The Witness Foundation, founded by Jemar Tisby in 2019, is a philanthropic organization that seeks to identify, train, and fund the next generation of Black Christian leaders. The Witness Foundation is a subsidiary of The Witness Incorporated, and sister organization to The Witness Black Christian Collective. The centerpiece of the Witness Foundation is its newly-developed […]
We are privileged to announce that Jemar Tisby will be serving as founder and CEO of The Witness Incorporated, the 501c3 organization that is the parent company for The Witness Foundation and The Witness Black Christian Collective. Tisby, a historian and author of the Best-selling book The Color of Compromise, founded The Witness Black Christian Collective […]
The Witness Black Christian collective is privileged to announce that Zennah Jones will assume the role of Director of Operations for the organization. Jones brings strong organizational, leadership, and marketing expertise to The Witness BCC; skills that were battle-tested during her tenure as organizer of The Witness’ 2019 Joy & Justice Conference. Zennah will be […]
The Witness Black Christian Collective is excited to announce that Ally Henny will assume the role of Vice President of the organization. Henny, who holds a Master of Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary, is the first woman to be Vice President of the organization since its founding in 2012. Henny is one of the four […]
We are happy to announce that Shannon Polk will assume the role of Executive Director of The Witness Foundation. Polk, who will be the Foundation’s first Executive Director, brings significant fundraising and organizational leadership expertise to The Witness Foundation. Shannon will be responsible for overseeing the development and implementation of The Witness Foundation’s Fellowship program, […]
The Witness Black Christian Collective is excited to announce that Tyler Burns will assume the role of President of the Collective. Burns, a Florida-based pastor and co-host of the Pass the Mic podcast, has served as Vice President of the Collective since its launch in 2017. His appointment as president of the Collective is the beginning of […]
The Witness: A Black Christian Collective is expanding to form The Witness Incorporated as a launching pad for multiple new endeavors. The newly minted philanthropic division is The Witness Foundation, which fills the gap of equipping Black Christian leaders to make a greater social impact. Each will have direction under acclaimed writer and historian, Jemar […]
Two-time Grammy-winning hip-hop artist and bestselling author, Lecrae, joins the podcast today to talk about his very busy 2020. He released his album Restoration earlier this year and also recently released his second book: I Am Restored just last week, a story of chaos and hope. The artist “had inspired millions with his redemptive and […]
Today’s episode is fire. Tyler Burns has the honor of interviewing powerhouse theologian and author, Dr. Willie Jennings. This episode is filled with powerful insights that will strike uncomfortably close to home. For the uninitiated, Dr. Willie Jennings is an Associate Professor of Systematic Theology and Africana Studies at Yale Divinity School. Writing in the […]
Recently, the Barna Research Group released a study about “How the summer of 2020 changed perceptions of racial justice-and what it means for Christian leaders.” The discovery revealed what many Black Christians already knew: In the area of racial justice, “progress” is elusive. Jemar and Tyler are back this week to talk about their frustrations […]
On July 3, 2020, Pastor John Onwuchekwa surprised many by telling his followers that his church, Cornerstone Church in Atlanta, had made the decision to leave the Southern Baptist Church denomination. Jemar and Tyler sit down with Pastor John to ask all the questions: What led to this decision? Why did it take so long? […]
Jemar and Tyler are back to discuss what everyone is talking about: the appointment of Senator Kamala Harris as the Vice Presidential nominee of the Democratic Party. They discuss the inevitable reality of racism and misogynoir that has already risen up against her, the concerns about her policies, and how voters interpret her progressive record. […]
Jemar and Tyler are back with a special word for Black Christians. We know how hard it has been in this season to see people ignore and pass over your pain. We know how hard it is to feel like you’re the only one. We know how hard it is to get your hopes up […]
We have a special conversation for you today! We’ve been talking about the “quiet exodus” for many years, but what about when your stand for dignity forces you out? That was the case of Zee Johnson, a worship pastor in Texas who was removed from her position for speaking out about injustice. She sat down […]
After 126 years of flying as the state’s official representation, Mississippi lawmakers finally passed legislation to change its flag. One week ago, the Governor signed that legislation, and the flag came down. But what does this decision ultimately mean? Is it a win worth celebrating, and will it change the landscape of the fight against […]
This is a big one, y’all! Jemar and Tyler had the privilege of recording this podcast during our LIVE “Free To Be” Juneteenth Event. Our guest is the incomparable Rev. Dr. John Faison, Sr. He is no stranger to The Witness family. In fact, he recently was one of our Keynote speakers at our First […]
On May 30th, after a raw and real-time of sharing pain, strategy, and hope for change, our president, Jemar Tisby, closed out our special live event time with these words. Feel free to share them with others or pray them yourself. Thank you to Dr. Luke Stamps for transcribing the words. — Lord, Psalm 13 […]
10. Open Letter to my Married Friends “Your marital status on earth has changed, but while you have gone from being single to married, you are still single-mindedly devoted to the service of the Lord’s people. I want to remind you that spiritually, your marital status remains the same; God is your husband with a […]
We have another exciting first for The Witness–On Labor Day, September 2, we will host a LIVE podcast-a-thon! What is a podcast-a-thon? It’s three hours of podcasting programming hosted by The Witness team members to fundraise for our broader mission and our first national conference. The Squadcast will get together again. If you missed this group during the Pass […]
This is a first for the Pass the Mic podcast. In the hundreds of episode we’ve done over the years, we’ve never had this particular privilege. The rapper Seun (S.O.) Otukpe chose our podcast to debut his new song, “White Jesus.” In this song, S.O. lyrically dismantles the myth that Jesus is a European-looking white […]
