The Trustees of the New York Theological Seminary hosted the inauguration of Rev. Dr. LaKeesha Walrond at Riverside Church.
Among those in attendance were Mayor Bill de Blasio, First Lady Chirlane McCray, Rev. Al Sharpton (NAN), Senator Benjamin, Hazel Dukes (NAACP), and other dignitaries, who joined the Trustees for this historical moment to inaugurate Walrond as the first female and first African American female president in the seminary’s 119-year history.
The three-day inauguration festivities were held from Thursday until Saturday kicking off with the George W. Webber lecture series featuring Dr. Alice W. Hunt, executive director of the American Academy of Religion. On Friday, attendees were invited to Walrond’s church, First Corinthian Baptist Church in Harlem, to meet her.