Duke in Pictures: Rev. James Forbes on Breaking Down Racial Barriers in Churches

The Rev. James Forbes, senior pastor at Riverside Church in New York, spoke to Duke student leaders Wednesday following a sermon in Goodson Chapel. Forbes spent two days at Duke as the keynote speaker for the Office of Black Church Studies MLK Lecture Series at Duke Divinity School.

Forbes is the first African-American pastor of the interdenominational and interracial 2,400-member church. He retired in 2007. Riverside is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches and the original United Holy Church of America. Forbes, who pastored churches in Wilmington and Roxboro, was recognized by Newsweek magazine as one of the most effective preachers in the English-speaking world. He retired from Riverside Church in 2007 and currently serves as president of the Healing of the Nations Foundation.

The MLK Jr. Lecture Series features national community leaders who address the issues of justice, peace and liberation in relation to the black religious experience. This year's program was part of the university's commemoration of the 50th anniversary of black students at Duke.

Photo by Les Todd/Duke University Photography