Dr. Jemar Tisby first keynote speaker announced for Summit for Religious Freedom 2025!

Rob Boston
Rob Boston is Senior Adviser at Americans United for Separation of Church and State and former Editor of Church & State, AU’s monthly membership magazine. He is also the chief writer for AU’s “Wall of Separation” blog.
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​Americans United is hitting the ground running in 2025. One of our major initiatives this year will be the third annual Summit for Religious Freedom (SRF), April 5-7 in the Washington, D.C., area and virtually. 

SRF will feature speeches by prominent activists, workshops and collaborative sessions. You’ll also have the opportunity to meet and share ideas with like-minded activists from all over the country.  We have some exciting changes in store for this year’s event, which you’ll hear more about soon. We’re also excited to announce SRF’s first keynote speaker: Jemar Tisby. 
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Keynote Jemar Tisby is New York Times-bestselling author

Dr. Tisby is the author of The New York Times-bestselling book, The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism, as well as The Spirit of Justice: True Stories of Faith, Race and Resistance; How to Fight Racism: Courageous Christianity and the Journey Toward Racial Justice; and How to Fight Racism: Young Reader’s Edition. He’s also a professor of history at Simmons College of Kentucky in Louisville. 

He has been a co-host of the “Pass the Mic” podcast since its inception seven years ago. His writing has been featured in The Washington Post, The Atlantic, and The New York Times, among other publications. Dr. Tisby is a frequent commentator in outlets such as NPR and CNN and speaks nationwide on the topics of racial justice, U.S. history and Christianity. He earned a Ph.D. in history and studies race, religion, and social movements in the 20th century. ​ 

Dr. Tisby also joined AU President and CEO Rachel Laser and several others last year for an AU-hosted virtual discussion about the film “God & Country,” which included interviews with Tisby, several AU experts and others about the threat of Christian Nationalism. You can watch that webinar, which includes excerpts from the film, here. 

Other SRF speakers and events will be announced in the weeks to come.