James Alexander Forbes, Jr. (born

September 6 Events Pre-1600 * 394 – Battle of the Frigidus: Roman emperor Theodosius I defeats and kills Eugenius the usurper. His Frankish ''magister militum'' Arbogast escapes but commits suicide two days later. *1492 – Christopher Colu ...

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart bec ...

) is the Senior Minister ''Emeritus'' of the Riverside Church, an

interdenominational Interdenominationalism is an evangelical Protestant movement of cooperation among various Christian denominations. History The movement has its origins in the founding of the London Missionary Society, a missionary society, in 1795 by variou ...

( American Baptist and

United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Anabaptist traditions, and with approximate ...

) church on the

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Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

. He was the first African American minister to lead this multicultural congregation, and served it for 18 years.

Early life and education

James Forbes, Jr. was born in

Burgaw, North Carolina Burgaw is a town in, and the county seat of, Pender County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 3,872 at the 2010 census. Burgaw is part of the Wilmington Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The town most likely derives its nam ...

, son of James Forbes and Mabel Clemmons Forbes. His family moved first to Goldsboro, North Carolina then to

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

, where he grew up. Forbes attended college at

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a Private university, private, University charter#Federal, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classifie ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, where he earned a B.S. degree in Chemistry in 1957. He was called to the ministry in 1956 and in 1962 he completed a Master of Divinity Degree from Union Theological Seminary in New York City. He earned a Doctor of Ministry Degree from

Colgate Rochester Divinity School Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School is a Baptist seminary in Rochester, New York It is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. History 1820s-1960: Early history Four Baptist institutions merged over the course of the 19th and 20t ...

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, and Yonkers, with a population of 211,328 at the 2020 United States census. Located i ...

, in 1975, after beginning his pastoring and teaching careers. Forbes became ordained in both the

American Baptist Churches The American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) is a mainline/evangelical Baptist Christian denomination within the United States. The denomination maintains headquarters in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The organization is usually considered mainl ...

and the Original United Holy Church of America.

Career

From 1976-1989, Forbes taught preaching at Union Theological Seminary. In 1985 he became the first Joe R. Engle Professor of Preaching. After being called as senior minister by Riverside Church, he became an adjunct professor. Dr. Forbes also teaches at

Auburn Theological Seminary Auburn Theological Seminary, located in New York City, teaches students about progressive social issues by offering workshops, providing consulting, and conducting research on faith leadership development. The seminary was established in Auburn, N ...

in New York. On June 1, 1989, Forbes was installed as the fifth Senior Minister of the Riverside Church, succeeding the Rev.

William Sloane Coffin William Sloane Coffin Jr. (June 1, 1924 – April 12, 2006) was an American Christian clergyman and long-time peace activist. He was ordained in the Presbyterian Church, and later received ministerial standing in the United Church of Christ. In h ...

. Forbes was the first

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

to serve as Senior Minister of one of the largest multicultural congregations in the nation. The church stands on the border of the

Morningside Heights Morningside Heights is a neighborhood on the West Side of Upper Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Morningside Drive to the east, 125th Street to the north, 110th Street to the south, and Riverside Drive to the west. Morningside H ...

and

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Harl ...

neighborhoods, and serves an interdenominational congregation. He helped support

Pernessa C. Seele Pernessa C. Seele (born October 15, 1954) is an American immunologist and interfaith public health activist. Seele is the CEO and founder of Balm in Gilead, Inc., a religious-based organization that provides support to people with AIDS and thei ...

's efforts with the first years of the Harlem Week of Prayer for Healing of AIDS, the start of a national movement to deal with public health issues through communities of faith. She founded the Balm in Gilead, Inc., which continues the work with thousands of congregations such as Riverside Church. Opera star Stacey Robinson (left) with Riverside theologian James A

Opera star Stacey Robinson (left) with Riverside theologian James A

Forbes also brought Riverside Church to play a role in the redevelopment of Harlem, with the consortium of churches in Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement. He brought his charismatic gift of preaching to the congregation and attracted new members. Rev. Forbes participated in a

Drum Major Institute The Drum Major Institute for Public Policy (DMI) is a non-profit American progressive think tank and community action group. The group was founded in 1961 in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement. It later became defunct until it was relaunched ...

-sponsored event titled, "The

Power Power most often refers to: * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events ** Abusive power Power may ...

of Restorative Justice with

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Michael Hennessey". On June 1, 2007, after 18 years of service, Forbes officially retired from this position to become president of the Healing of the Nations Foundation, a national ministry of healing and spiritual revitalization. In 2009, Forbes authored the book ''Whose Gospel: A Concise Guide to Progressive Protestantism'', in which he offers a compelling vision of progressive social change and addresses the most crucial issues of our time—poverty, war, women's equality, racial justice, sexuality, and the environment. Forbes hosted the radio program '' The Time Is Now'', which aired weekends on the

Air America Radio Air America (formerly Air America Radio and Air America Media) was an American radio network specializing in progressive talk radio. It was on the air from March 2004 to January 2010. The network was founded as a left wing alternative to counte ...

network Network, networking and networked may refer to: Science and technology * Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects * Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks Mathematics ...

until July 28, 2007. He is a member of

Chi Phi Chi Phi () is considered by some as the oldest American men's college social fraternity that was established as the result of the merger of three separate organizations that were each known as Chi Phi. The earliest of these organizations was for ...

fraternity. He is a member of

Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. () is the oldest intercollegiate historically African American fraternity. It was initially a literary and social studies club organized in the 1905–1906 school year at Cornell University but later evolved in ...

fraternity.

Marriage and family

He married Bettye Franks from

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

. They have one son, James A. Forbes III.

Legacy and honors

*2010 - Forbes was awarded the "Ossie Davis Human Rights Lifetime Achievement Award" by the Westchester County Human Rights Commission on December 10, 2010. *2003 - Forbes was featured on ''Speaking to Power: A 'NOW With Bill Moyers' Special Edition'', PBS, 26 Dec 2003. *1996 - In a

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the ...

worldwide survey of 341 seminary professors and editors of religious periodicals, Forbes was voted one of the "12 Most Effective Preachers" in the English-speaking world.[ *1993 and 1984 - ''Ebony'' magazine named Forbes one of the US's greatest Black preachers. *

's Alumni Charter Day Award for Distinguished Post-Graduate Achievement in Ministry.

References

External links

Riverside Church: Distinguished Senior Minister Emeritus
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Forbes, James A. 1935 births Living people American Pentecostals Pentecostal theologians African-American Baptist ministers Baptist ministers from the United States People from Raleigh, North Carolina People from Manhattan Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School alumni Union Theological Seminary (New York City) alumni Union Theological Seminary (New York City) faculty Howard University alumni Auburn Theological Seminary faculty People from Burgaw, North Carolina Baptists from North Carolina Baptists from New York (state)