February 16, 2024 • 49 mins
With oratory flair, Rev. Jeffery Johnson, pastor at Mount Calvary Baptist Church in Fairfax, Virginia, and Dr. Vernon Walton, pastor at First Baptist Church in Vienna, Virginia, guide us through some of the history and aspirations of the Black community using the lens of Black and African American History Month, Dr. King’s “I have a dream” speech, the dissolution of Black-only communities, and their perspectives as leaders of their parishes, which were founded by formerly enslaved people. George Mason University President Gregory Washington and the pastors also examine the unique, but intertwined, roles the university and churches can play to confront issues such as affordable housing, food insecurity, and healthcare.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Narrator (00:04):
Trailblazers in research innovators in technology,
and those who simply have a goodstory. All make up the fabric
that is George Mason University,
where taking on the grand challenges thatface our students, graduates and higher
education is our mission and our passion.Hosted by Mason President Gregory
Washington, this is theAccess to Excellence podcast.
Gregory Washington (00:27):
Mount Calvary Baptist Church in Fairfax,
Virginia was established on May 15th,
1870 by former slaves who settled aroundthe area of the Fairfax Courthouse
after the Civil War. It is the first andonly Black-founded church in the city.
It is located less than a halfmile from the George Mason
(00:49):
University campus. The firstBaptist Church of Vienna,
Virginia, was establishedin 1867 and was also
organized by former slaves.
It is the first and oldestchurch of any kind in
Vienna.
It's located six milesaway from the campus.
(01:11):
I am honored to have the leaders ofthose congregations here with me today.
They serve our students,our faculty, our staff,
and they serve them incredibly well.
And so on this early stageof Black History Month,
I just felt fantastic that theywere able to engage with us
and speak with us today.
(01:32):
Reverend Jeffrey Johnsonhas led Mount Calvary since
2004.
Dr. Vernon Walton has ledFirst Baptist of Vienna since
2014.
Both have put their stamps on theircommunities and have relationships with
Mason that go beyond theirchurch's proximity to our campus.
(01:53):
Reverend Johnson. Dr. Walton,
it is good to see both ofyou and welcome to the show.
Vernon Walton (02:01):
Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you for having us.
Gregory Washington (02:05):
Well, Reverend Johnson,
I know your son Jeffrey has a degreefrom George Mason University in graphic
design, so I hope that itserved him well. And Dr. Walton,
you have had the MasonChorale sing at your church
and have Mason graduates onyour staff. So both of you,
(02:26):
how does the legacy of your churches,
both of which arefounded by former slaves,
inform your work and themission of your churches?
Jeffrey Johnson (02:36):
Let me defer to Dr. Walton.
Vernon Walton (02:38):
Well, thank you. Thank you brother, brother Pastor again. Uh, Dr. Washington,
thank you for having us.Um, I'm honored to be here,
talk about our work andour mission and our legacy,
and certainly the celebration of Blackand African American History Month.
We really recognize that as a church,
we stand on the shoulders ofthose who've gone before us.
We celebrate really the strengthand the capacity of those,
(03:01):
those slaves who literally builtour churches from the ground.
And when I say built ourchurches from the ground,
I'm not just specifically talkingabout the brick and mortar,
but I'm talking about thosewho really worked and labored
hard to build a community,to build a sense of belonging.
And we recognize their intent.Years ago, 156 years ago,
(03:23):
specifically for First Baptist,
their intent in building a congregationwas to inform people about their faith
as well as to educate our childrenand community in a academic
manner.
And so we recognize those shouldersthat we stand on and we continue
that work and that mission today.
Jeffrey Johnson (03:42):
Yes. As well, the Mount Calvary Baptist Church,
being that it wasestablished May of 1870 by
individuals, just likewith First Baptist Vienna,
we are known as the historicalchurch with the biblical mandate.
That biblical mandate comes fromEphesians chapter four, verse 12,
that we are about the perfecting ofthe saints, the work of ministry,
(04:05):
and the edifying,
which is an old word that meansto build up, of the body of
Christ. We're proud to be in thiscommunity with George Mason University.
Not only has Jeffrey Junior graduatedwith honors from this school,
he went on,
Dr. Washington to enroll in theHoward University Law School
(04:27):
and is now a civil rights attorney,
and he's currently working forthe Veterans Administration.
Gregory Washington (04:35):
Okay. That's all right. How well do your congregations know each other?
Like is there a rivalry? Isthere any type of, you know,
you're not that far apartand I know how churches go.
What is the engagement likebetween the two congregations?
Vernon Walton (04:52):
Well, I wouldn't call it rivalry President Washington, but I,
I would say that if you go into mostof the Black churches within Fairfax
County, there is certainlyan interconnectedness between the congregations.
There are relatives throughouteach of these congregations.
The pastors enjoy great relationshipsand fellowship, and whenever possible,
(05:13):
we attempt to collaborate togetherto work for the betterment of people.
Jeffrey Johnson (05:18):
Yes. And many years ago,
I was one of the youngest assistantpastors in Northern Virginia at the Peace
Baptist Church and PeaceBaptist, Mount Calvary and other
congregations like Mount Olivefor Centerville had very close
relationships. As a22-year-old Baptist preacher,
(05:40):
I used to cruise through outNorthern Virginia in a 1965
Dodge Dart convertible. And Iused to worship at the old, uh,
sanctuary, not only of MountCalvary, but of First Baptist Vienna.
And we are very proud of thework that Dr. Walton is doing
in the city of Vienna.
(06:02):
We are trying to do the same typeof work in the city of Fairfax.
Vernon Walton (06:07):
I'll just also add President Washington,
that one of the founding pastorsof First Baptist is also listed
as a founding pastor of atleast three or four other
congregations in Fairfax County.So the river runs deep.
Gregory Washington (06:23):
Outstanding. Outstanding. So, uh, Reverend Johnson,
Mount Calvary, when it was founded, wasknown as the Colored Baptist Church.
And prior to its founding, slavesattended churches of their masters.
In addition, both of yourcommunities, both Fairfax and Vienna,
were segregated at one time.
And I believe the last Blackenclave in Fairfax City on School
(06:48):
Street really actuallysat right next to Mason.
And so what effect did the,the dissolution and the,
the breakup of the strictly Blackcommunities have on the churches
themselves? Did that impactyou all significantly?
Jeffrey Johnson (07:04):
It definitely affected us at the Mount Calvary Baptist Church.
Still driving that classic automobilethroughout Northern Virginia.
I used to come to SchoolStreet and I actually saw
visually young Black children andsometimes with their parents walking
to the Mount Calvary Baptist Church.
(07:25):
You could actually driveup and down School Street,
and there was a series of houses, not all,
but there was a series of houses thatyou could just park in front of the house
or in the, the residentialyard of that homeowner.
And the front door was never locked.You could just walk right in.
And there was a very gentle,
(07:45):
yet powerful Christian womanby the name of Mabel Colbert,
and she had quite a fewchildren and grandchildren,
and it was her personal ministry tomake sure that they were involved in
the various ministries and activitiesof the Mount Calvary Baptist Church.
Gregory Washington (08:03):
So Dr. Walton,
I don't know if you've heard this quotefrom the actor Morgan Freeman who
recently on, uh, no, not toorecently, but not too long ago,
in 60 Minutes in which he says BlackHistory Month keeps racism alive.
And in that interview he says, you'regoing to relegate my history to a month.
Black history is American history.
I definitely agree with the last part ofthat statement.
(08:26):
How do you, how do you react to that?
Vernon Walton (08:28):
Before I react to that, can I just go back to your last question?
Just for a minute,
because First Baptist,
like Mount Calvary has experiencedsome of the same thing.
But I think it's also safe tosay that wherever there is a
African American church in Fairfax County,
you could make the assumption thatthere was an African American community.
(08:51):
Clearly, as you peruse through thecounty today, things have changed.
My question is perhaps why thedisruption of these communities and what
led to the disruption ofthese communities? You know, in some places today,
we call it gentrification.But very similarly.
First Baptist was verymuch a community church,
was very much a rural communitychurch and enjoyed its membership
(09:16):
living and occupying space in thatcommunity. Whereas at one time,
there was 80% Vienna, 20% commuting.
We are probably just the opposite today.
80% commuting and 20% inthe community within miles
from the local church.
And I think that's significant for usto mention because where the church
(09:36):
existed, there was a Black community,there was Black home ownership,
and there was Black economics.
And so there's been a realdisruption in that system.
Gregory Washington (09:45):
So were there Black businesses in those communities and the like?
Vernon Walton (09:49):
Absolutely, there were, there were plenty of black businesses. Many, um,
as I said, were farmers, and they soldtheir goods and their products, and they,
the communities itself enjoyeda plethora of African American
entrepreneurship.
And today we are very hard-pressedto experience the same thing.
So to your point, you make aboutMorgan Freeman and his quote,
(10:12):
I would agree with the latter part aswell. I have not seen the exact interview,
but I have heard conversationabout Brother Freeman's comments.
But I would just add that AfricanAmerican history is American history,
and you cannot talk about Americanhistory without talking about the
contributions that black people havemade to our nation, to our country,
(10:33):
to our world. I personally
am not sure that Black HistoryMonth keeps racism alive as much
as those who seek to eliminate thecontributions of Blacks and those who
attempt to rewrite ourhistory. And of course,
I'm sure there's spirited conversationon this campus about those who even
attempt to ban books,that share our story.
Jeffrey Johnson (10:57):
And Dr. Washington as well look at the fact that when you speak of, like, I,
I believe one preacher spoke of 11 o'clockon Sunday morning as being the most
segregated hour in America.That is one sided. We,
and I'm sure Dr. Waltonwould agree with this,
we have never rejectedWhites from our membership,
nor have we rejected White peoplefrom attending our services.
