Biography

The Rev. Dr. Kenyatta Gilbert —   professor of homiletics at Howard University School of Divinity—is a nationally recognized expert on African American preaching. After graduating from Baylor University with a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1996, Gilbert enrolled in Princeton Theological Seminary, where he earned his M.Div. and Ph.D. in practical theology (homiletics). As an ordained Baptist minister, he served congregations in Texas, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and Kenya before landing at Howard University in 2006.  A prolific writer and oft-featured expert on Black preaching, civil rights, and social justice, Gilbert has authored countless sermons and classroom lectures, as well as four books: Exodus Preaching: Crafting Sermons about Justice and Hope; A Pursued Justice: Black Preaching from the Great Migration to Civil Rights; The Journey and Promise of African American Preaching; and Just Living: Meditations for Engaging our Life and Times. His writing has also been featured by such outlets as PBS NewsHour, Sojourners, Word & Way, and The Conversation.

In 2011, Dr. Gilbert launched The Preaching Project, a ministry aimed at equipping ministers to better serve African American churches and communities. Dr. Gilbert is Director of the Equipping the Saints: Black Congregations Online Resource Center at Howard University; General Editor of the forthcoming Preaching, Theology, and Culture book series (Fortress Press); a member of the editorial board of Homiletic, a peer-reviewed journal sponsored by the Academy of Homiletics; and a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.  In 2022, Dr. Gilbert was inducted into the Martin Luther King Jr. International Collegium of Scholars at Morehouse College.  Dr. Gilbert is married to Dr. Allison Blow Gilbert, a pediatrician.  The Gilberts have three daughters: Olivia, Ella, and Ava.