Asbury University Hosts Writer Rasool Berry for Juneteenth Documentary Events

February 19, 2024

Asbury University’s Office of Intercultural Affairs & Spiritual Development will host Rasool Berry (writer of Juneteenth: Faith & Freedom) February 26-28 for a series of engaging events centered around faith, culture, and racial reconciliation. Juneteenth: Faith & Freedom is a powerful documentary about a Black American who travels throughout Texas discovering how Juneteenth reveals faith and a fight for freedom in an unjust society.

“Berry says that freedom is an invitation to meet despair with hope, oppression with justice, and hate with love. And even when freedom seems unattainable, my faith calls me to never stop fighting for it, because Christ proclaims freedom over all of us,” said Asbury’s Associate Vice President of Intercultural Affairs & Spiritual Development Rev. Dr. Esther Jadhav. “In this film, Berry visits historical sites and talks to scholars, advocates, and direct descendants of formerly enslaved people. These direct accounts are priceless pieces of American history woven together to tell a story of faith, hope, resilience and perseverance.”

The week kicks off Monday, Feb. 26, in Windsor Manor with a Dinner & Fireside Chat featuring Berry and Dr. Steve Clements, Asbury’s dean of the School of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, at 6 p.m. This invitation-only event is sponsored by the Joe Pitts Center for Public Policy. On Tuesday, students and community members can attend a workshop with Berry and Asbury Professor of Communication Dr. Jim Shores from 3:30-4:30 p.m. in the Miller Screening Room in the Communication Arts building. Later that evening, a screening of Juneteenth followed by a Q&A with Berry will take place from 7-8:30 p.m. in the Walt and Rowena Shaw Collaborative Learning Center’s Luce Auditorium. Berry will then speak in Chapel at 10 a.m. Wednesday in Hughes Auditorium with a lunch talkback at 12 p.m. in the Dining Hall.

Berry serves as teaching pastor at The Bridge Church in Brooklyn, N.Y. He also is the Director of Partnerships & Content Development with Our Daily Bread Ministries. Graduating from the University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor’s degree in Africana Studies and Sociology, Berry is a sought-after writer on the intersection of faith and culture. As the host of the Christianity Today sponsored Where Ya From? podcast and the writer, producer, and host of the Juneteenth: Faith & Freedom feature-length documentary, he lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Tamica, and their daughter. Learn more at www.rasoolberry.com.