By Chris Hughes
ST. LOUIS — Hundreds of Cooperative Baptists gathered to break bread and recognize those working for racial justice at the annual Dr. Emmanuel McCall Racial Justice Trailblazer luncheon on Wednesday. Hosted by CBF’s Pan African Koinonia (PAK), the luncheon celebrated the work of two CBF-affiliated institutions and concluded with a convicting keynote address from Rev. Traci Blackmon.
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.
The winners of the 2025 Dr. Emmanuel McCall Racial Justice Trailblazer Award winners are Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas, and Fellowship Southwest. 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.
Broadway Baptist Church’s work in racial justice began amid the 2020 civil rights protests sparked by the police killing of George Floyd. Under the guidance of senior pastor Rev. Ryon Price, the church launched an intentional effort known as ACT (Acknowledge, Confess, Transform) to confront the church’s history of racism, make reparations and work toward racial equality in their church and their community.
As a result of this work, Broadway honored John Thomas, longtime caretaker of the church. He made history as the second Black man in Fort Worth to have his funeral at a predominantly white congregation in the Jim Crow era, but was never allowed to worship with the congregation or become a member. The church commissioned artwork to honor his legacy and confront their complicity with racial inequality.
Broadway has created a standing justice committee to advocate for racial justice and equality in their community. The church has also advocated for investigations of unexplained deaths at the Tarrant County Jail, which houses a predominantly minority population.
“I want to thank very deeply PAK and give thanks for the life and legacy of Dr. McCall, who had a great impact on me and my wife as we were starting out in the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship 20 years ago, and we are very grateful for his legacy on this denomination,” Price said, receiving the award on behalf of Broadway Baptist.
“It is very important for historically white churches to tell the truth about our history of white supremacy and racism,” he added. Price said while the country is in a much different place than it was in 2020 in regards to racial justice, his congregation remains committed to the cause and challenged others to do the same.
“Our hand is still on the plow, and we are not turning back. We’re going to keep on walking, keep on talking and keep on marching together to freedom land. Broadway promises that. May you promise it as well.”
Fellowship Southwest is a CBF-affiliated network working with churches from California, Oklahoma, Texas and Northern Mexico. Its racial justice efforts began through its work supporting communities impacted by Hurricane Harvey. That became a catalyst for deeper engagement with historically marginalized people groups.
Fellowship Southwest fully stepped into its public witness for justice by protesting family separation at the U.S. border in 2018. They have organized prayer vigils and held conversations with people on the border while centering the voices and experiences of immigrants and asylum seekers. Now, their mission as a network has expanded, focusing on ministries for immigrants, native peoples and racial justice. In partnership with the Lilly Endowment, Fellowship Southwest is also launching a five-year Thriving Congregations Immigration Ministry project, equipping churches to lead immigrant justice efforts in their communities.
“It’s a real honor to get this award alongside Broadway Baptist, one of our strongest and most active Fellowship Southwest churches,” said Stephen Reeves, executive director of Fellowship Southwest. “Racial justice is absolutely at the heart of what Fellowship Southwest is all about,” he added.
Reeves concluded his remarks by encouraging Cooperative Baptist to keep standing up for racial justice. “I want to encourage you to keep showing up. It is so important to build trust, build relationships and keep showing up in communities that are marginalized and, too often, ignored. And show up for advocacy and justice work.”
The luncheon was capped off with a stirring keynote address from Rev. Traci Blacmon, CEO & Founder of HopeBuilds, LLC, theologian-in-residence at Eden Theological Seminary and chaplain for the Central Region of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
In a thundering keynote titled “Now is the Time,” Blackmon called on Cooperative Baptists to wake from complacency, confront systems of injustice, and reclaim the liberating call of the Gospel.
“We know that too many of our babies are buried before they’ve had a chance to bloom,” she said. “We know the systems weren’t built for our thriving…and we know none of this is God’s doing.”
Blackmon’s sermon centered on Romans 13:11–12, a passage she admitted she has long avoided because of its association with theological justifications for oppression. “I don’t like clobber texts,” she confessed. “Texts that are often used to subjugate folk… I just don’t read that part.” But the Spirit, she said, led her to wrestle with this passage anew.
She acknowledged the complexity of the apostle Paul’s instruction to “submit to governing authorities” and reframed it through the lens of survival and resistance. “Paul is not saying that government always gets it right,” she preached. “Paul is saying: we have a long journey ahead of us, and I want you to do what you have to do to stay under the radar so we can keep doing the work.”
With righteous urgency, Blackmon declared, “Now is the time to wake up… Paul doesn’t say guess the hour. He says you already know.” And, she warned, “Some of us aren’t asleep because we’re tired. Some of us are asleep because we’ve gotten comfortable.”
She challenged General Assembly attendees to be shaken awake by the Spirit. “We’ve grown comfortable with sanctuaries that don’t speak to the streets, with pulpits that won’t preach what Jesus actually said, with rituals that don’t require any risk.”
“The Spirit of God is not in sedation,” she continued. “The Spirit is in the shaking.”
“This is not the time for boutique religion or apolitical piety,” she said. “We don’t need armor to hide. We need armor to stand.”
“If your theology doesn’t make you do something, it’s not of God,” she declared. “If your Jesus only saves your soul and not your neighborhood, that ain’t the Gospel. If your faith keeps you comfortable while others are crucified by systems, you need to read the book again.”
Blackmon invoked the legacy of Black prophets and freedom fighters: “We are the ones who survived the boats… the progeny of Harriet and Howard and Ella and Fannie… Now is the time, church, to remember who we are. Now is the time to rise in sacred resistance.”
She concluded with a sweeping call for collective liberation. “We are not fragments. We are family. We are not scattered. We are sent. We are not powerless. We are prophetic.”
Learn more about the Dr. Emmanuel McCall Racial Justice Leadership Initiative and the CBF Pan African Koinonia.
The 2025 CBF General Assembly continues through Thursday and includes plenary sessions, worship services, learning labs, meal events and more. Learn more at www.cbf.net/assembly and watch the livestream and recordings of sessions on the CBF YouTube page.