‘Infinite Hope:’ Theological School Leaders Respond to Racial Injustice

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Written By Open Plaza

Dr. Luis Rivera and Dr. Frank Yamada discuss solidarity statements unprecedented in the world of U.S. theological education

George Floyd mural outside Cup Foods at Chicago Ave. and E. 38th St, Minneapolis, MN, 18 June 2020. Arists: Xena Goldman, Cadex Herrera, and Greta McLain. Photo: Lorie Shaull

George Floyd mural outside Cup Foods at Chicago Ave. and E. 38th St, Minneapolis, MN, 18 June 2020. Arists: Xena Goldman, Cadex Herrera, and Greta McLain. Photo: Lorie Shaull

 

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 posted 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 issued a statement of solidarity with the Black and Latin@ presidents and deans. [PDF]

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

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

Two prominent 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.

 
Featured
Luis Rivera

Dr. Luis R. Rivera is associate professor of theology at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary (UMC), where he served as Academic Dean and Vice President for Academic Affairs. He was a faculty member and Academic Dean and Vice President for Academic Affairs at McCormick Theological Seminary (PCUSA) in Chicago. Dr. Rivera started his teaching career in 1986, when he joined the Faculty of the Evangelical Seminary of Puerto Rico.

Dr. Rivera holds degrees from the University of Puerto Rico (B.A.), the Evangelical Seminary of Puerto Rico (M.Div.), and Harvard University, the Divinity School (Th.M., Th.D.). His research and teaching have focused on the theological and hermeneutical challenges posed by the experiences of global migrations and the formation of diaspora communities and congregations amidst multicultural societies in a globalized world. Currently, he is conducting research to write a book on the history and legacy of the Latinx Protestant theological movement in US graduate theological education.

Dr. Rivera has served throughout the years as leader or resource for some of the most important Latino/a/x organizations in theological education: Association for Hispanic Theological Education; the Hispanic Summer Program, the Hispanic Theological Initiative Consortium, La Comunidad, and the Center for the Study of Latino/a Catholicism in San Diego University. He has also contributed to the work of ATS Chief Academic Officers Society, the ATS Committee on Race and Ethnicity, the Board of InTrust Center for Theological Schools, the Forum for Theological Exploration, and the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion.

Contributors
Frank Yamada

Frank Yamada is the sixth executive director of the Association of Theological Schools. He brings to this role years of leadership experience in theological education and in communities of faith. He has written about and speaks on the future of theological education. Before coming to ATS, he was the tenth president of McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago and was an active Hebrew Bible scholar with a focus on cross-cultural and feminist hermeneutics.

An active biblical scholar, Yamada has authored and edited books and articles on cross-cultural and feminist hermeneutics. He is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature, where he has served as a chair and as a steering committee member of the Asian American Biblical Hermeneutics Group, the Feminist Hermeneutics of the Bible Section, and the Committee for Underrepresented Racial and Ethnic Minorities in the Profession. In addition, he was a member of the Ethnic Chinese Biblical Colloquium and the American Academy of Religion, and he was the cochair for the Managing Board of the Asian Pacific Americans and Religion Research Initiative annual conference.

A graduate of Southern California College, Yamada earned his Master of Divinity and Doctor of Philosophy from Princeton Theological Seminary. He is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church, USA and has written and spoken on the future of the church and theological education.

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