REYNOLDS WORLD NEWS

The Reverend Dr. Ronald E. Peters, President

The Interdenominational Theological Center of Atlanta

And Its Six Constituent Seminaries

In honor or

The Dedication of the

Martin Luther King Jr.

Memorial Monument

Washington, DC

Thursday, August 25, 2011,

At 7: 00 p.m.

Matthews Memorial Baptist Church Fellowship Hall

616 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, SE

Washington, DC  20020

Speakers

U. S. Congressman and Freedom Rider

The Honorable John Lewis

Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds, Journalist and Theologian

Revered Dr. Ronald Peters, ITC President

Rev. Dr. Barbara Reynolds

The Reverend Dr. Barbara A. Reynolds is an award- winning journalist, author and has appeared on such major television shows as the “Oprah Winfrey Show,” “Politically Incorrect,”  “C-Span”, “CNN and Co.” For a decade she was heard on Saturday on XM satellite radio and WOL-AM on her own signature show called, “Reynolds Rap. Recently she started Heart & Soul Book Coaching to aid writers in publishing their books.  She is also president of WCAN(Women’s Christian Action Network) a new multi-media TV channel that will be launched in 2011. In October 2010 the Prince George’s County Council of Maryland issued a proclamation in honor of her work as an activist, writer, spiritual leader and educator. She was also listed in the 2010 inaugural issue of Who’s Who in Black Washington, as well as the 2011 edition.

She has more than 30 years of experience as a journalist/writer with some of the major media institutions in America, such as Ebony magazine, Essence Magazine, The Chicago Tribune.  In addition she was a Founding Start-Up Editor with USA Today where she was an editorial board member and columnist for more than 13 years. Today she is a religion columnist for the National Newspaper Publishers Association, which reports a readership of 10 million.

     Dr. Reynolds is also an educator. She has held the Jessie Ball Dupont Chair in Journalism at Shenandoah University in Winchester, VA and was a Freedom Forum Scholar for the 1997 school year in journalism at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee and has taught Contemporary Issues: The role of Faith and Spirituality in American Journalism and Mass Media at the Howard University School of Communications.  Periodically she teaches prophetic ministry at the Howard University School of Divinity and the Black Presence in the Bible and Eschatology at the Calvary Bible Institute, where she serves on the board of directors.

   In 2009, Dr. Reynolds was honored as a Visiting Scholar at Central State University for the Fall Semester, where she directed the Honors Program, lectured and instituted a TAG (Talented American Griots project) that matched scholars and journalists with students. Dr. Reynolds also gave the Communications keynote address at the William Cosby School of Mass Communications at the University.

   In 2010 Reynolds undertook the launching of a Women’s Christian Action Network (WCAN) with her partner, producer William Walker, in an effort to elevate the image of Christian women in television and to produce programming that spiritually inspires women and girls through multi-media. 

       Born in Columbus, OH, she received her BA in journalism from The Ohio State University, her Masters Degree from Howard University School of Divinity in 1992 and her Doctorate in Ministry from the United Theological Seminary in Dayton, OH in 1998. She also has been awarded honorary doctorates in humane letters from Shenandoah University and her alma mater, Ohio State University.  Bishop Alfred A. Owens, Jr. ordained her an elder at the Greater Mt. Calvary Holy Church in 1995.

       Dr. Reynolds is also a consultant to several major universities and public officials on media strategies and served in that capacity on the OJ Simpson Trial for NBC television.

       Dr. Reynolds has preached in many churches and for many denominations across the United States. In 1997, she became one of the first African American female ministers asked to serve as Chaplain of the Week at Chautauqua Institution, a Christian resort center where presidents from Harry Truman to Bill Clinton have vacationed in that meditative spiritual setting.  In 2005, she was the speaker for the 89^th Annual Convocation of the Howard University School of Divinity.

         Her books include: Jesse Jackson: America’s David, an unauthorized biography, And Still We Rise: Interviews with 50 African-American Role Models; No I Won’t Shut Up! 30 Years of Telling It Like It Is; Out of Hell & Living Well: Healing From the Inside Out. In August 2007, she released her fifth book, called, Doing Good in the Hood: The Life, Leadership & Legacy of Bishop Alfred A. Owens, Jr.

          In 1997 she launched a citywide deliverance ministry for female substance abusers, called Harriet’s Children, headquartered at Greater Mt. Calvary Holy Church.

        Dr. Reynolds is the recipient of many honors. They include the Martin Luther King Jr. Drum Major for Justice Award, the 1999 Journalist of the Year Award from the National Association of Black Journalists and the Outstanding Life Time Achievement Award from the Columbia University (Missouri) School of Journalism. In 1976 she became one of the first African-American women to receive a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University where she studied constitutional law.

    Bishop Alfred Owens, Pastor of Greater Mt. Calvary Holy Church in Washington, DC named her Woman of the Year for 2004. In 2005 she was voted into Leadership Washington that is self-described as a powerful network of leaders affecting the Washington Metropolitan Area. In 2006, she served as a commissioner of the Katrina Truth and Justice Commission under the auspices of the Dr. Samuel D. Proctor Conference. In 2008, she received the James F. Jenkins Pillar of Faith Award for outstanding contributions to the spiritual community.

       She lives in Prince George’s County with her son, John Eric Reynolds, who is a recent graduate of the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore.