Robert M. Franklin, Jr.

In his position as the inaugural James T. and Berta R. Laney Chair in Moral Leadership at Candler, The Rev. Dr. Robert M. Franklin, Jr. challenges students to explore the concept of moral leadership in the 21^st century in different cultures and contexts in the United States and around the world. Now in his second term at Emory, Franklin is a former Presidential Distinguished Professor of Social Ethics and a senior fellow at the Center for the Study of Law and Religion, both at Emory, and was also the founding director of Candler’s Black Church Studies program from 1989 to 1995.

In addition to his role at Candler, which he began in 2014, Franklin is a senior advisor to the Emory University president, as well as for Community and Diversity at Emory. He was director of the religion department at The Chautauqua Institution from 2014-2017, president of Morehouse College from 2007-2012, and president of the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta from 1997-2002. In 2016, Franklin was named to the Human Rights Campaign’s project council on expanding LGBTQ equality and inclusion efforts at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. He is on the board of Demos and on the Council of Past HBCU Presidents, and a member of several professional organizations, including the American Academy of Religion and the Society of Christian Ethics.

BOOKS

Moral Leadership: Integrity, Courage, Imagination, Orbis Press, 2020

Crisis in the Village: Restoring Hope to African American Communities, Fortress Press, 2007

Co-author, From Culture Wars to Common Ground: Religion and the American Family Debate, Second Edition, Westminster John Knox Press, 2000

Another Day’s Journey: Black Churches Confronting the American Crisis, Fortress Press, 1997

Liberating Visions: Human Fulfillment and Social Justice in African American Thought, Fortress Press, 1989

CHAPTERS AND ARTICLES

Co-author, “The Role of Historically Black Colleges and Universities in Cultivating the Next Generation of Social Justice and Public Service-Oriented Moral Leaders During the Racial Reckoning and COVID-19 Pandemics,” in American Journal of Community Psychology, January 20, 2023.

“RFK’s Still a Leadership Role Model for Youth,” in Atlanta Journal-Constitution, June 08, 2018

“Rehabilitating Democracy: Restoring Civil Rights and Leading the Next Human Rights Revolution,” in Journal of Law and Religion, Cambridge University Press, October 01, 2015

“Puncturing the Myths: The Legitimization of Inequality,” in Inequality Matters: The Growing Economic Divide in America and Its Poisonous Consequences, The New Press, January 01, 2005

“Healthy Marriages in Low-Income African American Communities, Part 1,” Annie E. Casey Foundation, January 01, 2004

“Tough Love: How Religion Enhances and Complicates American Public Life,” in Perspectives on Leadership, University of Virginia Press, January 01, 2003

“Great Preaching, Awesome Music, and Revolutionary Action: The Mind, Movement, and Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.,” in Princeton Seminary Bulletin, vol. 23, no. 2, Princeton Theological Seminary, January 02, 2002

“A Theological Consideration of Non-conformism: Discrimination Against Gays and Lesbians, Blacks, and the Poor,” in Faith Leaders on Inter-group Relations: Perspectives and Challenges, The National Conference for Community and Justice, January 01, 2002

Peter Gomes Award, Harvard Divinity School, 2018

Alumnus of the Year, University of Chicago Divinity School, 2010

Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, Swarthmore College, 2010

Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, Bates College, 2009

Christianity and Politics

Moral Leadership in International Perspectives, South Africa Travel Seminar

Principles and Practices of Moral Leadership

Religion, Ethics, and Civil Rights