Trustees of Berkeley School of Theology have approved creation of the J. Alfred Smith Sr. Endowed Chair of Theology in the Public Square.
This new academic chair coincides with creation of a new Center for Truth, Racial Healing and Restorative Justice made possible through the largest lead gift ever given to the seminary. The $3 million in gifts came from First Baptist Church of Palo Alto, Calif., and other individual donors.
J. Alfred Smith Sr.
Smith, who is about to turn 91, for many years was one of the best-known pastors in the San Francisco Bay area. He served 38 years as senior pastor of Allen Temple Baptist Church in Oakland, Calif. Both he and the church became known nationwide for their innovative and timely response to the AIDS crisis, along with a host of social services, job and food programs and adult and youth education.
Smith became a mentor to hundreds of men and women called into Christian ministry, not only through the church but also through Berkeley School of Theology, where he served 35 years as a professor, served as acting dean and now holds the title of emeritus professor of Christian ministry.
Smith served as state and national president of the Progressive Baptist Convention and as president of the American Baptist Churches of the West. He was a national leader in the Civil Rights movement with a lifetime of doing theology in the public square and public advocacy at city hall. He has written 16 books and has lectured at Harvard, Yale, Duke, Morehouse and Howard universities, and testified against apartheid before the United Nations.
Cornell West has called him “a towering prophetic figure whose profound vision, courageous witness and deep love are legendary in our time.”
Berkeley School of Theology is one of the most culturally diverse seminaries in the country. It was established in 1871 during the Reconstruction period in U.S. history, along with the historic Black colleges of Spelman, Morehouse and Virginia Union by the American Baptist Home Mission Societies. The school previously was known as American Baptist Seminary of the West.
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