(11:20):
It's only been on the other sideof that scenario. Even right now,
I'm part of a group calledthe Racial Unity Group,
and we have a wonderful timefellowshipping together.
And this thing basedupon Morgan Freeman, uh,
let me bring to your attention,
he was one of the key actors inthe movie called Glory.
Gregory Washington (11:42):
Sure was.
Jeffrey Johnson (11:43):
He portrayed a character that they referred to as Sergeant
John Rawlins.
If you do a Google searchon Sergeant John Rawlins,
it will speak of the fact that themain character of the movie was real.
But this was a character thatwas invented for that movie.
The truth for the matter is,
(12:03):
if you do another Google and you putin the name of Lewis Henry Douglass,
who was the oldest sonof Frederick Douglass,
that sergeant from the54th Regiment of Boston was
actually Louis Henry Douglass. Ifyou read his bio on the computer,
it runs parallel with thescreenplay of who they called
(12:28):
John Rawlins.
Why would they leave out sucha significant fact?
Gregory Washington (12:33):
Yeah, that's interesting.
Jeffrey Johnson (12:34):
But I see as Black History Month as a time that brings much
pride and inspiration to theAfrican American community.
You may also remember that therewas a congressional representative,
I cannot think of hisfirst name right now,
but it was Congressman King from Iowa,
and he actually stated that all of themajor contributions to the world from
(12:58):
Western civilizationcame from the White race.
And that other people groupswere merely observers of their
contributions. And he was actually,uh, punished for making that statement.
But because of our lack ofknowledge of the contributions,
not only of African Americans, but Asiansand Hispanics and other people groups,
(13:21):
we are really very ignorant of thecontributions made by other people
other than those of European descent.
Gregory Washington (13:30):
I understand that. Well, I can tell you,
Black Baptists in particular played anundeniable role in the civil rights
movement. We don't have to talkabout Martin Luther King and,
but the church was the rallying pointfor the community,
and in a large sense,still very much is. Uh,
(13:51):
it provided social communicationnetworks. It provided facilities,
leadership and money, all of that.
So do these roots still shape thecurrent mission of the Baptist Church,
in your opinion?
Vernon Walton (14:03):
Absolutely. We are still very much continuing in that same tradition.
We are still very much continuing in thetradition of Dr. King and Vernon Johns
and a host of others, even beforesome of the more famed individuals,
we continue to work toward theliberation of not just African American
people, but especially AfricanAmerican people, but all people,
(14:24):
we are on the front, at the forefrontof issues of justice. Churches.
Were a big part of the movement forGeorge Floyd right here in Fairfax
County. The church galvanized aroundthe injustice against Timothy Johnson.
One of theother issues here in Fairfax County,
as we talk about the shifts that havetaken place within our communities,
(14:47):
Fairfax County has a policythat is entitled One Fairfax,
which is an equity policy, an equity plan.
The church is at the forefront ofmaking sure that people of color,
Black people in particular, areincluded in this One Fairfax plan,
and that it becomes areality. So the church,
from its roots has been very engaged,
(15:09):
and the church is still engaged today.
Jeffrey Johnson (15:13):
Mount Calvary actually worked with Dr. Walton with the Timothy Johnson case,
and we were very proudof his leadership there.
We have been very involved with CityHall here in the city of Fairfax with
the previous mayor, Mayor Meyer. And weare currently working with Mayor Reed,
but Mount Calvary used to have agroup that would meet once a month
(15:36):
at the Mount Calvary Baptist Churchcalled the Fairfax County Colored Citizens
Association. And very briefly,
they were trying to bringforth more equity and
education, home ownership, voter rights,
as well as with economic opportunities.
Gregory Washington (15:57):
Oh, that's fantastic. So if I were to shift gears and say, okay,
at that point in time,back in the, the 1960s,
right in the height ofthe Civil Rights movement,
the real emphasis there wasgetting rid of segregation,
getting rid of separate butunequal and getting our folk on a
level playing field, right?And Mason was a part of that.
(16:19):
There is a lot of that historythat, from what I've read,
is an integral part of this campus.
What would you both sayare the issues today?
What are the things thatare the galvanizing, rallying
points right now? Where areour efforts best focused?
Vernon Walton (16:36):
Can I just lift as a recent example of the work that the Black church
specifically did on behalf ofBlack people and people of color?
COVID-19, people were dying.
People of color were dyingat disproportionate numbers,
and we literally felt as clergy personsthat we needed to address this issue.
(16:57):
And because we did nothave access to shots,
we did not have access to vaccinesat the same rate as others.
And so we really petitioned andworked hard to get equity clinics
within the churches. Uh,
and there were some who initiallytold us that this would not happen,
that this was not a possibility.But we looked at the numbers,
(17:18):
we looked at the data.
We saw what a small population that werepresented in this particular community,
but that we were dying at amuch larger and faster rate.
And so we did not rest untilthese clinics were up and
running in African American churches.And that's important because,
(17:39):
and not only did it speak to theneeds of African American people,
but those in our Hispanic and Latinacommunity took advantage of this because
they were not trusting ofsome of the government sites
that were up and running.
And they took great delight and greatcomfort in coming to the churches to get
the shot. So that's just one example ofhow we've used our voice recently, and,
(18:02):
and what some of the issues.Obviously in Fairfax County,
affordable housing is a realissue. Many of our congregants,
they have children who they put throughcollege and school, and they do well,
they get jobs,
but they still cannot afford to purchasehomes and raise their families here in
Fairfax County. And so they arelooking at other opportunities,
(18:26):
and that's something that isa very pressing issue today,
because we believe in the importance ofeducation and that education should pay
off, but they can't afford tolive. And in some instances,
they are remaining in their parents'home or they're moving away.
And that impacts our churches directlywhen people move because of housing.
Jeffrey Johnson (18:46):
Yes. We've had countless members of members that upon retirement,
they have moved further south, eitherto North Carolina, Georgia, or Florida,
to have much more affordable living. Andwe can understand that. The problem is,
is that those, as Dr.Walton has spoken of,
those who have matriculatedthrough school and are making, uh,
(19:06):
pretty good salaries are still pricedout and taxed out and placed out
of the availability of housing.
I myself was born inthe city of Alexandria.
I cannot afford to livein the city of Alexandria,
which is the city of my birth.
I also cannot afford tolive in the city of Fairfax,
(19:26):
which is the city where I work.
And so I actually have to drivejust about 20 or more miles to Mount
Calvary. And even when I wasat the Antioch Baptist Church,
there was no housing availablenear the Antioch Baptist
Church, which is in Fairfax Station,
so there definitely needs to besomething. I'm not intimidated and I'm not
(19:48):
jealous or envious of estate homes.
And in our community, they havewhat they call luxury town homes.
That's wonderful. That's great.
Gregory Washington (19:59):
Yeah, I saw those. They just built,
they just built a newset of them right there.
Jeffrey Johnson (20:03):
Yes. Yes.
Gregory Washington (20:04):
They Went right on 123.
Jeffrey Johnson (20:05):
We're talking about they started around 600,000
and shot up to 900,000.
Vernon Walton (20:11):
They, they must use the same builders in Vienna.
Jeffrey Johnson (20:14):
But the problem is,
there should be somewhere nearbywhere there's a housing community,
which is for the middle classor lower middle class. And, uh,
I do see other housing projects thatare connected with George Mason,
and we look forward toservicing the spiritual needs of those who will be moving
into those communities.But it would be nice,
(20:36):
we may not be the heart ofthe city or downtown Fairfax,
but there should be somewhere nearbythat could accommodate our young
professionals.
Gregory Washington (20:45):
And look, I hear you.
You all are hit the nail right onthe head with the housing piece.
Vernon Walton (20:49):
You know, President Washington,
it broke my heart at leasta year and a half ago,
to learn thatthere are peoplejust a few miles away from our
churches here in Fairfax County,
not in Washington DC but inFairfax County that are living
in tent communities. And when Ishare that story with individuals,
(21:10):
they automatically make the assumptionthat these individuals are living
tents by choice.
But I've had the privilege to walk thetent community to share with many of
these individuals. And if you go to, tothese tent communities during the day,
they're empty. And not because peopleare just hanging out on the street,
but these individuals are atwork, they're working individuals,
(21:34):
many of them.
But for a number of consequences anddecisions and unfortunate realities,
they just cannot afford tohave a roof over their head
without some specific assistancewith affordable housing here in
Fairfax County.
Jeffrey Johnson (21:50):
And to add onto that, the first Tuesday of each month,
I actually speak at the chapelservice at the Central Union Mission
in Washington DC and there arepeople who work in Virginia
who have to bed down at nightat the Central Union Mission.
They have transportation, they have a job,
(22:11):
but there is nowhere forthem currently to live.
Gregory Washington (22:15):
You know, the cost of housing is a significant issue, one
which we are trying to address hereourselves. You know, the reality is,
is that if you look at where GeorgeMason sits, many of the people we hire,
and we pay decent salaries, right?For our faculty and our staff,
many of the people we hire can'tafford to buy a home in this community.
They have to go 15, 20, 30,
(22:38):
45 miles out in order to find something.And that issue is a real issue.
Vernon Walton (22:44):
And that same reality is true for brand new elementary school teachers
in the Fairfax County public school systems. You know,
if you're just graduating,trying to get into the system,
and we've been particularly trying torecruit American students from our local
colleges and HBCUs. But again,
the cost of living is cost prohibitiveas well as in some instances for
(23:06):
those going into our police departments.
The first yearor two is difficulton the starting salaries.
Gregory Washington (23:13):
Man, I didn't know I was gonna get this today. This is fantastic.
Reverend Johnson, I know that you canrecite Martin Luther King Jr's speech,
I have a dream,by heart. Is that right?
Jeffrey Johnson (23:25):
Yes, sir, uh.
Gregory Washington (23:26):
I heard you do part of that. He outlined some basic tenets in that speech.
