THE FAITH & POLITICS INSTITUTE ANNOUNCES IT’S FOURTH COHORT OF JOHN ROBERT LEWIS SCHOLARS & FELLOWS TO EMBARK ON TRANSFORMATIVE LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

[Washington, DC] January 31, 2024 — Today, the Faith & Politics Institute announces the fourth cohort of John Robert Lewis Scholars & Fellows for 2024-2025. Comprising student leaders and changemakers from 17 universities across 15 states, this dynamic cohort will embark on a transformative educational journey examining the nonviolent philosophy of the late John Lewis from a historical perspective and exploring its principles, strategies, and applicability to modern-day challenges.

Marisa Pryor, Director of Educational Programs at the Faith & Politics Institute, expressed enthusiasm about Cohort 4, stating, "We are thrilled to welcome these talented individuals to the John Robert Lewis Scholars & Fellows Program. As we grow our network of future leaders, these students bring a rich tapestry of unique perspectives and experiences to our program and are poised to contribute to meaningful conversations, drive positive societal change in their communities, and cultivate lifelong relationships."

Blending academic research with immersive experiences, the John Robert Lewis Scholars & Fellows Program seeks to foster honest conversations, bridge divides, and empower participants. Cohort 4 will connect with prominent community leaders, lawmakers, and activists and engage on an array of discussion topics including the dignity of work, housing inequities, the rural and urban divides, mass incarceration, health disparities, and more.

Selected through a highly competitive process, Cohort 4 represents a wide range of backgrounds, ideologies, and faiths, creating an environment that fosters open dialogue, empathy, and understanding. As the Faith & Politics Institute continues its mission to strengthen our democracy through education and engagement, Cohort 4 stands as a testament to the promise of the next generation of leaders and the organization's commitment to nurturing their talents.

For more information about the Faith & Politics Institute and Cohort 4, visit: https://www.faithandpolitics.org/-meet-our-20242025-scholars-fellows

About the Faith & Politics Institute:

The Faith & Politics Institute is a nonpartisan, interfaith organization dedicated to promoting dialogue, understanding, and collaboration among members of the faith community and political leaders. Through its educational programs and initiatives, the Faith & Institute seeks to bridge divides, foster empathy, and inspire a commitment to justice and compassion in the public sphere.

Media Contact:

fpi@curleycompany.com

Program Contact:

Education@faithandpolitics.org

Announcing the 3rd Cohort of John Robert Lewis Scholars & Fellows

The Faith & politics Institute announces the third cohort (2023-2024) of the John Robert Lewis Scholars and Fellows Programs in honor of the founder of its annual Congressional Civil Rights Pilgrimages! Learn more about the third cohort here!

The Faith & Politics Institute Announces Marisa Pryor as New Director of Educational Programs

We are pleased to announce that Marisa Pryor will be joining The Faith & Politics Institute as the Director of Educational Programs! FPI President & CEO Rob Wilson-Black notes that “Marisa brings seasoned leadership that will help us grow and enhance our John Robert Lewis programs. She has helped lead and improve some of the most important Fellows and educational programs in the country and internationally. We are grateful she has chosen FPI to continue her exceptional career and we look forward to learning from her leadership and guidance.”

Marisa is a dedicated public servant with extensive experience in government relations, nonprofit and organizational management, leadership development, education, and policy in both domestic and international communities. During her tenure on Capitol Hill, Marisa worked with President Barack Obama's Commission on White House Fellowships to facilitate the fellows selection process and as Administrative Director for US Senator Mark Pryor (D-AR)-- experiences she anchored with coordination assignments on national political campaigns. Marisa's passion for creating life-long learners has included serving as Director of Strategy & Logistics at the District of Columbia Public School Systems and as the Director of Admissions and Family Events at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in Johannesburg, South Africa. Marisa holds a juris doctor degree from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law and a master’s degree from the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service. She received her bachelor’s degree from Hendrix College. Marisa currently lives in Arlington, Virginia. She can be reached at marisa.pryor@faithandpolitics.org.

