Shaw University Names New Director for The Center for Racial & Social Justice

Shaw University is excited to announce that Reverend Sheritta Michelle Williams will be leading The Center for Racial & Social Justice as its new Director. Originally from Buffalo, New York, Rev. Williams has been ordained since May 2012 and brings over 25 years of diverse ministry experience.

A first-generation college graduate, Rev. Williams earned her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with minors in Religious Studies, African American Studies, and Business Administration from Saint Augustine’s University in Raleigh, North Carolina. She later pursued a Master of Arts in Theological Studies with a focus on Social Justice from Northeastern Seminary at Roberts Wesleyan College in Rochester, New York, and attained a Master of Theological Studies degree from Duke University Divinity School in Durham, North Carolina, concentrating on Christian Education and Black Church Studies.

Rev. Williams is studying to obtain a Doctor of Ministry degree in Christian Education from Campbell University Divinity School. Her research focuses on developing a mentorship program and curriculum for young adult Black women in the Baptist context through a womanist lens. This project addresses challenges hindering young adult women’s spiritual growth, self-esteem, relationships, and visibility within the local church community.

As an educator, Rev. Williams has served as a student affairs administrator and professor at various colleges, universities, and theological institutions. Her research and work emphasize womanist theology, liberation theology, racial and social justice, and the arts. She has shared her knowledge through lectures across the United States, Canada, and Sri Lanka.

Rev. Williams is also a compassionate missionary who has served in the U.S., China, Japan, and the Caribbean. She has worked as a program director, church mobilization officer, and community advocate in the faith-based nonprofit sector.

As she moves forward in her new role, Rev. Williams embraces the words of Maya Angelou: “My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.”

Housed in the School of Divinity in Leonard Hall, the Center for Racial & Social Justice is the hub where our students and the community are emboldened to speak out strongly against racial and social injustice.