Contributions from our scholars

Richard Stewart

For decades the Rev. Dr. Richard Nelson Stewart, a seminary professor in Philadelphia, took to heart a mission to make use of his communications skills to document the history of Black and Lutheran leaders who were part of the church he loved so their stories could live on. Grover C. Wright, a former Pullman porter turned recruiter of gifted Black leaders to study for rostered ministry, persuaded Stewart he was meant to do this work. Rich served the faculty and students at The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, now part of United Lutheran Seminary. He taught in the areas of media and parish administration for three decades.

Jehu Jones and African American Lutherans

The Untold Story: Black Lutheran History, Part 1

Rev. Dr. Lawrence J. Clark, II and Rev. Dr. Richard N. Stewart, July 15, 2020

The Untold Story: Black Lutheran History, Part 2

Rev. Dr. Lawrence J. Clark, II and Rev. Dr. Richard N. Stewart, February 24, 2021

Black Lutheran History Project: The Continuing Story from The Seminary Explores – United Lutheran Seminary

with co-host The Rev. Dr. Nelson Strobert, professor emeritus of Religious Education, ULS | Monday Dec 16, 2024

This episode focuses on the work of Dawn Stewart and Mark Staples. They are part of a group of friends and colleagues of the late Dr. Richard Stewart. Dr. Stewart concentrated his work on the history of Black Lutherans. Mark and Dawn share their two-year project of reading and identifying articles in The Lutheran, Lutheran Standard, and Partners magazines which centered on Black Lutherans.

In continuing the work of Dr. Stewart, they hope to make their findings available to the public, students, and scholars. From their investigation, they were able to identify trends (Civil Rights, Housing, etc.) in the reporting as well as Black Lutherans who contributed to daily life in the United States and to the Lutheran Church.