This is the first show in our series on the importance of voting with the great wisdom keeper, Pastor Derrick Harkins.

Why is it important to vote?

Does our vote even matter?

What is democracy?

Currently, Dr. Harkins serves as Senior Vice President for Innovation in Public Programs at Union Theological Seminary. Harkins develops programming aimed primarily at those not enrolled in Union’s degree programs. This includes continuing and online education. Recently, these initiatives have included outreach about Islamophobia, LGBTQ public policy and intersectionality issues, and criminal justice reform.

Dr. Harkins previously served as National Director for Faith Outreach for the Democratic Party, as well as Senior Pastor of the Nineteenth Street Baptist Church in Washington DC, and also as Director of Faith Outreach for Enroll America. In addition, he has been an informal advisor to the Obama Administration on faith related issues, and has been a guest lecturer on the church and social action at a number of colleges and universities, including Bucknell, Cornell, Iona College, and Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.

He has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, Al Jazeera, Fox News, and NPR. An active voice in the debate for comprehensive immigration reform, he has worked to expand the combined immigration reform efforts of the African American and Hispanic communities. He has been extensively engaged in relief and development work in Rwanda, Burkina Faso, and Jamaica, and has served as a member of the Board of Directors of Faith in Public Life, and Sojourners, and is currently a member of the Board of Odyssey Television Networks.