The Faith & Politics Institute Announces Rob Wilson-Black As New President & CEO

The Faith & Politics Institute (FPI) Board of Directors is pleased to announce that it has named Robert Wilson-Black as its new President & CEO effective November 17, 2022. Rob, being an energetic non-profit business leader, brings a wealth of leadership experience and a passion for positive change within the constituents we serve.

“Our Board of Directors is thrilled to introduce a leader of Rob’s caliber into our community to guide FPI,” said Board Chair, David Marventano. “Rob possesses the qualifications and expertise to grow FPI into an even greater, more successful, organization to create a lasting impact on Rep. John Lewis’ legacy.”

Rob comes to FPI from his role as the former CEO of Sojourners.  A graduate of the University of Chicago (Ph.D., A.M.) and the University of Richmond (B.A., M.H.), Rob served as a college and seminary vice president for many years. In 2017, Rob was awarded an honorary doctorate from Franklin College in Indiana for his work as a “scholar, leader, and advocate for religion.”  Rob has served as the founding Chair of the National Museum of American Religion and currently serves as Chair of the University of Chicago Divinity School alumni council, and as a member of the President’s Advisory Board of the University of Lynchburg in Virginia. He recently authored “The End of College: Religion and the Transformation of Higher Education in the 20th Century (Fortress, 2021). Rob is married to the Rev. Juli Wilson-Black, and they have three children.

In accepting the position he notes,“I have long admired the inspiring work and mission of the Faith and Politics Institute, and look forward to serving its outstanding staff and constituents in building courage, conscience and compassion among our nation’s leaders.”

Rob assumed the role of President and CEO on November 17, 2022. Please join the board of directors of the Faith & Politics Institute in welcoming Rob Wilson-Black to our organization. 

For more information, please email David Marventano at david.marventano@faithandpolitics.

Faith & Politics Institute Opens John Lewis Scholars and Fellows Program Application Portal

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the Faith & Politics Institute (FPI) announced the launch of the John Robert Lewis Scholars and Fellows Program in honor of the founder of its annual Congressional Civil Rights Pilgrimages, one year since his passing.  The program enables students to learn from changemakers of history, contemporary nonviolence practitioners, and civil rights leaders. During two trips to Washington, D.C, participants will connect with representatives from national, state, and local government, businesses, and nonprofits engaged in social impact work. They will also join Members of Congress on FPI’s annual Civil Rights Pilgrimage and complete an oral history project through a range of applications. All participants receive a $2,000 stipend. 

“In every generation, young leaders like John Lewis have been at the forefront of social movements that promoted freedom of all peoples, across the country and the world. The John Robert Lewis Scholars & Fellows Programs will build and maintain a national and international network of rising leaders to create lasting, positive change based on the Civil Rights Movement’s revolutionary nonviolent social impact,” said Joan Mooney, President of the Faith & Politics Institute. “The same nonviolent philosophy that shaped the work of John Lewis and his contemporaries that defined their advocacy for civil rights will be shared in our curriculum. The program’s objectives are to help rising leaders in a variety of fields better engage in dialogue to advocate for positive change while reconciling conflict in our society and between individuals.”

From 1998 to 2020, Congressman John Lewis led FPI's annual nonpartisan Congressional Pilgrimages to places in the American South with a wide variety of current and future leaders, including hundreds of his Congressional colleagues, state and local officials, members of the diplomatic corps, three US Presidents, and youth. In retracing the footsteps of the Southern Freedom Movement he helped lead, the Truth & Reconciliation process in South Africa and the peace process in Northern Ireland, Lewis hoped everyone would be transformed by the immersive pilgrimage experience and come away from it with a greater understanding of the power of nonviolence as a way of achieving lasting social change.  

Scholars will be part of a cohort of undergraduate students, chosen in the competitive application process, seeking to be effective changemakers in civic life through their engagement in an applied learning program of the nonviolent social impact philosophy that grounded John Robert Lewis.  

