Lightsey | Meadville Lombard Theological School Rev. Dr. Renita J. Weems | Gammon Theological Seminary Rev. Dr. Jonathan L. Walton, moderator | Princeton Theological Seminary Rev. Dr. Teresa Smallwood, moderator | United Lutheran Seminary Location Hyatt Regency Denver at Colorado Convention Center Centennial A 650 15th Street Denver, CO 80202