Telling the Truth
The Rev. Waltrina Middleton is the Founder of Cleveland Action, a human rights resource in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. She is a preacher, poet, social critic, and community organizer committed to actualizing the vision of a Beloved Community. Recently, Rev. Middleton was recognized by Rejuvenate Magazine as one of its 40 Under 40 Professionals to Watch in Non-Profit Religious Sector. The Center for American Progress named her as one of the 16 to Watch in 2016. Last summer, she was awarded the Jonathan M. Daniels Memorial Fellowship by the Episcopal Divinity School to support a research project on the parallels between activism, arts, and lament in the Black Lives Matter Movement in the US and the anti-apartheid movement in Palestine. She received her Master’s Degree from the Chicago Theological Seminary. She holds fast to the principles of Ubuntu which declares, “I am because we are. We are because God is.”
The Rev. Karyn Carlo, Ph.D., is a retired New York City Police Captain turned preacher, teacher, and theologian. She earned her Master of Divinity and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from Union Theological Seminary. An ordained American Baptist pastor, she currently serves as adjunct faculty at New York Theological Seminary and as the Founder and Director of the Clergy, Community, Cops Project.
Joey Morelli is a law enforcement officer with over 25 years of experience serving as a State Police investigator. Joey comes from a police family including Joey’s uncle, his son, and 2 granddaughters. Joey’s first job was to investigate complaints of police brutality made by defendants and the community. Joey worked at the World Trade Center for a Federal Task Force investigating money laundering. Joey later was a 9/11 first responder. After that, Joey became a threat assessment expert for domestic violence and sexual assault victims. Joey also coordinated efforts to assist former gang members to establish new lives through witness protection. Joey then was promoted to run District Attorney Hynes’ Command Center. Among Joey’s duties, Joey was liaison to the community, the NYPD, and the press, and was the incident commander for Homeland Security. Currently, Joey consults with Middle Collegiate Church on church safety and security.
Candace Simpson is a second-year M.Div. student at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. She is a Brooklyn native, a sister, and a teacher with a passion for community organizing and teaching. She attended Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, majoring in Educational Studies. After graduating in 2012, she became a co-teaching apprentice through the Urban Teaching Corps, a cohort-based teacher preparation program designed for teachers of color who intend to stay in the field of education. Her most recent project was serving as site coordinator for the Concord Freedom School, a summer literacy-based enrichment program for children in Bedford-Stuyvesant, based out of her home church Concord Baptist Church of Christ. She is a tutor and mentor, lovingly referred to as “Ms. Candace” by her younger friends. She blogs for the Black women’s blogging collective “For Harriet” on race, gender, faith, and protest.