Fellows will be graduate students and others beginning vocations in public service, nonprofits, education, and seminary. These rising leaders will be selected to examine the nonviolent social impact philosophy from a historical perspective; define its principles and strategies; and identify their applicability to modern times and movements, current issues, and everyday life.   

The application portal is open from September 1 through October 1, 2021, for the inaugural January to July 2022 programs.

Apply at faithandpolitics.org, here.

Statement From The Faith & Politics Institute's Board of Directors and Staff On The Passing Of Congressman John Robert Lewis

“Our hearts are heavy as we mourn the loss of our dear friend and a true American hero, Congressman John R. Lewis. We are honored to have learned the lessons of America’s nonviolent revolution from the man who unselfishly put his life on the line over and over again for equality and justice for all.

“Beginning in 1998, as Board Co-Chair of the Faith & Politics Institute, Congressman John Lewis led his Congressional colleagues to Birmingham, Montgomery, and Selma, Alabama on annual Pilgrimages to walk in his shoes, retracing his footsteps in the Civil Rights Movement. Over the past two decades, the Institute and Congressman Lewis brought US Senators and Representatives, US Presidents, and other national and international leaders on a transformational journey that begins by deepening participants’ understanding of the history of racial injustice and ends with their broad and profound desire to work toward racial reconciliation and healing.

“Lewis led his colleagues on pilgrimage to South Africa to learn the power of love and forgiveness through its Truth and Reconciliation Commission, joining with Archbishop Desmond Tutu and other leaders who moved the nation forward after Apartheid. We journeyed to Northern Ireland together, where young people were drawn to his side, excited to capture a moment with him. Lewis kindled that light in young people seeking to be change makers by making them an integral part of each pilgrimage, bringing students on the journey to learn the history and become powerful forces for nonviolent social impact.

“Lewis had the ability to draw out the best in us. On the first Congressional pilgrimage, Lewis brought his colleagues to meet with Alabama’s former segregationist Governor, George Wallace, in a demonstration of love and forgiveness. On later pilgrimages, Lewis would become dear friends with Wallace’s daughter, Peggy Wallace Kennedy, now a human rights advocate and a testament to the healing power of truth and reconciliation. Lewis graciously received apologies from the Montgomery police chief on behalf of the department for failing to protect the Freedom Riders in 1961 and healing words from others who ultimately recognized their roles in a system that failed to live up to the highest American ideals.

“On the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, Congressman John Lewis was embraced by America’s first African American President Barack Obama on the bridge, representing a milestone in the fulfillment of hopes and dreams of John Lewis and the foot soldiers who put their lives on the line for the right to vote. Former President George W. Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush joined the Obama family and Congressman Lewis for the momentous occasion.

“Congressman John Robert Lewis graced public service with a revolutionary kind of love that was the heart of the American Civil Rights Movement. He never gave in to hatred and divisiveness in politics. He despised injustice and unkind behavior, and he never lost or abandoned hope for the redemption of anyone. He taught his Congressional colleagues to never give up, and never give in on matters of justice. He was always working toward that more perfect union.

“The Faith & Politics Institute has been immeasurably blessed by his leadership as our Board Co-Chair from 1998-2006, and since then as Board Chair Emeritus and Honorary co-host of our annual Congressional pilgrimages. History will record Congressman John Lewis as one of the great civil rights leaders of our time. To us, he was a good friend and mentor, and a man who always led us with love in his heart, righteousness in his actions, and serenity in his soul.

“Our love and prayers are with the Congressman’s son John-Miles and his family, Michael Collins and the Lewis staff, and his many loved ones. Now, we must pick up the torch, honor Congressman Lewis’ legacy and follow in his footsteps by standing up, speaking out and working to do what is right in our time - end racial and economic injustice, protect our sacred right to vote and even engage in some ‘good trouble, necessary trouble’ from time to time. May he forever rest in well-earned peace, and may his power to inspire change be the legacy we receive from his extraordinary life."