Jeffrey Johnson (23:30):
Mm-Hmm.
But how far would both of yousay we've come since that speech?
I actually believe we've come a long way. The only thing is,
there are some people who see therealities of some of the things that we've
spoken about this afternoon,and they would actually be, uh,
somewhat pessimistic. And whenI run across those people,
(23:51):
whether it's in the street or thebarbershop or so forth, I say, wow,
I gotta tell you thetruth. I was born in 1962,
and I would prefer that to1862. There's a lot to be done,
but we have also accomplished so much more
than is being spoken abouttoday. And there again,
(24:13):
it goes back to one of our earlier topics,
because there is not an adequateinclusion of African American
contributions in our history, uh,
in our public schools and evensome of our private schools,
that that's the reason why thereis such a hopelessness today.
But when you look at the King speech,I have to admit Dr. Washington,
(24:35):
there are relevant issues thatas much as I love that speech,
I wish that it was irrelevant today.
Gregory Washington (24:43):
Oh, that's deep.
Vernon Walton (24:45):
Yeah, that's a great way to put it, rev, great way to put it. I would agree,
President Washington, that we'vemade some tremendous strides.
And let me just stop andsay we should not overlook,
and we should celebrate the fact thatwe are sitting here at George Mason with
you, a trailblazer.
And I think you are an example of someof the strides that we've made as a
(25:05):
people,
the fact that you are leading thisinstitution as an African American male.
We celebrate the ascension of PresidentBarack Obama into the White House,
and more recently, the ascension ofour Vice President Kamala Harris,
and we celebrate the ascension of ourfirst African American female justice.
(25:25):
I think those are signs,
those are signals that we are headingand moving in the right direction.
But we should continue to keep moving.
And sometimes we pause to celebrate.
And in our pausing to celebrate,
we forget that there's still moreground to cover. And so, yes,
there are some strides,
(25:46):
but unfortunately there aresome realities from that speech.
And likewise from Dr. King's letter,from the Birmingham jail
that are still unrealizedparts of his dream,
particularly when we talk about theeconomics of African American people,
as we just alluded to talkingabout the housing crisis, right?
And I believe that it was Dr.
(26:06):
King's real focus on economics thatultimately led to his assassination.
Gregory Washington (26:11):
I heard a couple of lines from that final speech that he was putting together.
That was an economicempowerment speech if you,
if you've ever heard one.
Jeffrey Johnson (26:21):
Yes, sir.
Gregory Washington (26:22):
So how do we balance what has happened in the past and our hopes for the future?
So, Dr. Walton, you gave a talk in whichyou spoke of a sermon you heard from
Reverend William Augustus Jones ofthe Brooklyn, Bethany Baptist Church,
who said, and, and I'm paraphrasing here,
our past isn't allowed tobecome the past because
(26:46):
we keep it alive in our minds.Instead of letting it be bygone.
We become stuck in that moment.
You can't have the present because youhave no clear vision for the future.
Is that a personal statement or canyou make a connection to what we're
basically talking about in some of thestruggles for equality and equity that
(27:07):
are happening today?
Vernon Walton (27:08):
I think Dr. William Augustus Jones, who has gone on to be with the Lord now,
was one of our premier voices in thepulpit, particularly the Black pulpit.
But he was a world renownedpreacher and a voice and force to
be reckoned with those words. Dr.Washington come from a sermon he preached,
called The Problem of thePresent Past. And in that sermon,
(27:30):
he quoted the psalmist David, and he's,I believe it was Psalm 51. And he said,
my sin is forever before me.
And the point that he makes in thisparticular sermon is simply that there's
some things that have occurred in ourlives that we cannot go back and change.
That sermon spoke volumes to mewhen I first heard it in person,
(27:50):
when I've read it in print. And, uh,
it's one that I will remember to sharewith you. One of the reasons why it speaks
to me, because it's still relevanttoday in terms of my personal life,
in terms of our collective witness andcertainly for us as people of color.
What do we do? I think it's importantfor us to confront our past.
(28:11):
I think it's important forus to move on from our past.
But before moving on, we have to learn.Because if we don't learn anything,
then we are bound to repeat the past, right?
And we have to make amends for ourpast. We have to recognize, yes,
there's some things that we cannot change.
There's some things that we canapologize for, come to grips with,
(28:34):
make restitution for, offerapologies for. So what do we do?
How does it speak to us today? Ithink it speaks to us personally.
It speaks to us as a county,
as we talk about why allof these communities have shifted around these Black
churches. And it alsospeaks to us as a country.
How are we going to confront ourpast and make amends for our past,
(28:55):
and then ultimately move on fromour past? At the end of the day,
we cannot hide. And whatever we don'tconfront, we are bound to repeat.
And unfortunately,
there are many people in our nationthat don't want to have the real
conversation about America andthe real conversation about
(29:16):
how African Americans were treatedin America. And that, of course,
goes back to this whole rewritingof history and the banning of books.
But we will never be the real peoplethat we can be until we confront
some of those issues.
Jeffrey Johnson (29:30):
Oh, yes. And Dr. William Augustus Jones,
along with preachers like Dr. E.K.Bailey, A. Lewis Patterson, and,
uh, even, uh, Dr. Smith, I cannot thinkof his first name for some reason,
it just left my mind, but he was fromNew York City. B.W. Smith.
They used to speak in WashingtonDC where I pastored for 10 years.
(29:53):
And Dr. Jones would empower his listeners
with taking biblical facts andshaping them around African
American experiences. Hehad one sermon entitled, he,
he did a, he flipped the script somewhat,
and he said The lion's inDaniel's den. So in other words.
Gregory Washington (30:15):
Instead of Daniel in the lion's den.
Jeffrey Johnson (30:17):
Right, right. And he was showing us, we are troubled on every side,
yet not distressed. We areperplexed, but not in despair.
Persecuted but not forsaken.Cast down, but not destroyed.
And when you hear of the horrific thingsthat have happened to our communities,
it is a miracle thatwe are still alive and
(30:40):
thriving with a $1.3 trillionbudget in the African
American community.
I think this is another reason whyour history is often overlooked,
because there is a strongspiritual presence in our journey.
And it's not politically correct toshare things with spirituality when it
(31:00):
comes to something like history.
But it is the only reason Ithink we are still doing well and
thriving. You look at Mosesand the children of Israel,
they had an exodus. Wehad an emancipation.
The exodus means that theyleft, they came out of,
we are still living in thefootprint of the Civil War.
(31:24):
We are still living nearplantations.
We are still living near treeswhere folks were lynched.
We are still in Egypteven though we've been
emancipated.
Gregory Washington (31:38):
Can we stay there for a second?
I wanna unpack that a little bit andask you all some questions
about it. You know,
the reality is that the way I see it,
the shackles that hold us down today are
mental, as much as they areeconomic, social, and physical
(32:00):
We have a large percentageof our community who are
striving and doing extraordinarythings, and they are setting the bar.
Everybody knew that we would dogreat things in entertainment and
athletics. We've done thatthroughout our history.
But now you're seeingit in business.
(32:20):
You're seeing it in science andengineering.
You're seeing it in areas inwhich historically we just haven't
had a modern, strong legacy.
But we still have a cohort of ourpeople who haven't gotten that memo,
so to speak, and thereby arenot reaching their potential.
(32:40):
How do you speak to that?
Vernon Walton (32:42):
Dr. Washington, I think that's where the hard work is.
That is the work of our church.And quite frankly, honestly,
that is also the work ofinstitutions like George Mason.
Gregory Washington (32:53):
Oh, I agree with that a hundred percent.
Vernon Walton (32:54):
If we are honest,
there are many in Fairfax Countythat enjoy a great deal of privilege.
And those who live here, those who workhere, as it has already been suggested,
you have to have reached and or, orobtained a certain level of success,
and I place success in quotationsthat you can afford to do this.
But to your point, there are otherswho have not received that memo.
(33:18):
And I believe wholeheartedly in scripturewhere it says, to whom much is given,
much is required.
And our responsibility is notjust to sit on our stools of do
nothingness and enjoy our ownsuccess. Because if that is the case,
then we are guilty as wellof just relishing in our
own privilege.
(33:39):
But our responsibility is toreach out to those who are
marginalized,
to reach out to those who havenot had the benefit of the same
level of access for whatever thereasons are,
and to help lift the tide.
And that's the work ofour church that remains,
(33:59):
and that's the work of ourinstitution that remains.
Jeffrey Johnson (34:03):
I wholeheartedly agree. Sometimes Dr. Washington,
other people groups look atthe African American community,
and this happened during the time ofDr. King and their still doing it today.
They're saying, why don't you justget over it? And the thing is,
we would've been over it if it wasn'tfor the malfeasance of government that
ended reconstruction, wewould've been over it.
(34:24):
If it wasn't for Plessy v.Ferguson or the Dred Scott decision,
we would have been over it. If itwasn't for Jim Crow and the physical,
or the,
I guess you could say the characterassassinations of Marcus Garvey and
Medgar Evers and MartinLuther King Jr., and Malcolm X.
we could have been over it if itwasn't for the fact of what happened in
(34:48):
not only Tulsa, Oklahoma,but Colfax, Louisiana.
And I even read recentlyabout a insurrection that was
successful in, uh, Wilmington,
North Carolina back in 1898.
We would've been over it if we didn'thave people like Congressman King
(35:10):
trying to tell the American societythat Blacks have not contributed
anything of note worthiness tothe world or to the country.
Because the thing about it,when you look at the reality,
a civilization began and Kemet in Egypt, in Africa.
Gregory Washington (35:27):
That's exactly right.
Jeffrey Johnson (35:28):
And then the Greeks came and borrowed,
very politely, borrowed fromwhat they had gained from Egypt.
And then naturally, the Romansborrowed from the Greeks.
