Rev. Dr. LaKeesha Walrond is Ready to Minister to the Masses

The New York Theological Seminary was founded in 1900 by Wilbert Webster White, a white man, and for the next 119 years, it continued to be led by white men. Until last month, when Rev. Dr. LaKeesha Walrond became the institution's first black woman president.

"It's exciting, but you wonder why and how did it take so long," said Dr. Walrond, who is nevertheless hitting the ground running.

The Seminary's guiding mission is grounded in "urban ministry," and while the term "urban" in America is often used interchangeably with black, here it means something different. "It means ministry in the context of where the masses are," Dr. Walrond explained to WNYC's Rebecca Carroll. "Like the mental health issue, like mass incarceration, issues of hunger and and homelessness...where we see people on the ground doing the work to make sure that everyone has the same access and is able to move forward in a way that's beneficial — not only to themselves, but to the community and to the world." 

While the term "urban" doesn't explicitly mean "black" in this context, Dr. Walrond noted that religion has played an historically major role in the black community, starting with slavery, when it was illegal and life-threatening for black people to read or have access to the Bible. "I think of our ancestors who were enslaved people, and I think about how they were able to find faith in such dark times, and in such difficult circumstances. We have a strong God and faith belief system that has stayed with us," she said. "It's always been the under-girding of our community — that hope that things will get better, that things have to get better." 

For over 30 years, the Seminary has also run a program with Sing-Sing Correctional Institution in upstate New York that offers a Masters of Professional Studies to a small group of incarcerated men each year. Graduates go on to serve in facilities throughout New York as peer counselors and teachers. When asked about the exonerated five — formerly the Central Park Five, who are currently experiencing a much deserved moment of justice as the result of Ava DuVernay's critically acclaimed Netflix series When They See Us — Dr. Walrond said she is glad to see these men getting their due, but also emphasized that there's much more work to be done. 

"There are so many more women and men who are suffering in our system that need the same help," she said. "So how do we minister to those folks as well?"