Serving Black Excellence in the Pulpit and Beyond

By Loán C. Lake

Photo by P. A. Greene

Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie is an example of innovative leadership and Black excellence. She commands the stage and the pulpit, drawing all eyes and ears to her presence because she has something profound to say.

Some may say it is luck, but these traits are rooted in McKenzie’s DNA. She is the granddaughter of Baltimore Afro-American newspaper publisher Carl J. Murphy and Vashti Turley Murphy, one of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated’s twenty-two founders. Most notably, however, McKenzie made history for her election as the first woman bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church,  President of the Council of Bishops, and President of the General Board. Though retired from her duties, today, she serves as the President and General Secretary of the National Council of Churches of Christ.

McKenzie has never viewed her gender as a barrier to success. Growing up in The Afro offices, she witnessed her mother (an advertising pioneer) and aunts working in roles that were typically male in the 1960s. “My grandfather didn’t have sons. He had daughters – extraordinary women who were managing editors, editors in chief, columnists, advertising managers, World War II correspondents, and a member of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion in World War II. They were doing jobs according to their gifts, not their gender,” McKenzie said.

At sixteen, McKenzie worked in the family business, working at the city desk and writing obituaries. Years later, she obtained her journalism degree from the University of Maryland at College Park and worked at several Washington, D.C.-based media companies, including WYCB radio with Cathy and Dewey Hughes.

Despite her journalistic skills, something greater beckoned. In time, McKenzie yielded to God’s calling to go into ministry, shepherding Oak Street AME and Payne Memorial AME churches in Baltimore. “I always knew I had something to say, and that something comes from the pulpit; however, finding my own voice required a commitment to authenticity,” she said. Under her direction, both congregations made significant contributions to the community.

In her role McKenzie also served as National Chaplin for her beloved Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. She later received her Doctorate in Ministry from United Theological Seminary in Ohio.

Her family’s bold vision and resilience deeply influenced McKenzie. “I witnessed their impact on a city and the African diaspora at the genesis of the civil rights movement. That gave me a sense of responsibility to carry that legacy forward.”

“Sometimes you have to drink the wisdom that’s in the room. No one sat you down and said these are the things you had to do in life,” she said. She is also grateful to mentors like Bishop John R. Bryant and Reverend Dr. Cecilia Williams Bryant who left an indelible thumbprint on her career.

Now, McKenzie is producing her seventh documentary and exploring her passions. “I was the kid that had a whole lot of things I wanted to do and see. My father would say you can’t be a jack of all trades, but it was courageous curiosity to follow that dream…to be a writer, to be an author, to be a preacher, to be a documentarian,” McKenzie said.

“All these things helped me handle the call to be an Episcopal leader, not only in the United States, but in Africa, so nothing is ever wasted.”