By Aaron Weaver
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Rev. Dr. Danielle Ayers and the late Rev. Dr. Robert Parham were honored Thursday with the 2026 Dr. Emmanuel McCall Racial Justice Trailblazer Award during the McCall Racial Justice Trailblazer Luncheon at the 2026 CBF General Assembly.
The luncheon is named in honor of Dr. Emmanuel McCall, a Baptist trailblazer who has spent much of his life working for racial justice—as a student, denominational leader, pastor, author and professor. CBF’s Dr. Emmanuel McCall Racial Justice and Leadership Initiative works to create avenues for God’s imperfect church to move toward meaningful unity between racially diverse communities.
Danielle Ayers
The annual award recognizes CBF individuals and ministries who charter through unequal and unjust areas of life and initiate proactive resolutions for communities in the form of policies or practices resulting in greater equity, opportunity, impact and outcomes for all.
“This luncheon is more than just an awards presentation,” said Lynn Brinkley, CBF’s Pan African Koinonia Field Ministry Coordinator. “It is an opportunity to celebrate individuals whose lives and ministry embody Dr. McCall’s vision, leaders who have courageously challenged injustice, built bridges across difference and worked faithfully toward a more equitable and beloved community.”
“As we recognize today’s trailblazers, we also are reminded to recommit ourselves to the ongoing work of justice, reconciliation and repair,” Brinkley said.
Robert Parham, a Baptist ethicist and founder of the Baptist Center for Ethics, was recognized posthumously. Born into a missionary family in Nigeria, he developed a vision of faith that crossed borders of race and nation.
Parham founded the Baptist Center for Ethics in 1991 and later EthicsDaily.com, building platforms for conferences, documentary films, digital journalism and multiracial conversations. His work included the documentary Beneath the Skin: Baptists and Racism, developed in conversation with McCall and leadership in the New Baptist Covenant alongside President Jimmy Carter.
Cliff Vaughn, media producer at Good Faith Media and a former colleague of Parham at the Baptist Center for Ethics, accepted the award on behalf of Parham’s family.
Cliff Vaughn accepted the award on behalf of Parham’s family.
“Our Jewish friends speak of a person’s two deaths,” Vaughn said. “The first is when we take our last breath and depart this life, and for Robert, that was March 5, 2017. Our second death is when we are remembered for the last time and someone says our name.”
“I don’t know when that day will come for Robert, but I know many of you keep the second death of Robert Parham at bay, and for that I’m grateful,” he said.
Vaughn recalled meeting Parham in 2000 and learning that one of his central motivations was ensuring his children would know “there were other kinds of Baptists than the ones they typically saw on television, too full of ready judgment and narrow thinking.”
“And so I see you, and I conclude that Robert ran his race,” Vaughn said.
He also recalled Parham’s friendship with McCall. “He trusted Dr. McCall. He respected Dr. McCall. He admired Dr. McCall and he loved Dr. McCall.”
Quoting Parham, Vaughn added, “The Stone Age didn’t end because we ran out of stones, but because we found a better way.” Parham applied that conviction to racism among Baptists, Vaughn said, believing change would come when Baptists found a better way.
Danielle Ayers serves as pastor of justice at Friendship-West Baptist Church in Dallas, where she leads advocacy, civic engagement and public witness. Her work has included organizing against predatory payday lending, advocating for maternal health equity, voting rights and racial justice, and guiding clergy and congregations through CBF’s South Carolina racial justice cohort. Rev. Kasey Jones, CBF coordinator for Outreach and Growth, presented the award.
“None of us do this work alone or without witness,” Ayers said. “I indeed stand on the shoulders of ancestors, freedom fighters, pastors, organizers, teachers and everyday people who felt compelled to challenge injustice and believed that a better world was always possible.”
Ayers said she was especially mindful of people who labor without recognition, whose names may never appear in history books or museums.
“Nevertheless, their courage transformed communities and changed lives,” Ayers said.
Ayers warned of renewed attacks on human rights, efforts to erase factual history, growing economic inequality, threats to public education and policies that harm vulnerable communities.
“We see division being weaponized, fear being normalized and democracy itself is being tested,” she said. “Yet our faith teaches us that justice is not optional.”
“This moment demands moral clarity,” Ayers continued. “It demands conviction, courage and commitment. It also demands organizing as a spiritual discipline.”
Ayers described the award as a call forward rather than a conclusion.
“This is not a personal calling. It’s a collective mandate for all of us,” she said. “The work of racial justice is not finished, and the responsibility belongs to all of us.”
“I receive this award not as a destination, but a reminder,” Ayers said. “There is still work to do. There are still communities to organize, voices to amplify, policies to change and lives we must protect.”
“May we remain faithful to the struggle, courageous in our witness and steadfast in our commitment to building the beloved community.”
Learn more about the Dr. Emmanuel McCall Racial Justice and Leadership Initiative and how you can make an impact through the Emmanuel McCall Racial Equity Fund here.
The 2026 CBF General Assembly continues through Friday, June 19. Watch livestreams of plenary and worship sessions, along with ongoing news coverage at www.cbf.net/general-assembly-26
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Led by the love of Christ, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship invites churches and individuals to partner in transforming God’s world, working together as a global community to spread good news, justice and hope through impactful ministries, missions and resources.