STVU Announces Investiture Service for New Rev. Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker Social Justice Society of Preachers and Prophetic Witnesses
November 08, 2019
Virginia Union University will hold a formal Investiture service of the newly formed “Rev. Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker Social Justice Society of Preachers and Prophetic Witnesses” on Monday, November 11, at 7:00 p.m. in Coburn Hall. The service will kick-off the 70th Annual Ellison-Jones Convocation which takes place November 11 – 14, 2019 at Virginia Union University.
“We are excited to honor the legacy of our alumnus, Dr. Walker, and recognize his leadership as a minister and a civil rights leader,” said Dr. Hakim J. Lucas, President & CEO of Virginia Union University.
The family of Dr. Walker will attend Monday’s service to announce the society. Beginning in 2020, the first members who embody the leadership, spirit, and dedication of Dr. Walker will be inducted into the society.
“This is a special occasion for us to celebrate Dr. Walker and his legacy at Virginia Union University and the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology,” said Dr. Gregory Howard ‘04, Interim Dean of the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology.
Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker ‘50, '53 was an African-American pastor, national civil rights leader, theologian, and cultural historian. He was a chief of staff for Martin Luther King, Jr., and in 1958 became an early board member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). He helped found a Congress for Racial Equality (CORE) chapter in 1958. As executive director of the SCLC from 1960 to 1964, Walker helped to bring the group to national prominence.
Walker began his call to ministry as pastor at historic Gillfield Baptist Church in Petersburg, Virginia. For 37 years, He was later called as senior pastor at Canaan Baptist Church of Christ in Harlem, New York, where he served for 37 years. During this time, he co-founded the Religious Action Network of Africa Action to oppose apartheid in South Africa and chaired the Central Harlem Local Development Corporation.
The Investiture service on Monday, November 11 at 7:00 p.m. is formal academic service and is open to the public.