We don't want to be seen as a Afrocentric
superiority. We want to cooperate.
There were Black explorersleaving the African continent,
(35:50):
which actually at one time, theentire continent was called Ethiopia.
And the Atlantic Ocean wasreferred to as the Ethiopian Sea.
And you had African explorersactually coming down to the Americas.
And you can see their contributionsin architecture and technology,
even theexchange of the culture and so forth.
(36:13):
So we don't want to dominate,we want to participate.
And that is somethingthat is missing today.
That is something that westill would like to do.
There were two elderly white ladieswho looked like charming characters on
the Andy Griffith Show.
And when Barack Obama's secondterm was coming to an end,
(36:35):
they were embarrassed because they wereagainst his election in the first place
because they thought that ifthere was a Black president,
he would come and reap retributionagainst the White community.
That has not been the case.Over the many years that we
have been in this country, thecenturies of our suffering.
(36:58):
There are very fewopportunities that our race took
to have any type of retribution andlike to tell people during Black History
Month, and the Martin LutherKing services that I speak on,
is that the African Americancommunity has had an August the 28th,
but not a January the sixth.
Gregory Washington (37:19):
Hmm. Yeah. That's deep. That is really, really deep.
Man, I don't even know whatto say about that.,
You got me at a loss for words.
Vernon Walton (37:29):
You're walking heavy.
Gregory Washington (37:32):
Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Dr. Walton,
on the wall in the lobbyoutside of your office,
you have a photo with a quote fromBooker T. Washington who was born into
slavery,
but became the most influential AfricanAmerican speaker of his time and the
principal developer of what isnow known as Tuskegee University.
(37:52):
And that quote says,
success waits patientlyfor anyone who has the
determination to seize it. Why that quote?
Vernon Walton (38:01):
Well, Dr. Washington, that particular quote speaks to me,
but I think it's also important tonote that Booker T. Washington, yes,
hangs outside in the lobby of my office,but he doesn't hang there by himself,
.
He hangs there along with a pictureof Dr. King from the Birmingham
jail. He hangs there with apicture of the Little Rock Nine.
(38:26):
He hangs there with some individualswho are participants of the
1969 March of Selma to Montgomery,
and he hangs there with apicture of Rosa Parks. And so,
while I love and appreciate the workof Booker T. Washington and support that
quote wholeheartedly, and it speaks to me,
the real intent of that quote andthe others that hang in that lobby
(38:50):
is to demonstrate to those whowalk in our office and those
who leave our office,
is to demonstrate that we arenot monolithic as a people,
and that all voices matter.
All voices are impactful,
and that we can learn fromeveryone's experiences.
Gregory Washington (39:12):
Oh, that's fantastic.
Jeffrey Johnson (39:13):
And Dr. Walton lives that every week. I was saddened that I was in
Tampa, Florida and could not attendhis MLK service where he actually had
Dr. Robert E. Lee as one of thespeakers for that service. And,
uh,
we don't have time to talk about all ofthe great things that this descendant of
General Lee has done to speakof a united America rather than
(39:38):
a separated America.
As well as the fact I was ableto meet at First Baptist Vienna,
I was able to meet theactual secretary of Dr. King,
who actually composedthe notes that King wrote
in the Birmingham jail. So theseare some very rich experiences,
(40:01):
and we have an opportunity,as Dr. King would say,
that we can either learn to livetogether as brothers or perish as
fools.
We are the greatestdemonstration of the equity of
democracy for a nation throughout the
(40:21):
world, and some of the petty differencesthat are currently in our Congress,
which I will not go into, but, uh
Vernon Walton (40:28):
Do we have enough time for that?
Jeffrey Johnson (40:30):
Dr. Walton, they say, if you keep electing clowns,
you are bound to have a circus.And that is what has been happening.
These men are not realizing that notonly are they giving a black eye to
democracy, they're giving a black eyeto Christianity throughout the world,
because Jesus told us to love ourenemies. Bless them that curse you.
Pray for those who despitefullyuse you and persecute you.
(40:52):
These citizens that this particularparty is fighting, they're taxpayers,
and whether you agree with theirlifestyle or not, they work hard.
They contribute to their communitiesand they pay their taxes.
Allow the churches and the synagoguesand the mosques to deal with the other
issues.
But you cannot relegate inlegality how people should live.
(41:16):
They have to make that decisionbecause even God himself gave everyone
a free will. And if we do ourjob and they do their job,
we could have something close to a utopia.
Gregory Washington (41:31):
That's fantastic.
So let me back up onesecond and let's break down
where we go from here. You know,
one of Mason's pillars is thateducation is a great equalizer.
You know,
and that's why we partnered with communitycollege to create smoother pathways
to four year degree. We putin place the Mason
(41:54):
Virginia Promise to help you either geta degree or start your own business.
All of the small business developmentcenters throughout all of Virginia are led
by George Mason, so we canhelp folks start a business.
So we put these foundational bricks inplace. But what I want to ask you is,
what else can we do?
(42:14):
How can we help you deal with someof the problems that are still
afflicting our communities?
Vernon Walton (42:21):
Well, Dr. Washington, you are creating here at Mason thought leaders.
You are developing practitioners.
You are creating the neweconomist and sociologist.
And the work that you do here helpsto better inform the work that we
do in our local churches.
The work that you do here helps usto translate the social norms and the
(42:43):
customs.
It helps us to make sense out of whatis actually happening in our society.
So I would dare say thatthese kinds of partnerships,
to continue these kinds ofconversations that we're having today.
Many of our churches arecreating feeding programs.
We are creating tutoring programs.
We have senior programs that arerunning on a regular consistent basis,
(43:07):
but it's the thought leaders andthe practitioners that you are
developing here at Masonthat help us to challenge the
structures that create the need forthese feeding programs and tutoring
programs.
And so I want to encourage you andfaculty and staff here at Mason
(43:27):
to keep developing the thought leaders,
but to use our spaces andplaces as platforms so that
the leaders that you arebuilding have actual stages to
put their work into practice.
Whether they are helping us totranslate the dynamics of our society,
whether they are helping us to tutorthe kids that are in our possession,
(43:50):
whatever the case may be. I believe yes,education helps greatly to equalize,
but let's not forget theroadblocks that exist
and that are challenging theopportunity to education,
that we have the rollbacks as it relatesto affirmative actions set asides, and,
and the need for DEI. So continueto create those thought leaders,
(44:12):
those practitioners. We are gonnacontinue to do our work on the ground,
but your work informs what we do, andwe have space for your practitioners.
Jeffrey Johnson (44:22):
Oh, yes. I, I, I greatly agreed. I saw the humble beginnings of George Mason,
and there were some people whosaid, well, I would go to school,
but I have to support my familyand work here in Northern Virginia.
But then they thought of Mason
and those educational dreamsand aspirations became real.
It is amazing.
(44:42):
I would ask anyone tojust take a slow casual
drive through this campus.
It is a small city of intelligentsia.
It is a oasis of academics,
and you have produced so many people.Not only did my son Jeffrey Jr.
(45:05):
attend here,
we have other members of the MountCalvary Baptist Church who either took
classes or actuallygraduated from George Mason.
And what I like about George Mason isthat out of all the things that Reverend
Dr, uh, Walton has mentioned,
you also have maintained a stream of
(45:26):
conversation that isrelevant to this community.
Sometimes colleges becomeso academically involved
that they no longer have connectionwith the community. Your connection,
Dr. Washington, with the community,is making a great impact.
And when this is done,
(45:46):
not only will you affect thegraduates of George Mason,
you will also make a greatimpact on the city of Fairfax,
not only its citizens, but itsgovernment and its visitors.
Gregory Washington (45:59):
We got a ways to go, and we want to continue to be the
institution that thecommunity needs to be here.
Not the one that it tolerates, or theone that it wants to be here, but the,
that the community needs.
And that means that we're gonnahave to continue to provide
really great outcomes for thestudents in and around this community,
(46:23):
quite frankly, for thecompanies and the institutions,
churches included, around thiscommunity.
We're actually here for you also,
and there's a whole host of thingsthat we can provide you in addition to,
in addition to, parishioners.
Vernon Walton (46:41):
Let, let me, let me just give you a, a shout out, Dr. Washington.
I know you may not be intimatelyaware, but your staff was incredible.
Just recently for us, a few months ago,
we hosted a African Americanmale summit for high school young
men. And we had nearly a hundredyoung men from as far south as
(47:02):
Richmond, from DC andall over Fairfax County.
I'm a firm believer that experienceand exposure goes a long way,
and there's no substitute for both.As a part of that particular day,
the young men had a presentationabout college acceptance and
preparation for college from your staffhere at Mason. It for many,
(47:24):
opened up, uh, the eyes of young men,
some of which for the first timewas having a conversation with
someone about their future potential.
And so I want to acknowledgethat in this moment.
Gregory Washington (47:38):
No, I love that. I love that. And it's great that we could be a part of that.
And it's fantastic that ourFaculty and staff can be helpful.
We don't want to just stopthere. We want to do more.
It's part of my reasonfor engaging you brothers,
because I wanna make sure theinstitution is pretty much part of
the family here in Northern Virginia. SoI want to thank you all for giving me,
(48:01):
for giving us, that chanceto be that, and for being a,
a willing partner going forwardin our futures together.
Vernon Walton (48:09):
Thank you for the offer, and we are here to receive it. And we're together,
and we're together.
Gregory Washington (48:14):
Outstanding, outstanding. I love it. Well, we're gonna have to leave it there,
Reverend Jeffrey Johnson,
pastor at Mount CalvaryBaptist Church in Fairfax,
Virginia, and Dr. Vernon Walton,
pastor at First Baptist Church in Vienna.
Thank you both for your timeand for a really fantastic
(48:38):
conversation.
Vernon Walton (48:39):
Thank you, Dr. Washington.
