Name Byron Williams | Role Journalist | |
Books Strip Mall Patriotism: Moral Reflections on the Iraq War Nominations GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Newspaper Columnist | ||
Byron Williams (born September 22, 1959) is a pastor, public theologian and American journalist.
President and CEO of the Kairos Movement a progressive theological think-tank based in Winston-Salem NC, he served as the Senior Pastor of the Resurrection Community Church in Berkeley, CA from 2002 - 2014. Williams is a nationally syndicated columnist for the Bay Area Newsgroup, which includes the Oakland Tribune, Contra Costa Times, and San Jose Mercury News. Williams is also a contributor to the Huffington Post Radio Station KPFA referred to Williams as "America’s only Pastor & Progressive Journalist."
In 2013, Williams wrote 1963: The Year of Hope and Hostility winner of the International Book Award for United States History 2014. Princeton professor Cornel West wrote: "For 50 years, 1963 has hidden in plain sight. We have been content to define the year by the tragedy in Dallas, but Byron Williams forces us to revisit this year that has greatly influenced our politics as well as our culture."
Through the lens of theology and the United States Constitution, Williams offers a twice-weekly liberal column on politics and society. Williams is critical of conservative orthodoxy that offers an "outcome based justice." For Williams, the Constitution is a "living document."
He writes: "The Constitution collectively speaks to how a nation that has at its foundation the commitment to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness would achieve its stated goals. But those goals can only be achieved when the people maintain an ongoing commitment to breathe life into the Constitution."
Same-Sex marriage
Williams has long been an advocate of same-sex marriage. His public support is based on the 14th Amendment of the U.S. constitution. During California's Proposition 8 campaign, Williams concluded support for same-sex marriage was "Inherently the American position to hold." In 2010, Williams was nominated by the Gay Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) as Columnist of the Year.
Iraq War
A vocal critic of the Iraq War of 2003, Williams wrote that initial public support for this enterprise was akin to a "Strip Mall Patriotism," which was "prefabricated with its own 'bill of rights' that does not lend itself to questioning public policy."
Writings
1.Inside Bay Area
2.Huffington Post
3.KPFA Radio
4.1963: The Year of Hope and Hostility
5.Huffington Post
6. Contra Costa Times
7. The History Makers