Speaker Series: Faith & Democracy Night

On Wednesday, May 21, we were honored to host New York Times bestselling author Dr. Tim Tyson, author of The Blood of Emmett Till and Blood Done Sign My Name and Scholar in Residence at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University, for a conversation at the Rialto Theater in Raleigh.

Dr. Tyson was joined by Rev. Elijah McDavid, Senior Pastor of Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church in Minneapolis, and Mary D. Williams, gospel singer, historian, and educator.

Rev. McDavid, originally from Virginia, is a magna cum laude graduate of Morehouse College and a graduate of Union Theological Seminary in New York City. Under his leadership, Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church has grown from 500 to more than 1,500 members.

Together, the speakers explored how faith and democracy intersect in today’s civic life—and why civic participation matters.

The views expressed by the speakers are their own and do not represent the endorsed views of the North Carolina Voter Project. NCVP provided this forum in the spirit of open civic dialogue.

Thank you to everyone who joined us. If you were unable to attend, you can watch the recording below.  To learn more about NC Voter Project’s work and ways to get involved, visit our Get Involved page.

▶ Watch the event recording:
https://youtu.be/HohjtWggY2U?si=Zolm61zkaIQRxr_g