Gregory Washington (48:41):
I'm Mason, president Gregory Washington saying, until next time,
stay safe, Mason Nation.
Narrator (48:49):
If you like what you heard on this podcast,
go to podcast.gmu.edu formore of Gregory Washington's
conversations with thethought leaders, experts,
and educators who take on the grandchallenges facing our students, graduates,
and higher education.That's podcast.gmu.edu.
Trailblazers in research innovators in technology,
and those who simply have a goodstory. All make up the fabric
that is George Mason University,
where taking on the grand challenges thatface our students, graduates and higher
education is our mission and our passion.Hosted by Mason President Gregory
Washington, this is theAccess to Excellence podcast.
Gregory Washington (00:27):
Mount Calvary Baptist Church in Fairfax,
Virginia was established on May 15th,
1870 by former slaves who settled aroundthe area of the Fairfax Courthouse
after the Civil War. It is the first andonly Black-founded church in the city.
It is located less than a halfmile from the George Mason
(00:49):
University campus. The firstBaptist Church of Vienna,
Virginia, was establishedin 1867 and was also
organized by former slaves.
It is the first and oldestchurch of any kind in
Vienna.
It's located six milesaway from the campus.
(01:11):
I am honored to have the leaders ofthose congregations here with me today.
They serve our students,our faculty, our staff,
and they serve them incredibly well.
And so on this early stageof Black History Month,
I just felt fantastic that theywere able to engage with us
and speak with us today.
(01:32):
Reverend Jeffrey Johnsonhas led Mount Calvary since
2004.
Dr. Vernon Walton has ledFirst Baptist of Vienna since
2014.
Both have put their stamps on theircommunities and have relationships with
Mason that go beyond theirchurch's proximity to our campus.
(01:53):
Reverend Johnson. Dr. Walton,
it is good to see both ofyou and welcome to the show.
Vernon Walton (02:01):
Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you for having us.
Gregory Washington (02:05):
Well, Reverend Johnson,
I know your son Jeffrey has a degreefrom George Mason University in graphic
design, so I hope that itserved him well. And Dr. Walton,
you have had the MasonChorale sing at your church
and have Mason graduates onyour staff. So both of you,
(02:26):
how does the legacy of your churches,
both of which arefounded by former slaves,
inform your work and themission of your churches?
Jeffrey Johnson (02:36):
Let me defer to Dr. Walton.
Vernon Walton (02:38):
Well, thank you. Thank you brother, brother Pastor again. Uh, Dr. Washington,
thank you for having us.Um, I'm honored to be here,
talk about our work andour mission and our legacy,
and certainly the celebration of Blackand African American History Month.
We really recognize that as a church,
we stand on the shoulders ofthose who've gone before us.
We celebrate really the strengthand the capacity of those,
(03:01):
those slaves who literally builtour churches from the ground.
And when I say built ourchurches from the ground,
I'm not just specifically talkingabout the brick and mortar,
but I'm talking about thosewho really worked and labored
hard to build a community,to build a sense of belonging.
And we recognize their intent.Years ago, 156 years ago,
(03:23):
specifically for First Baptist,
their intent in building a congregationwas to inform people about their faith
as well as to educate our childrenand community in a academic
manner.
And so we recognize those shouldersthat we stand on and we continue
that work and that mission today.
Jeffrey Johnson (03:42):
Yes. As well, the Mount Calvary Baptist Church,
being that it wasestablished May of 1870 by
individuals, just likewith First Baptist Vienna,
we are known as the historicalchurch with the biblical mandate.
That biblical mandate comes fromEphesians chapter four, verse 12,
that we are about the perfecting ofthe saints, the work of ministry,
(04:05):
and the edifying,
which is an old word that meansto build up, of the body of
Christ. We're proud to be in thiscommunity with George Mason University.
Not only has Jeffrey Junior graduatedwith honors from this school,
he went on,
Dr. Washington to enroll in theHoward University Law School
(04:27):
and is now a civil rights attorney,
and he's currently working forthe Veterans Administration.
Gregory Washington (04:35):
Okay. That's all right. How well do your congregations know each other?
Like is there a rivalry? Isthere any type of, you know,
you're not that far apartand I know how churches go.
What is the engagement likebetween the two congregations?
Vernon Walton (04:52):
Well, I wouldn't call it rivalry President Washington, but I,
I would say that if you go into mostof the Black churches within Fairfax
County, there is certainlyan interconnectedness between the congregations.
There are relatives throughouteach of these congregations.
The pastors enjoy great relationshipsand fellowship, and whenever possible,
(05:13):
we attempt to collaborate togetherto work for the betterment of people.
Jeffrey Johnson (05:18):
Yes. And many years ago,
I was one of the youngest assistantpastors in Northern Virginia at the Peace
Baptist Church and PeaceBaptist, Mount Calvary and other
congregations like Mount Olivefor Centerville had very close
relationships. As a22-year-old Baptist preacher,
(05:40):
I used to cruise through outNorthern Virginia in a 1965
Dodge Dart convertible. And Iused to worship at the old, uh,
sanctuary, not only of MountCalvary, but of First Baptist Vienna.
And we are very proud of thework that Dr. Walton is doing
in the city of Vienna.
(06:02):
We are trying to do the same typeof work in the city of Fairfax.
Vernon Walton (06:07):
I'll just also add President Washington,
that one of the founding pastorsof First Baptist is also listed
as a founding pastor of atleast three or four other
congregations in Fairfax County.So the river runs deep.
Gregory Washington (06:23):
Outstanding. Outstanding. So, uh, Reverend Johnson,
Mount Calvary, when it was founded, wasknown as the Colored Baptist Church.
And prior to its founding, slavesattended churches of their masters.
In addition, both of yourcommunities, both Fairfax and Vienna,
were segregated at one time.
And I believe the last Blackenclave in Fairfax City on School
(06:48):
Street really actuallysat right next to Mason.
And so what effect did the,the dissolution and the,
the breakup of the strictly Blackcommunities have on the churches
themselves? Did that impactyou all significantly?
Jeffrey Johnson (07:04):
It definitely affected us at the Mount Calvary Baptist Church.
Still driving that classic automobilethroughout Northern Virginia.
I used to come to SchoolStreet and I actually saw
visually young Black children andsometimes with their parents walking
to the Mount Calvary Baptist Church.
(07:25):
You could actually driveup and down School Street,
and there was a series of houses, not all,
but there was a series of houses thatyou could just park in front of the house
or in the, the residentialyard of that homeowner.
And the front door was never locked.You could just walk right in.
And there was a very gentle,
(07:45):
yet powerful Christian womanby the name of Mabel Colbert,
and she had quite a fewchildren and grandchildren,
and it was her personal ministry tomake sure that they were involved in
the various ministries and activitiesof the Mount Calvary Baptist Church.
Gregory Washington (08:03):
So Dr. Walton,
I don't know if you've heard this quotefrom the actor Morgan Freeman who
recently on, uh, no, not toorecently, but not too long ago,
in 60 Minutes in which he says BlackHistory Month keeps racism alive.
And in that interview he says, you'regoing to relegate my history to a month.
Black history is American history.
I definitely agree with the last part ofthat statement.
(08:26):
How do you, how do you react to that?
Vernon Walton (08:28):
Before I react to that, can I just go back to your last question?
Just for a minute,
because First Baptist,
like Mount Calvary has experiencedsome of the same thing.
But I think it's also safe tosay that wherever there is a
African American church in Fairfax County,
you could make the assumption thatthere was an African American community.
(08:51):
Clearly, as you peruse through thecounty today, things have changed.
My question is perhaps why thedisruption of these communities and what
led to the disruption ofthese communities? You know, in some places today,
we call it gentrification.But very similarly.
First Baptist was verymuch a community church,
was very much a rural communitychurch and enjoyed its membership
(09:16):
living and occupying space in thatcommunity. Whereas at one time,
there was 80% Vienna, 20% commuting.
We are probably just the opposite today.
80% commuting and 20% inthe community within miles
from the local church.
And I think that's significant for usto mention because where the church
(09:36):
existed, there was a Black community,there was Black home ownership,
and there was Black economics.
And so there's been a realdisruption in that system.
Gregory Washington (09:45):
So were there Black businesses in those communities and the like?
Vernon Walton (09:49):
Absolutely, there were, there were plenty of black businesses. Many, um,
as I said, were farmers, and they soldtheir goods and their products, and they,
the communities itself enjoyeda plethora of African American
entrepreneurship.
And today we are very hard-pressedto experience the same thing.
So to your point, you make aboutMorgan Freeman and his quote,
(10:12):
I would agree with the latter part aswell. I have not seen the exact interview,
but I have heard conversationabout Brother Freeman's comments.
But I would just add that AfricanAmerican history is American history,
and you cannot talk about Americanhistory without talking about the
contributions that black people havemade to our nation, to our country,
(10:33):
to our world. I personally
am not sure that Black HistoryMonth keeps racism alive as much
as those who seek to eliminate thecontributions of Blacks and those who
attempt to rewrite ourhistory. And of course,
I'm sure there's spirited conversationon this campus about those who even
attempt to ban books,that share our story.
Jeffrey Johnson (10:57):
And Dr. Washington as well look at the fact that when you speak of, like, I,
I believe one preacher spoke of 11 o'clockon Sunday morning as being the most
segregated hour in America.That is one sided. We,
and I'm sure Dr. Waltonwould agree with this,
we have never rejectedWhites from our membership,
nor have we rejected White peoplefrom attending our services.
(11:20):
It's only been on the other sideof that scenario. Even right now,
I'm part of a group calledthe Racial Unity Group,
and we have a wonderful timefellowshipping together.
And this thing basedupon Morgan Freeman, uh,
let me bring to your attention,
he was one of the key actors inthe movie called Glory.
Gregory Washington (11:42):
Sure was.
