WFU divinity student featured in documentary
CBS News’ Religion & Culture division recently visited Statesville, N.C. where they interviewed second-year Master of Divinity student Reginald Keitt to discuss white supremacy and religion in America.
“I hope the nation will see that there is an active ecumenical movement going on centered around racial unity,” Keitt said when reflecting on the interview. “In addition to the clergy and laity, citizens and civic organizations are resisting antiquated thinking that continually oppresses certain segments of society.”
CBS also came to interview the Rev. Robert E. Lee IV about the removal of statues in the South, one of which was at the center of the events in Charlottesville, Virginia, earlier last year. Lee, who is a descendant of the legendary general of the Confederate Army during the Civil War, General Robert E. Lee, recently stepped down as pastor of his Winston-Salem church after he was criticized by parishioners and others for his remarks denouncing racism and uplifting the Black Lives Matter movement.
Keitt, who currently serves as the pastor at Mt. Pleasant A.M.E. Zion Church in Statesville, has had the privilege of serving as a ministerial mentor to Lee and invited him to speak at a recent worship service at Mt. Pleasant.
“The School of Divinity has challenged me to consider the oppressed in every situation, whether it be by racism, classism, or sexism,” said Keitt. “As we address the rhetoric, propaganda, and strong language of white supremacy we must do so with passion and zeal to consider those who are being oppressed. Rev. Lee’s voice is one of many who are joining together in this clergy movement.”
In addition to his work in the church, Keitt is the president of the Statesville Branch of the NAACP, an executive board member with the Human Relations Commission in Statesville, and a site coordinator for Iredell County LIFT Academy, a nonprofit that serves at-risk youth.
Keitt’s activism is in response to what he describes as a call into the public square similar to that of the biblical prophets. “The time is upon us when we must dare to be the Christians we profess to be.”
The first episode of the documentary, “Faith on the Front Lines,” aired Sunday, Dec. 17 and is now viewable online at https://www.cbsnews.com/videos/faith-on-the-frontlines/.
About Wake Forest University School of Divinity
The Wake Forest University School of Divinity is an ecumenical theological institution that prepares students to be religious leaders in a changing world. The School currently offers the Master of Divinity degree and several joint degrees in law, bioethics, counseling, education, and sustainability, and a dual degree pathway in management, offered in partnership with other schools of the University.
