Thursday, Oct 2nd, Joseph A.C. Smith, founder of Black Natchez.org, was inducted into the Martin Luther King Jr. Board of Preachers & Scholars. As part of the 2025 Class of Inductees, Smith now holds the distinction of being a member of Morehouse’s 40th class of the College of Ministers and Laity.
Each year, Morehouse selects ministers and scholars from across the country whose ethical, spiritual, and moral example has helped change the world. Inductees are those who embody and espouse the ideals of the social gospel tradition started in 1867 by William Jefferson White, later enhanced by W.E.B DuBois, Benjamin Mays, & Howard Thurman, & widely acclaimed by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the Civil Rights Movement. Past inductees include former US Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, Martin Luther King Sr., current US Senator Raphael Warnock (GA) and a pantheon of other nationally significant leaders. Smith was recommended for the honor byThe Rev. Dr. Quincy James Rinehart, Associate Dean of the Martin Luther King Chapel at Morehouse.
In an invitation to friends and family, Smith wrote:…