Jeffrey Johnson (11:43):
He portrayed a character that they referred to as Sergeant
John Rawlins.
If you do a Google searchon Sergeant John Rawlins,
it will speak of the fact that themain character of the movie was real.
But this was a character thatwas invented for that movie.
The truth for the matter is,
(12:03):
if you do another Google and you putin the name of Lewis Henry Douglass,
who was the oldest sonof Frederick Douglass,
that sergeant from the54th Regiment of Boston was
actually Louis Henry Douglass. Ifyou read his bio on the computer,
it runs parallel with thescreenplay of who they called
(12:28):
John Rawlins.
Why would they leave out sucha significant fact?
Gregory Washington (12:33):
Yeah, that's interesting.
Jeffrey Johnson (12:34):
But I see as Black History Month as a time that brings much
pride and inspiration to theAfrican American community.
You may also remember that therewas a congressional representative,
I cannot think of hisfirst name right now,
but it was Congressman King from Iowa,
and he actually stated that all of themajor contributions to the world from
(12:58):
Western civilizationcame from the White race.
And that other people groupswere merely observers of their
contributions. And he was actually,uh, punished for making that statement.
But because of our lack ofknowledge of the contributions,
not only of African Americans, but Asiansand Hispanics and other people groups,
(13:21):
we are really very ignorant of thecontributions made by other people
other than those of European descent.
Gregory Washington (13:30):
I understand that. Well, I can tell you,
Black Baptists in particular played anundeniable role in the civil rights
movement. We don't have to talkabout Martin Luther King and,
but the church was the rallying pointfor the community,
and in a large sense,still very much is. Uh,
(13:51):
it provided social communicationnetworks. It provided facilities,
leadership and money, all of that.
So do these roots still shape thecurrent mission of the Baptist Church,
in your opinion?
Vernon Walton (14:03):
Absolutely. We are still very much continuing in that same tradition.
We are still very much continuing in thetradition of Dr. King and Vernon Johns
and a host of others, even beforesome of the more famed individuals,
we continue to work toward theliberation of not just African American
people, but especially AfricanAmerican people, but all people,
(14:24):
we are on the front, at the forefrontof issues of justice. Churches.
Were a big part of the movement forGeorge Floyd right here in Fairfax
County. The church galvanized aroundthe injustice against Timothy Johnson.
One of theother issues here in Fairfax County,
as we talk about the shifts that havetaken place within our communities,
(14:47):
Fairfax County has a policythat is entitled One Fairfax,
which is an equity policy, an equity plan.
The church is at the forefront ofmaking sure that people of color,
Black people in particular, areincluded in this One Fairfax plan,
and that it becomes areality. So the church,
from its roots has been very engaged,
(15:09):
and the church is still engaged today.
Jeffrey Johnson (15:13):
Mount Calvary actually worked with Dr. Walton with the Timothy Johnson case,
and we were very proudof his leadership there.
We have been very involved with CityHall here in the city of Fairfax with
the previous mayor, Mayor Meyer. And weare currently working with Mayor Reed,
but Mount Calvary used to have agroup that would meet once a month
(15:36):
at the Mount Calvary Baptist Churchcalled the Fairfax County Colored Citizens
Association. And very briefly,
they were trying to bringforth more equity and
education, home ownership, voter rights,
as well as with economic opportunities.
Gregory Washington (15:57):
Oh, that's fantastic. So if I were to shift gears and say, okay,
at that point in time,back in the, the 1960s,
right in the height ofthe Civil Rights movement,
the real emphasis there wasgetting rid of segregation,
getting rid of separate butunequal and getting our folk on a
level playing field, right?And Mason was a part of that.
(16:19):
There is a lot of that historythat, from what I've read,
is an integral part of this campus.
What would you both sayare the issues today?
What are the things thatare the galvanizing, rallying
points right now? Where areour efforts best focused?
Vernon Walton (16:36):
Can I just lift as a recent example of the work that the Black church
specifically did on behalf ofBlack people and people of color?
COVID-19, people were dying.
People of color were dyingat disproportionate numbers,
and we literally felt as clergy personsthat we needed to address this issue.
(16:57):
And because we did nothave access to shots,
we did not have access to vaccinesat the same rate as others.
And so we really petitioned andworked hard to get equity clinics
within the churches. Uh,
and there were some who initiallytold us that this would not happen,
that this was not a possibility.But we looked at the numbers,
(17:18):
we looked at the data.
We saw what a small population that werepresented in this particular community,
but that we were dying at amuch larger and faster rate.
And so we did not rest untilthese clinics were up and
running in African American churches.And that's important because,
(17:39):
and not only did it speak to theneeds of African American people,
but those in our Hispanic and Latinacommunity took advantage of this because
they were not trusting ofsome of the government sites
that were up and running.
And they took great delight and greatcomfort in coming to the churches to get
the shot. So that's just one example ofhow we've used our voice recently, and,
(18:02):
and what some of the issues.Obviously in Fairfax County,
affordable housing is a realissue. Many of our congregants,
they have children who they put throughcollege and school, and they do well,
they get jobs,
but they still cannot afford to purchasehomes and raise their families here in
Fairfax County. And so they arelooking at other opportunities,
(18:26):
and that's something that isa very pressing issue today,
because we believe in the importance ofeducation and that education should pay
off, but they can't afford tolive. And in some instances,
they are remaining in their parents'home or they're moving away.
And that impacts our churches directlywhen people move because of housing.
Jeffrey Johnson (18:46):
Yes. We've had countless members of members that upon retirement,
they have moved further south, eitherto North Carolina, Georgia, or Florida,
to have much more affordable living. Andwe can understand that. The problem is,
is that those, as Dr.Walton has spoken of,
those who have matriculatedthrough school and are making, uh,
(19:06):
pretty good salaries are still pricedout and taxed out and placed out
of the availability of housing.
I myself was born inthe city of Alexandria.
I cannot afford to livein the city of Alexandria,
which is the city of my birth.
I also cannot afford tolive in the city of Fairfax,
(19:26):
which is the city where I work.
And so I actually have to drivejust about 20 or more miles to Mount
Calvary. And even when I wasat the Antioch Baptist Church,
there was no housing availablenear the Antioch Baptist
Church, which is in Fairfax Station,
so there definitely needs to besomething. I'm not intimidated and I'm not
(19:48):
jealous or envious of estate homes.
And in our community, they havewhat they call luxury town homes.
That's wonderful. That's great.
Gregory Washington (19:59):
Yeah, I saw those. They just built,
they just built a newset of them right there.
Jeffrey Johnson (20:03):
Yes. Yes.
Gregory Washington (20:04):
They Went right on 123.
Jeffrey Johnson (20:05):
We're talking about they started around 600,000
and shot up to 900,000.
Vernon Walton (20:11):
They, they must use the same builders in Vienna
Jeffrey Johnson (20:14):
But the problem is,
there should be somewhere nearbywhere there's a housing community,
which is for the middle classor lower middle class. And, uh,
I do see other housing projects thatare connected with George Mason,
and we look forward toservicing the spiritual needs of those who will be moving
into those communities.But it would be nice,
(20:36):
we may not be the heart ofthe city or downtown Fairfax,
but there should be somewhere nearbythat could accommodate our young
professionals.
Gregory Washington (20:45):
And look, I hear you.
You all are hit the nail right onthe head with the housing piece.
Vernon Walton (20:49):
You know, President Washington,
it broke my heart at leasta year and a half ago,
to learn thatthere are peoplejust a few miles away from our
churches here in Fairfax County,
not in Washington DC but inFairfax County that are living
in tent communities. And when Ishare that story with individuals,
(21:10):
they automatically make the assumptionthat these individuals are living
tents by choice.
But I've had the privilege to walk thetent community to share with many of
these individuals. And if you go to, tothese tent communities during the day,
they're empty. And not because peopleare just hanging out on the street,
but these individuals are atwork, they're working individuals,
(21:34):
many of them.
But for a number of consequences anddecisions and unfortunate realities,
they just cannot afford tohave a roof over their head
without some specific assistancewith affordable housing here in
Fairfax County.
Jeffrey Johnson (21:50):
And to add onto that, the first Tuesday of each month,
I actually speak at the chapelservice at the Central Union Mission
in Washington DC and there arepeople who work in Virginia
who have to bed down at nightat the Central Union Mission.
They have transportation, they have a job,
(22:11):
but there is nowhere forthem currently to live.
Gregory Washington (22:15):
You know, the cost of housing is a significant issue, one
which we are trying to address hereourselves. You know, the reality is,
is that if you look at where GeorgeMason sits, many of the people we hire,
and we pay decent salaries, right?For our faculty and our staff,
many of the people we hire can'tafford to buy a home in this community.
They have to go 15, 20, 30,
(22:38):
45 miles out in order to find something.And that issue is a real issue.
Vernon Walton (22:44):
And that same reality is true for brand new elementary school teachers
in the Fairfax County public school systems. You know,
if you're just graduating,trying to get into the system,
and we've been particularly trying torecruit American students from our local
colleges and HBCUs. But again,
the cost of living is cost prohibitiveas well as in some instances for
(23:06):
those going into our police departments.
The first yearor two is difficulton the starting salaries.
Gregory Washington (23:13):
Man, I didn't know I was gonna get this today. This is fantastic.
Reverend Johnson, I know that you canrecite Martin Luther King Jr's speech,
I have a dream,by heart. Is that right?
Jeffrey Johnson (23:25):
Yes, sir, uh.
Gregory Washington (23:26):
I heard you do part of that. He outlined some basic tenets in that speech.
Jeffrey Johnson (23:30):
Mm-Hmm.
But how far would both of yousay we've come since that speech?
