Minister, activist, and scholar Nyle Fort will present Carleton’s weekly convocation on Friday, Feb. 2. Fort will touch on his international experience in education, criminal justice, community organizing, and more in his talk titled "Black in America: Race, Protest, and Democracy.”
This appearance is in commemoration of Black History Month. Carleton convocations are held from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. on Friday mornings in the Skinner Memorial Chapel. They are also recorded and archived for online viewing.
Based in Newark, New Jersey, Fort was a powerful force in the creation of the Black Lives Matter movement in Ferguson, Missouri, and upon returning home he created "7 Last Words: Strange Fruit Speaks,” a liturgy commemorating the last words of Black people killed by police and vigilantes. Fort also established Newark Books and Breakfast, a monthly program providing free books and breakfast to local youth and families. Most recently, Fort travelled to Amsterdam as part of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation’s multinational effort to connect freedom struggles and challenge racialized violence.
In addition to his organizing and advocacy work, Fort has spoken at various academic, cultural, and religious institutions including Harvard University, University of Amsterdam, the Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz Center (former Audubon Ballroom), and the historic Riverside Church. His writings are featured in several academic presses including Harvard Journal of African American Public Policy and Socialism and Democracy, as well as various popular media outlets including The Guardian, HuffPost, The Root and more. Recently, Fort was invited to join 300 grassroots leaders from around the globe to participate in the Vatican's III World Meeting of Popular Movements (WMPM). A joint initiative of Pope Francis and the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, WMPM is a gathering of faith leaders and grassroots organizers committed to global transformative justice.
Fort is a Ph.D. student of religion, ethics, and politics at Princeton University. He earned his B.A. in English from Morehouse College and a Masters of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary. He has worked in the fields of education, criminal justice, and youth development for nearly a decade in various capacities including, Youth Pastor of First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens, American Friends field worker at the Union County Juvenile Detention Center, and International Fellow at the St. Andrew Centre for Human Development in Southern India.
This event is free and open to the public. For more information, including disability accommodations, call (507) 222-4308. The Skinner Memorial Chapel is located at First and College Streets in Northfield.
