A Workshop on Slavery, Justice, and New Brunswick Theological Seminary

A Workshop on Slavery, Justice, and New Brunswick Theological Seminary
Led by Dean Willard Ashley and Professor John Coakley, Sponsored by the Dean’s Office and the Anti-Racism Transformation Team.

The workshop is free; $10 donation for lunch.

ALL ARE WELCOME! Please RSVP to events@nbts.edu, by January 8, 2016.

What it’s about:
As an institution that originated in pre-Civil War America, our seminary’s history has connections with the history of the slavery of African Americans. This workshop marks a first step toward uncovering some of those connections, so that as a seminary community we can acknowledge them more truthfully, and consider what is to be done in the light of them.

The workshop will consider:
• the presence of African Americans, enslaved and free, in the city of New Brunswick and in the seminary in the early years;
• the involvement of the seminary’s officers, benefactors and others in the institution of slavery;
• the place of the seminary, its students and leaders in the debates on slavery and abolition in the years leading up to the Civil War;
• how we as a seminary should take account of these parts of our history, in our present policies and our vision of the future.
All who participate will also be invited to consider forming an ongoing working group on Slavery, Justice, and New Brunswick Seminary, to help continue the work that is beginning.