On Feb. 21, Wheaton College’s Center for Applied Christian Ethics (CACE) paired up with Christianity Today to host a one-day conference surrounding the documentary premiere of “Black + Evangelical” in Barrows Auditorium.
The conference consisted of two panels before the screening of the film, each meant to expand upon the documentary’s historical exploration of Black evangelicals’ role within the Church. The first panel focused on Black evangelical experiences across a diverse range of evangelical institutions today. The panel featured Sho Baraka, editorial director of the Big Tent Initiative at Christianity Today; Jimmy McGee, president and CEO of the Impact Movement; and Felecia Thompson, Ph.D., adjunct professor of formation at Northern Seminary.
The second panel delved into the motive and process of Wheaton College’s Historical Review Task Force (HRTF). The panelists were Stephen Cartwright, assistant director of residence life, and Katherine Graber, assistant professor of library science. These public interviews were facilitated by Dr. Vincent Bacote, professor of theology and director of CACE.
The two panels served as a medium to not only discuss the topics the documentary addresses but also how they are experienced through the stories of people and institutions.
Bacote is also the co-director and producer of the documentary “Black + Evangelical,” along with Edward Gilbreath, an editor, journalist and writer for Christianity Today. Initially, the project started with a smaller vision. In 2008, Bacote attended the Obsidian Conference at Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, CA, and met Rev. Ronald Potter.
“It became clear he had the history of black evangelicalism, and knowing that a lot of people don’t know that much about Black evangelicals, I thought it would be really important,” Bacote said.
His idea was to film just one interview and explore the history of Black evangelicism with Potter. Yet, this did not happen until 2021, when Potter visited Wheaton College to give a lecture reflecting on the history and future of Black evangelicals called “Looking Back, Looking Forward.”
Following the lecture in 2021, Bacote and Gilbreath realized that the project needed to expand beyond one or two interviews.
“We finally realized that these stories demanded a bigger vision,” said Bacote. Ultimately, the entire documentary covered 24 interviews and 40 hours of footage, all condensed and edited to 90 minutes of film.
Along with Christianity Today, Bacote and Gilbreath partnered with Daniel Long, owner and creative director of Long Winter Media, to film the interviews and edit the documentary.
“There are so many things that are trying to erase certain parts of history or retell a different part of history,” Long said. “We gained a chance to tell a history that is the right side of history in a lot of ways. To do that just felt meaningful.”
The documentary starts by walking the audience through the ripple effect of the three Nottage brothers, Berlin Martin, Whitfield and Talbot Burton. All three immigrated in 1909 from the Bahamas and started an influential ministry in Harlem that spread to New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Detroit and began trailblazing the road for Black evangelicals.
The film then moves into detailing the impact of these trailblazers by tracing the foundational impact Black evangelicals have on the American church, specifically in evangelical institutions like InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, National Black Evangelical Association, Young Life, Urban Ministries and more.
Interviewees, such as Ruth Bentley ‘55, Jeffery Wright, Walter McCray and the late Bill Pannell, explain their roles and experiences as Black Christians in evangelical institutions facing issues of racial discrimination. The documentary explains a critical point in this story: Rev. Tom Skinner’s powerful ministry, which changed the cultural concept of evangelism by preaching the gospel and calling for justice against systemic racism, though many at the time deemed this call for social justice “too political.”
After the documentary showing, Bacote facilitated a Q-and-A where the interviewees, directors, editors and the general public who attended asked questions about the film-making process and the application of its lessons for today.
Bacote and Gilbreath’s aspirations for the documentary are to not only illuminate the history of Black evangelicals but also how this history affects the Church today.
“I’m convinced that we cannot move forward with integrity as a nation or as the Church without an honest reckoning with our history — both the good and the ugly,” Gilbreath said. “I’m hoping this film can help inform some of those history conversations that we need to have, especially as it relates to the biblical values of reconciliation, justice and the call to love your neighbor.”
Although there is no official date for when the documentary will be available on streaming services, CACE is hosting another screening at Wheaton College on April 7.
Bacote hopes audiences, specifically at Wheaton, will “learn more about part of the larger Church family story, to understand that this isn’t just a special interest.”
“This is part of the Church’s story, part of who we are and what we’re trying to do in lives of faithfulness: we go into the world.”
