The annual Sam Sharpe Lecture returns to Bristol for Black History Month with Reverend Merlyn Hyde Riley, General Secretary of the Jamaica Baptist Union.
This year’s lecture is titled Subverting Empire: Lessons from Sam Sharpe on Institutional Injustice and Church Responsibility.
Reverend Merlyn Hyde Riley is an ordained minister with 25 years of pastoral experience and currently serves as General Secretary of the Jamaica Baptist Union.
She is also Vice Moderator of the World Council of Churches Central Committee and has extensive international experience in preaching, teaching and working for justice, unity and peace.
The lecture takes inspiration from the life and legacy of Sam Sharpe, the enslaved Jamaican Baptist deacon who played a central role in the 1831–32 Baptist War in Jamaica.
Sharpe’s resistance to slavery became an important part of the struggle for emancipation and he is today recognised as one of Jamaica’s National Heroes.
The evening will explore what his legacy can teach institutions and churches about injustice, responsibility and the continuing importance of challenging systems of inequality.
The event runs from 7pm to 9pm.
Admission is free and refreshments will be provided after the lecture.
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