I actually believe we've come a long way. The only thing is,
there are some people who see therealities of some of the things that we've
spoken about this afternoon,and they would actually be, uh,
somewhat pessimistic. And whenI run across those people,
(23:51):
whether it's in the street or thebarbershop or so forth, I say, wow,
I gotta tell you thetruth. I was born in 1962,
and I would prefer that to1862. There's a lot to be done,
but we have also accomplished so much more
than is being spoken abouttoday. And there again,
(24:13):
it goes back to one of our earlier topics,
because there is not an adequateinclusion of African American
contributions in our history, uh,
in our public schools and evensome of our private schools,
that that's the reason why thereis such a hopelessness today.
But when you look at the King speech,I have to admit Dr. Washington,
(24:35):
there are relevant issues thatas much as I love that speech,
I wish that it was irrelevant today.
Gregory Washington (24:43):
Oh, that's deep.
Vernon Walton (24:45):
Yeah, that's a great way to put it, rev, great way to put it. I would agree,
President Washington, that we'vemade some tremendous strides.
And let me just stop andsay we should not overlook,
and we should celebrate the fact thatwe are sitting here at George Mason with
you, a trailblazer.
And I think you are an example of someof the strides that we've made as a
(25:05):
people,
the fact that you are leading thisinstitution as an African American male.
We celebrate the ascension of PresidentBarack Obama into the White House,
and more recently, the ascension ofour Vice President Kamala Harris,
and we celebrate the ascension of ourfirst African American female justice.
(25:25):
I think those are signs,
those are signals that we are headingand moving in the right direction.
But we should continue to keep moving.
And sometimes we pause to celebrate.
And in our pausing to celebrate,
we forget that there's still moreground to cover. And so, yes,
there are some strides,
(25:46):
but unfortunately there aresome realities from that speech.
And likewise from Dr. King's letter,from the Birmingham jail
that are still unrealizedparts of his dream,
particularly when we talk about theeconomics of African American people,
as we just alluded to talkingabout the housing crisis, right?
And I believe that it was Dr.
(26:06):
King's real focus on economics thatultimately led to his assassination.
Gregory Washington (26:11):
I heard a couple of lines from that final speech that he was putting together.
That was an economicempowerment speech if you,
if you've ever heard one.
Jeffrey Johnson (26:21):
Yes, sir.
Gregory Washington (26:22):
So how do we balance what has happened in the past and our hopes for the future?
So, Dr. Walton, you gave a talk in whichyou spoke of a sermon you heard from
Reverend William Augustus Jones ofthe Brooklyn, Bethany Baptist Church,
who said, and, and I'm paraphrasing here,
our past isn't allowed tobecome the past because
(26:46):
we keep it alive in our minds.Instead of letting it be bygone.
We become stuck in that moment.
You can't have the present because youhave no clear vision for the future.
Is that a personal statement or canyou make a connection to what we're
basically talking about in some of thestruggles for equality and equity that
(27:07):
are happening today?
Vernon Walton (27:08):
I think Dr. William Augustus Jones, who has gone on to be with the Lord now,
was one of our premier voices in thepulpit, particularly the Black pulpit.
But he was a world renownedpreacher and a voice and force to
be reckoned with those words. Dr.Washington come from a sermon he preached,
called The Problem of thePresent Past. And in that sermon,
(27:30):
he quoted the psalmist David, and he's,I believe it was Psalm 51. And he said,
my sin is forever before me.
And the point that he makes in thisparticular sermon is simply that there's
some things that have occurred in ourlives that we cannot go back and change.
That sermon spoke volumes to mewhen I first heard it in person,
(27:50):
when I've read it in print. And, uh,
it's one that I will remember to sharewith you. One of the reasons why it speaks
to me, because it's still relevanttoday in terms of my personal life,
in terms of our collective witness andcertainly for us as people of color.
What do we do? I think it's importantfor us to confront our past.
(28:11):
I think it's important forus to move on from our past.
But before moving on, we have to learn.Because if we don't learn anything,
then we are bound to repeat the past, right?
And we have to make amends for ourpast. We have to recognize, yes,
there's some things that we cannot change.
There's some things that we canapologize for, come to grips with,
(28:34):
make restitution for, offerapologies for. So what do we do?
How does it speak to us today? Ithink it speaks to us personally.
It speaks to us as a county,
as we talk about why allof these communities have shifted around these Black
churches. And it alsospeaks to us as a country.
How are we going to confront ourpast and make amends for our past,
(28:55):
and then ultimately move on fromour past? At the end of the day,
we cannot hide. And whatever we don'tconfront, we are bound to repeat.
And unfortunately,
there are many people in our nationthat don't want to have the real
conversation about America andthe real conversation about
(29:16):
how African Americans were treatedin America. And that, of course,
goes back to this whole rewritingof history and the banning of books.
But we will never be the real peoplethat we can be until we confront
some of those issues.
Jeffrey Johnson (29:30):
Oh, yes. And Dr. William Augustus Jones,
along with preachers like Dr. E.K.Bailey, A. Lewis Patterson, and,
uh, even, uh, Dr. Smith, I cannot thinkof his first name for some reason,
it just left my mind, but he was fromNew York City. B.W. Smith.
They used to speak in WashingtonDC where I pastored for 10 years.
(29:53):
And Dr. Jones would empower his listeners
with taking biblical facts andshaping them around African
American experiences. Hehad one sermon entitled, he,
he did a, he flipped the script somewhat,
and he said The lion's inDaniel's den. So in other words.
Gregory Washington (30:15):
Instead of Daniel in the lion's den.
Jeffrey Johnson (30:17):
Right, right. And he was showing us, we are troubled on every side,
yet not distressed. We areperplexed, but not in despair.
Persecuted but not forsaken.Cast down, but not destroyed.
And when you hear of the horrific thingsthat have happened to our communities,
it is a miracle thatwe are still alive and
(30:40):
thriving with a $1.3 trillionbudget in the African
American community.
I think this is another reason whyour history is often overlooked,
because there is a strongspiritual presence in our journey.
And it's not politically correct toshare things with spirituality when it
(31:00):
comes to something like history.
But it is the only reason Ithink we are still doing well and
thriving. You look at Mosesand the children of Israel,
they had an exodus. Wehad an emancipation.
The exodus means that theyleft, they came out of,
we are still living in thefootprint of the Civil War.
(31:24):
We are still living nearplantations.
We are still living near treeswhere folks were lynched.
We are still in Egypteven though we've been
emancipated.
Gregory Washington (31:38):
Can we stay there for a second?
I wanna unpack that a little bit andask you all some questions
about it. You know,
the reality is that the way I see it,
the shackles that hold us down today are
mental, as much as they areeconomic, social, and physical
(32:00):
We have a large percentageof our community who are
striving and doing extraordinarythings, and they are setting the bar.
Everybody knew that we would dogreat things in entertainment and
athletics. We've done thatthroughout our history.
But now you're seeingit in business.
(32:20):
You're seeing it in science andengineering.
You're seeing it in areas inwhich historically we just haven't
had a modern, strong legacy.
But we still have a cohort of ourpeople who haven't gotten that memo,
so to speak, and thereby arenot reaching their potential.
(32:40):
How do you speak to that?
Vernon Walton (32:42):
Dr. Washington, I think that's where the hard work is.
That is the work of our church.And quite frankly, honestly,
that is also the work ofinstitutions like George Mason.
Gregory Washington (32:53):
Oh, I agree with that a hundred percent.
Vernon Walton (32:54):
If we are honest,
there are many in Fairfax Countythat enjoy a great deal of privilege.
And those who live here, those who workhere, as it has already been suggested,
you have to have reached and or, orobtained a certain level of success,
and I place success in quotationsthat you can afford to do this.
But to your point, there are otherswho have not received that memo.
(33:18):
And I believe wholeheartedly in scripturewhere it says, to whom much is given,
much is required.
And our responsibility is notjust to sit on our stools of do
nothingness and enjoy our ownsuccess. Because if that is the case,
then we are guilty as wellof just relishing in our
own privilege.
(33:39):
But our responsibility is toreach out to those who are
marginalized,
to reach out to those who havenot had the benefit of the same
level of access for whatever thereasons are,
and to help lift the tide.
And that's the work ofour church that remains,
(33:59):
and that's the work of ourinstitution that remains.
Jeffrey Johnson (34:03):
I wholeheartedly agree. Sometimes Dr. Washington,
other people groups look atthe African American community,
and this happened during the time ofDr. King and their still doing it today.
They're saying, why don't you justget over it? And the thing is,
we would've been over it if it wasn'tfor the malfeasance of government that
ended reconstruction, wewould've been over it.
(34:24):
If it wasn't for Plessy v.Ferguson or the Dred Scott decision,
we would have been over it. If itwasn't for Jim Crow and the physical,
or the,
I guess you could say the characterassassinations of Marcus Garvey and
Medgar Evers and MartinLuther King Jr., and Malcolm X.
we could have been over it if itwasn't for the fact of what happened in
(34:48):
not only Tulsa, Oklahoma,but Colfax, Louisiana.
And I even read recentlyabout a insurrection that was
successful in, uh, Wilmington,
North Carolina back in 1898.
We would've been over it if we didn'thave people like Congressman King
(35:10):
trying to tell the American societythat Blacks have not contributed
anything of note worthiness tothe world or to the country.
Because the thing about it,when you look at the reality,
a civilization began and Kemet in Egypt, in Africa.
Gregory Washington (35:27):
That's exactly right.
Jeffrey Johnson (35:28):
And then the Greeks came and borrowed,
very politely, borrowed fromwhat they had gained from Egypt.
And then naturally, the Romansborrowed from the Greeks.
We don't want to be seen as a Afrocentric
superiority. We want to cooperate.
There were Black explorersleaving the African continent,
(35:50):
which actually at one time, theentire continent was called Ethiopia.
And the Atlantic Ocean wasreferred to as the Ethiopian Sea.
And you had African explorersactually coming down to the Americas.
And you can see their contributionsin architecture and technology,
even theexchange of the culture and so forth.