Faith & Politics Institute Announces Expanded Partnership with Raytheon Technologies Corporation

Increased support will allow Faith & Politics to convene forums for critical diversity, equity and inclusion public policy discussions

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Faith & Politics Institute has announced an expanded partnership with Raytheon Technologies Corporation (NYSE: RTX). The increased investment from Raytheon Technologies will support the annual Faith & Politics bipartisan Congressional Civil Rights Pilgrimages. Additionally, it will allow Faith & Politics to drive important bipartisan conversations around critical diversity, equity and inclusion policy discussions.

Raytheon Technologies, through its predecessor United Technologies Corporation, has been a consistent supporter and participant of the annual bipartisan Congressional Civil Rights Pilgrimages.

Since 1998, The Faith & Politics Institute has led annual bipartisan Congressional Civil Rights Pilgrimages to five southern states affording hundreds of members of the U.S. House and Senate an experiential journey through the American civil rights movement as well as international trips. Described by some members as one of the most valuable experiences of their time in Congress, the bipartisan pilgrimages offer opportunities for engaged and reflective dialogue that transcends politics.

“We are so appreciative of Raytheon Technologies continued support of our important initiatives here at the institute,” said Joan Mooney, chief executive officer of the Faith & Politics Institute. “We are proud of the work we are able to do to inspire political leaders to reflect and engage with one another for the good of our nation, by bridging racial, religious, and political divisions among elected officials.”

“We’re proud to have supported the important work of Faith & Politics since 2014 and remain committed to its mission,” said Tim McBride, Senior Vice President of Global Government Relations at Raytheon Technologies. “The Faith & Politics Institute serves as the most important forum for convening elected officials from both political parties to discuss meaningful policies that address some of the most difficult issues facing our country including, race, equity and inclusion.”

For more information, contact The Faith & Politics Institute at (202) 546-1299 or email info@faithandpolitics.org. For media queries, please email joan.mooney@faithandpolitics.org Visit The Faith & Politics Institute at www.faithandpolitics.org and on Twitter and Facebook.

Martin Luther King III and daughter Yolanda share what they want America to learn from John Lewis

Reporter Nicole Ellis interviews Martin Luther King Jr.'s son and his only grandchild about their experiences visiting the Edmund Pettus Bridge with the late Rep. John Lewis(D-Ga.) and the influential role his annual pilgrimage across the bridge played in his ability to gain bipartisan support for the Voting Rights Act. Martin Luther King III and Yolanda King share their hopes for the newly renamed John Lewis Voting Rights Act.

The preaching politician: ‘Good Trouble’ documentary follows John Lewis from fields of Alabama to halls of Congress

John Lewis, center right, with fellow protesters on Bloody Sunday, March 7, 1965, in “John Lewis: Good Trouble,” a Magnolia Pictures release. © Spider Martin. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures

(RNS) — Before he was a Democratic congressman and before he was a civil rights activist, Rep. John Lewis preached to the chickens on his family’s farm as a young boy.

It’s a story staffers of Lewis can repeat by heart because they’ve heard it so many times.

“They would bow their heads; they would shake their heads,” he recounts in footage from an appearance at a Houston church in the new documentary “John Lewis: Good Trouble.”

“They never quite said ‘Amen,’ but they tended to listen to me much better than some of my colleagues on the other side listen to me today in the Congress.”

On the Road to Montgomery and Selma with Rev. James Lawson Jr.

In March 2020, the UCLA Labor Center organized a labor delegation to travel with Rev. James Lawson Jr. to Montgomery and Selma, Alabama, the home of the civil rights movement. Montgomery was the site of the bus boycott in 1955 that catapulted Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to international prominence. Selma was the site of Bloody Sunday, where, in 1965, Congressman John Lewis and other civil rights leaders were brutally attacked by state and local law enforcement officers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge; Lewis suffered a skull fracture and was almost killed.

This journey was transformational for many of the participants, including Ron Herrera, president of the 800,000-member Los Angeles County Federation of Labor.