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Rev. Dr. James
Z. Alexander, former dean of Continuing
Education, Dean of Academic Affairs, and Dean,
Shaw Divinity School, passed away October 21,
1993 in Raleigh, NC. Born in North Wilkesboro,
North Carolina, August 7, 1931, Dean Alexander,
as he was fondly known, left a lasting and
indelible mark on the Shaw Divinity School. Not
only, was the Annual Pastor’s Conference
Inaugurated on his watch, but Dr. Alexander led
the Shaw Divinity School toward the
non-traditional hours (NTH), an innovation which
greatly enhanced the Shaw Divinity school
curriculum and opened theological education to
many bi-vocational ministers who earlier could
not matriculate quality graduate education. A
preacher and teacher of no mean ability, Dr
Alexander served as mentor to hundreds of young
ministers across the state and country.
Dr. Alexander was educated in the public school
of North Carolina graduating from high school in
Hickory, NC. He earned the Bachelor of Arts
degree from Shaw University and the Master of
Divinity and Master of Sacred Theology degrees
from Andover Newton Theological School, Newton
Centre, Massachusetts. He studied at the
Ecumenical Institute in Chateau de Bossey,
Celigny, Switzerland. On September 14, 1979, the
Shaw Divinity School conferred upon the Honorary
Doctor of Divinity degree. Dean Alexander was
married to Brendalyn Diane Fillyaw Alexander of
Raleigh, NC.
In honor of Dr. Alexander and his many
contributions to Shaw Divinity School, what was
known as the Annual Pastor’s Conference was
renamed in 1994 “The James Z. Alexander/Albert
W. Pegues Annual Ministers’ Conference.
Rev. Dr.
Albert W. Pegues, a native of Cheraw,
South Carolina (1859) was born in slavery but
went on to Benedict College, Columbia, S.C.,
Richmond Institute, now the School of Theology,
Virginia Union University, University of
Lewisburg, now Bucknell University, and
concluded his distinguished academic preparation
at Selma University where the Ph.D degree was
conferred. Dr Henry Martin Tupper brought Dr.
Pegues to Shaw University in 1886 as Chair of
Philosophy and Languages, and ultimately Dean of
the College. Our Baptist Ministers and
Schools, Dr Pegues’ seminal work was
published by Wiley and Co. in 1892. Legended
philosopher, orator, teacher, preacher, author
and race leader, Dr. Pegues was a model and
mentor for countless scholars and theologies in
the late 1800’s and first half of this century
and an early forerunner of the exemplars of the
gospel for which Shaw University has become
known.
Last year, we discovered
an article written by Dr. Albert W. Pegues in
August 1902 reflecting his commitment for the
necessity of a trained ministry. In maintaining
his legacy and commitment for training African
American clergy, we therefore offer this
historic article for your viewing,
"The Necessity Of A Trained Ministry."
Rev. Dr.
Gardner C. Taylor, born on June 18,
1918, as the only child of an educated mother
and a Baptist preacher father in Baton Rouge,
Louisiana, Gardner Calvin Taylor began on the
path that would eventually lead to becoming the
influential senior pastor of the Concord Baptist
Church of Christ in Brooklyn, New York. His
peers named him the greatest African American
preacher and one of America's greatest preachers
in Ebony in 1993. President Bill Clinton agreed
in 2000 when he bestowed upon Taylor the
Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Despite his background, Taylor was agnostic
until his involvement in a 1937 car accident in
which a white man died. Consequently, he
enrolled in the Oberlin Graduate School of
Theology in 1937, where he met and married Laura
Bell Scott. They have one daughter, Martha.
While still in school, he preached at Bethany
Baptist Church in Oberlin, Ohio, from 1938 to
1941.
Taylor actively advocated civil rights as pastor
for four churches. He sought the presidency of
the National Baptist Church Convention in 1961,
and after losing, he and his followers formed
the Progressive National Baptist Convention.
Taylor taught at prominent divinity schools,
including Harvard and Yale. Now senior pastor
emeritus of Concord, he has traveled extensively
around the world and uses all his experiences in
his preaching.
Copyright © 2007
Shaw University Divinity School
All
rights reserved
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