(36:13):
So we don't want to dominate,we want to participate.
And that is somethingthat is missing today.
That is something that westill would like to do.
There were two elderly white ladieswho looked like charming characters on
the Andy Griffith Show.
And when Barack Obama's secondterm was coming to an end,
(36:35):
they were embarrassed because they wereagainst his election in the first place
because they thought that ifthere was a Black president,
he would come and reap retributionagainst the White community.
That has not been the case.Over the many years that we
have been in this country, thecenturies of our suffering.
(36:58):
There are very fewopportunities that our race took
to have any type of retribution andlike to tell people during Black History
Month, and the Martin LutherKing services that I speak on,
is that the African Americancommunity has had an August the 28th,
but not a January the sixth.
Gregory Washington (37:19):
Hmm. Yeah. That's deep. That is really, really deep.
Man, I don't even know whatto say about that.
You got me at a loss for words.
Vernon Walton (37:29):
You're walking heavy.
Gregory Washington (37:32):
Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Dr. Walton,
on the wall in the lobbyoutside of your office,
you have a photo with a quote fromBooker T. Washington who was born into
slavery,
but became the most influential AfricanAmerican speaker of his time and the
principal developer of what isnow known as Tuskegee University.
(37:52):
And that quote says,
success waits patientlyfor anyone who has the
determination to seize it. Why that quote?
Vernon Walton (38:01):
Well, Dr. Washington, that particular quote speaks to me,
but I think it's also important tonote that Booker T. Washington, yes,
hangs outside in the lobby of my office,but he doesn't hang there by himself,
He hangs there along with a pictureof Dr. King from the Birmingham
jail. He hangs there with apicture of the Little Rock Nine.
(38:26):
He hangs there with some individualswho are participants of the
1969 March of Selma to Montgomery,
and he hangs there with apicture of Rosa Parks. And so,
while I love and appreciate the workof Booker T. Washington and support that
quote wholeheartedly, and it speaks to me,
the real intent of that quote andthe others that hang in that lobby
(38:50):
is to demonstrate to those whowalk in our office and those
who leave our office,
is to demonstrate that we arenot monolithic as a people,
and that all voices matter.
All voices are impactful,
and that we can learn fromeveryone's experiences.
Gregory Washington (39:12):
Oh, that's fantastic.
Jeffrey Johnson (39:13):
And Dr. Walton lives that every week. I was saddened that I was in
Tampa, Florida and could not attendhis MLK service where he actually had
Dr. Robert E. Lee as one of thespeakers for that service. And,
uh,
we don't have time to talk about all ofthe great things that this descendant of
General Lee has done to speakof a united America rather than
(39:38):
a separated America.
As well as the fact I was ableto meet at First Baptist Vienna,
I was able to meet theactual secretary of Dr. King,
who actually composedthe notes that King wrote
in the Birmingham jail. So theseare some very rich experiences,
(40:01):
and we have an opportunity,as Dr. King would say,
that we can either learn to livetogether as brothers or perish as
fools.
We are the greatestdemonstration of the equity of
democracy for a nation throughout the
(40:21):
world, and some of the petty differencesthat are currently in our Congress,
which I will not go into
Vernon Walton (40:28):
Do we have enough time for that?
Jeffrey Johnson (40:30):
Dr. Walton, they say, if you keep electing clowns,
you are bound to have a circus.And that is what has been happening.
These men are not realizing that notonly are they giving a black eye to
democracy, they're giving a black eyeto Christianity throughout the world,
because Jesus told us to love ourenemies. Bless them that curse you.
Pray for those who despitefullyuse you and persecute you.
(40:52):
These citizens that this particularparty is fighting, they're taxpayers,
and whether you agree with theirlifestyle or not, they work hard.
They contribute to their communitiesand they pay their taxes.
Allow the churches and the synagoguesand the mosques to deal with the other
issues.
But you cannot relegate inlegality how people should live.
(41:16):
They have to make that decisionbecause even God himself gave everyone
a free will. And if we do ourjob and they do their job,
we could have something close to a utopia.
Gregory Washington (41:31):
That's fantastic.
So let me back up onesecond and let's break down
where we go from here. You know,
one of Mason's pillars is thateducation is a great equalizer.
You know,
and that's why we partnered with communitycollege to create smoother pathways
to four year degree. We putin place the Mason
(41:54):
Virginia Promise to help you either geta degree or start your own business.
All of the small business developmentcenters throughout all of Virginia are led
by George Mason, so we canhelp folks start a business.
So we put these foundational bricks inplace. But what I want to ask you is,
what else can we do?
(42:14):
How can we help you deal with someof the problems that are still
afflicting our communities?
Vernon Walton (42:21):
Well, Dr. Washington, you are creating here at Mason thought leaders.
You are developing practitioners.
You are creating the neweconomist and sociologist.
And the work that you do here helpsto better inform the work that we
do in our local churches.
The work that you do here helps usto translate the social norms and the
(42:43):
customs.
It helps us to make sense out of whatis actually happening in our society.
So I would dare say thatthese kinds of partnerships,
to continue these kinds ofconversations that we're having today.
Many of our churches arecreating feeding programs.
We are creating tutoring programs.
We have senior programs that arerunning on a regular consistent basis,
(43:07):
but it's the thought leaders andthe practitioners that you are
developing here at Masonthat help us to challenge the
structures that create the need forthese feeding programs and tutoring
programs.
And so I want to encourage you andfaculty and staff here at Mason
(43:27):
to keep developing the thought leaders,
but to use our spaces andplaces as platforms so that
the leaders that you arebuilding have actual stages to
put their work into practice.
Whether they are helping us totranslate the dynamics of our society,
whether they are helping us to tutorthe kids that are in our possession,
(43:50):
whatever the case may be. I believe yes,education helps greatly to equalize,
but let's not forget theroadblocks that exist
and that are challenging theopportunity to education,
that we have the rollbacks as it relatesto affirmative actions set asides, and,
and the need for DEI. So continueto create those thought leaders,
(44:12):
those practitioners. We are gonnacontinue to do our work on the ground,
but your work informs what we do, andwe have space for your practitioners.
Jeffrey Johnson (44:22):
Oh, yes. I, I, I greatly agreed. I saw the humble beginnings of George Mason,
and there were some people whosaid, well, I would go to school,
but I have to support my familyand work here in Northern Virginia.
But then they thought of Mason
and those educational dreamsand aspirations became real.
It is amazing.
(44:42):
I would ask anyone tojust take a slow casual
drive through this campus.
It is a small city of intelligentsia.
It is a oasis of academics,
and you have produced so many people.Not only did my son Jeffrey Jr.
(45:05):
attend here,
we have other members of the MountCalvary Baptist Church who either took
classes or actuallygraduated from George Mason.
And what I like about George Mason isthat out of all the things that Reverend
Dr, uh, Walton has mentioned,
you also have maintained a stream of
(45:26):
conversation that isrelevant to this community.
Sometimes colleges becomeso academically involved
that they no longer have connectionwith the community. Your connection,
Dr. Washington, with the community,is making a great impact.
And when this is done,
(45:46):
not only will you affect thegraduates of George Mason,
you will also make a greatimpact on the city of Fairfax,
not only its citizens, but itsgovernment and its visitors.
Gregory Washington (45:59):
We got a ways to go, and we want to continue to be the
institution that thecommunity needs to be here.
Not the one that it tolerates, or theone that it wants to be here, but the,
that the community needs.
And that means that we're gonnahave to continue to provide
really great outcomes for thestudents in and around this community,
(46:23):
quite frankly, for thecompanies and the institutions,
churches included, around thiscommunity.
We're actually here for you also,
and there's a whole host of thingsthat we can provide you in addition to,
in addition to, parishioners.
Vernon Walton (46:41):
Let, let me, let me just give you a, a shout out, Dr. Washington.
I know you may not be intimatelyaware, but your staff was incredible.
Just recently for us, a few months ago,
we hosted a African Americanmale summit for high school young
men. And we had nearly a hundredyoung men from as far south as
(47:02):
Richmond, from DC andall over Fairfax County.
I'm a firm believer that experienceand exposure goes a long way,
and there's no substitute for both.As a part of that particular day,
the young men had a presentationabout college acceptance and
preparation for college from your staffhere at Mason. It for many,
(47:24):
opened up, uh, the eyes of young men,
some of which for the first timewas having a conversation with
someone about their future potential.
And so I want to acknowledgethat in this moment.
Gregory Washington (47:38):
No, I love that. I love that. And it's great that we could be a part of that.
And it's fantastic that ourFaculty and staff can be helpful.
We don't want to just stopthere. We want to do more.
It's part of my reasonfor engaging you brothers,
because I wanna make sure theinstitution is pretty much part of
the family here in Northern Virginia. SoI want to thank you all for giving me,
(48:01):
for giving us, that chanceto be that, and for being a,
a willing partner going forwardin our futures together.
Vernon Walton (48:09):
Thank you for the offer, and we are here to receive it. And we're together,
and we're together.
Gregory Washington (48:14):
Outstanding, outstanding. I love it. Well, we're gonna have to leave it there,
Reverend Jeffrey Johnson,
pastor at Mount CalvaryBaptist Church in Fairfax,
Virginia, and Dr. Vernon Walton,
pastor at First Baptist Church in Vienna.
Thank you both for your timeand for a really fantastic
(48:38):
conversation.
Vernon Walton (48:39):
Thank you, Dr. Washington.
Gregory Washington (48:41):
I'm Mason, president Gregory Washington saying, until next time,
stay safe, Mason Nation.
Narrator (48:49):
If you like what you heard on this podcast,
go to podcast.gmu.edu formore of Gregory Washington's
conversations with thethought leaders, experts,
and educators who take on the grandchallenges facing our students, graduates,
and higher education.That's podcast.gmu.edu.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!