We are excited to announce the continuation of our Road to Harlem series, with Road to Harlem: The Churches. We will take an in-depth look at how early African American churches impacted and sustained the lives of Black Manhattanites on their journey from lower Manhattan to Harlem.
Our first program in this virtual series, Road to Harlem: Shiloh Presbyterian Church, A Beacon of Hope, will examine the founding of Shiloh Presbyterian Church in Greenwich Village, one of the earliest Black Presbyterian congregations in New York City. Founded in 1822, Shiloh played a vital role in the abolitionist movement and was an active station on the Underground Railroad.
Together with preservation partner Village Preservation, we will explore Shiloh’s enduring legacy, including its connection to the founding of St. James Presbyterian Church in Harlem, a descendant institution that continues this powerful history of faith, activism, and community leadership.
We are honored to welcome as our presenter the Rev. Dr. Derrick McQueen, Senior Pastor of St. James Presbyterian Church. Dr. McQueen will guide us through this remarkable history, connecting Greenwich Village’s 19th-century Black community to the rise of Harlem.
We hope that you will join us virtually on Thursday, June 18th at 6:00pm when we will continue to trace the history of Black communities in Manhattan.
You can register for our program here!
Rev. Dr. Derrick McQueen serves as Senior Pastor of St. James Presbyterian Church in Harlem, where he began as Interim Pastor in 2015, and was named Senior Pastor in 2020. He is an ordained Teaching Elder in the Presbyterian Church (USA).
Dr. McQueen earned his Ph.D. in Homiletics and the New Testament from Union Theological Seminary in New York City, where he also completed his M.Div. with a focus on Theology and the Arts. Dr. McQueen holds a B.A in Theatre Arts from Drew University in Madison, New Jersey.
Dr. McQueen has taught the New Testament at Fordham University in New York City, and has taught courses in preaching, worship, and homiletics at Lancaster Theological Seminary in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and Union in New York. He is currently editing his dissertation for publication, Preaching and Teaching the Word to Reclaim Christian Identity: LGBTQ African American Who Are Black Church. Dr. McQueen has also been deeply engaged in Presbyterian leadership and advocacy. He contributes to LGBTQ inclusion through organizations such as Presbyterian Welcome (now Parity) and That All May Freely Serve. He also serves in key roles, including Moderator of the Presbytery of New York City and on the Presbyterian Intercultural Network.
Dr. McQueen has taught the New Testament at Fordham University in New York City, and has taught courses in preaching, worship, and homiletics at Lancaster Theological Seminary in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and Union in New York. He is currently editing his dissertation for publication, Preaching and Teaching the Word to Reclaim Christian Identity: LGBTQ African American Who Are Black Church. Dr. McQueen has also been deeply engaged in Presbyterian leadership and advocacy. He contributes to LGBTQ inclusion through organizations such as Presbyterian Welcome (now Parity) and That All May Freely Serve. He also serves in key roles, including Moderator of the Presbytery of New York City and on the Presbyterian Intercultural Network.
In addition to his academic and ecclesiastical work, Dr. McQueen is Associate Director of the Center on African American Research, Sexual Politics, and Social Justice (CARSS) at Columbia University, and has served as a community activist, social worker, and Arts and Culture Poverty Scholar with the Poverty Initiative at Union.
A sought-after preacher, Dr. McQueen has delivered sermons from a wide range of New York City pulpits, including Abyssinian Baptist Church, The Riverside Church, and Marble Collegiate Church. He is also a performer, touring a one-man show, Paul Robeson: Through His Words and Music, and portraying figures such as the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in commemorative performances.
Photo by Mikey Gulcicek, BFA Photographer, Fashion Institute of Technology