Gayraud Wilmore
Encyclopedia
Gayraud Stephen Wilmore is a writer, historian, educator, and theologian. He performed an instrumental role in the Civil Rights movement and helped train ministers who then participated in boycotts and protests in the South of this era.
Wilmore was born on December 20, 1921 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
.
As a Buffalo Soldier
, he served with the all black 92nd Infantry division in Italy. In 1943, he received his call to the ministry during the war. He received his Bachelor's of Arts degree in 1947 and his Bachelor's of Divinity in 1950 from Lincoln University. He was also installed as the pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church in West Chester, Pennsylvania in 1950, and would serve that congregation for three years.
In 1953, he began his work with students as an associate executive with the United Presbyterian Church's Department of Social Education and Action, a position he held for five years. From 1959 to 1963, Wilmore was an assistant professor of social ethics at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. From there, he served as the executive director of the United Presbyterian Commission on Religion and Race until 1972. In that position, he helped to organize and train ministers who participated in boycotts and protests in the South during the Civil Rights movement.
From 1972-1974, he taught Social Ethics at Boston University School of Theology, and then taught Black church studies at Colgate Rochester Divinity School until 1983. Wilmore served as the dean of the divinity program at New York Theological Seminary until 1987 before becoming a teacher of church history at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta. In 1990, he became the editor of The Journal of the ITC, and he remained in that post for five years. From 1995-1998, Wilmore was an adjunct professor at the United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio.
Wilmore has written and edited sixteen books including Black Religion and Black Radicalism: An Interpretation of the Religious History of African Americans, which was published in 1998, and Pragmatic Spirituality, which was published in June 2004. He is also the recipient of innumerable awards and honors.
He later went on to teach at: Boston University School of Theology
, Colgate Rochester Divinity Seminary, Interdenominational Theological Center
, and finally retiring at the United Theological Seminary
in Dayton, Ohio
.
He is the writer and/or editor of 16 books, and is considered an Internationally acclaimed scholar and theologian of the history of African-Americans and the African-American church.
Wilmore was born on December 20, 1921 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
.
As a Buffalo Soldier
Buffalo Soldier
Buffalo Soldiers originally were members of the U.S. 10th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army, formed on September 21, 1866 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas....
, he served with the all black 92nd Infantry division in Italy. In 1943, he received his call to the ministry during the war. He received his Bachelor's of Arts degree in 1947 and his Bachelor's of Divinity in 1950 from Lincoln University. He was also installed as the pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church in West Chester, Pennsylvania in 1950, and would serve that congregation for three years.
In 1953, he began his work with students as an associate executive with the United Presbyterian Church's Department of Social Education and Action, a position he held for five years. From 1959 to 1963, Wilmore was an assistant professor of social ethics at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. From there, he served as the executive director of the United Presbyterian Commission on Religion and Race until 1972. In that position, he helped to organize and train ministers who participated in boycotts and protests in the South during the Civil Rights movement.
From 1972-1974, he taught Social Ethics at Boston University School of Theology, and then taught Black church studies at Colgate Rochester Divinity School until 1983. Wilmore served as the dean of the divinity program at New York Theological Seminary until 1987 before becoming a teacher of church history at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta. In 1990, he became the editor of The Journal of the ITC, and he remained in that post for five years. From 1995-1998, Wilmore was an adjunct professor at the United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio.
Wilmore has written and edited sixteen books including Black Religion and Black Radicalism: An Interpretation of the Religious History of African Americans, which was published in 1998, and Pragmatic Spirituality, which was published in June 2004. He is also the recipient of innumerable awards and honors.
He later went on to teach at: Boston University School of Theology
Boston University School of Theology
Boston University School of Theology is the oldest theological seminary of American Methodism and the founding school of Boston University, the largest private research university in New England. It is one of thirteen theological schools maintained by the United Methodist Church...
, Colgate Rochester Divinity Seminary, Interdenominational Theological Center
Interdenominational Theological Center
The Interdenominational Theological Center is a consortium of denominational seminaries located in Atlanta, Georgia. Today ITC educates and nurtures women and men who commit to and practice a liberating and transforming spirituality; academic discipline; religious, gender, and cultural diversity;...
, and finally retiring at the United Theological Seminary
United Theological Seminary
United Theological Seminary is a United Methodist seminary in Trotwood, Ohio, United States, in the Dayton metropolitan area. Founded in 1869 by Milton Wright, it was originally sponsored by the Church of the United Brethren in Christ...
in Dayton, Ohio
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
.
He is the writer and/or editor of 16 books, and is considered an Internationally acclaimed scholar and theologian of the history of African-Americans and the African-American church.