Barry Black

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Barry Black opens the Senate with a prayer following the Nashville school shooting
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Barry Black
Rear Admiral (lower half) Barry C. Black, USN.jpg
62nd Chaplain of the United States Senate
Assumed office
July 7, 2003

Barry Clayton Black [1] (born November 1, 1948) is the 62nd chaplain of the United States Senate. He began serving as Senate chaplain on June 27, 2003, becoming the first African American and first Seventh-day Adventist to hold the office.

Contents

Black served for over 27 years in the United States Navy Chaplain Corps, rising to the rank of rear admiral (upper half) and ending his career as the Chief of Chaplains of the United States Navy. He retired from the Navy on August 15, 2003. [2]

Commissioned as a Navy chaplain in 1976, Black's first duty station was the Fleet Religious Support Activity in Norfolk, Virginia. Subsequent assignments included Naval Support Activity, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland; First Marine Aircraft Wing, Okinawa, Japan; Naval Training Center, San Diego, California; USS Belleau Wood (LHA-3), Long Beach, California; Naval Chaplains School Advanced Course, Newport, Rhode Island; Marine Aircraft Group Thirty-One, Beaufort, South Carolina; assistant staff chaplain, chief of naval education and training, Pensacola, Florida; and fleet chaplain, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, Norfolk, Virginia.

As a rear admiral, he received the Navy Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit Medal, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal twice, the Meritorious Service Medal twice, the Navy Commendation Medal twice, the Marine Corps Commendation Medal, and numerous unit awards, campaign, and service medals. [2]

Rear Adm. Barry C. Black, chief of navy chaplains remarks after receiving the Navy Distinguished Service Medal from Adm. Vern Clark, chief of naval operations (CNO). Sitting (center) and next to the CNO, Rear Adm. Christopher E. Weaver, commandant, Naval District Washington, during the change of office and retirement ceremony at the Washington Navy Yard, August 15, 2003 US Navy 030815-N-2383B-135 Rear Adm. Barry C. Black, Chief of Navy Chaplains makes his remarks after receiving the Navy Distinguished Service Medal.jpg
Rear Adm. Barry C. Black, chief of navy chaplains remarks after receiving the Navy Distinguished Service Medal from Adm. Vern Clark, chief of naval operations (CNO). Sitting (center) and next to the CNO, Rear Adm. Christopher E. Weaver, commandant, Naval District Washington, during the change of office and retirement ceremony at the Washington Navy Yard, August 15, 2003

United States Senate chaplain

On June 27, 2003, Black was chosen as the 62nd chaplain of the United States Senate. He began the job on July 7, 2003. [2]

During the 16-day United States federal government shutdown of 2013, Black's invocations began to garner widespread national attention. On October 1, the first day of the shutdown, he prayed for divine guidance to "strengthen our weakness, replacing cynicism with faith and cowardice with courage". On October 3, he prayed, "Save us from the madness. We acknowledge our transgressions, our shortcomings, our smugness, our selfishness and our pride... Deliver us from the hypocrisy of attempting to sound reasonable while being unreasonable." [3]

During his prayer on October 4, the day after officers from the U.S. Capitol Police shot and killed a woman who had used her car in an attempt to breach federal grounds, Black noted that the officers were not being paid because of the shutdown. Like other government workers, he too was unpaid during the shutdown, saying, "I'm being remunerated from above. And that's pretty special." [4] On the fourth day of the shutdown, he also prayed, of the senators, "Remove from them that stubborn pride which imagines itself to be above and beyond criticism. Forgive them the blunders they have committed." [5]

On day nine, prompted by news of the delay of death benefits for military families, Black prayed, "It's time for our lawmakers to say 'Enough is enough'", and asked that God "cover our shame with the robe of Your righteousness". On day 11, Black prayed to "give our lawmakers the wisdom to distinguish between truth and error... Give them a hatred of all hypocrisy, deceit and shame as they seek to replace them with gentleness, patience and truth." [4]

The U.S. House of Representatives, which has its own chaplain, also invited Black to deliver an invocation in their chamber. [5]

Rear Adm. Barry C. Black, chief of chaplains of the U.S. Navy Barryblack.jpg
Rear Adm. Barry C. Black, chief of chaplains of the U.S. Navy

Awards

In 1995, Black was chosen from 127 nominees for the NAACP Renowned Service Award for his contributions to equal opportunity and civil rights.

In 2002, he received the Benjamin Elijah Mays Distinguished Leadership Award from the Morehouse School of Religion. In 2004, the Old Dominion University chapter of the NAACP conferred on him the Image Award, "Reaffirming the Dream - Realizing the Vision", for military excellence. [2]

On May 23, 2019, Black was awarded the Becket's 2019 Canterbury Medal [6] for his defense of religious liberty for people of all faiths.

Education

Black is an alumnus of Oakwood University, Andrews University, North Carolina Central University, Eastern Baptist Seminary (now known as Palmer Theological Seminary), Salve Regina University, and the United States International University (now known as Alliant International University).

In addition to earning three Master of Arts degrees in divinity, counseling, and management, Black holds two earned doctorates: a Doctorate of Ministry and a Ph.D. in psychology. [2] In 2004, he also received an honorary Doctorate of Divinity degree from La Sierra University. [7]

Rear Adm. Barry C. Black, USN (Ret.), (left), the chaplain of the U.S. Senate, and Maj. Gen. Douglas L. Carver, the U.S. Army chief of chaplains, take their places on the dais at the Pentagon Memorial dedication ceremony, Sep 11, 2008 Defense.gov photo essay 080911-F-8801M-013.jpg
Rear Adm. Barry C. Black, USN (Ret.), (left), the chaplain of the U.S. Senate, and Maj. Gen. Douglas L. Carver, the U.S. Army chief of chaplains, take their places on the dais at the Pentagon Memorial dedication ceremony, Sep 11, 2008

Publication

Black's autobiography, From the Hood to the Hill, was published in 2006. [8] He has explained its title as follows:

One of the reasons why I call my book From the Hood to the Hill is because we grew up in the hood. We grew up in the toxic pathology of an inner city ghetto. There were prostitutes on the corner, there were drug pushers, there was domestic violence that you could see sitting on the steps – of your home. So, it was a very challenging situation. And my mother, who for a significant portion of my life was on public assistance, would often have difficulty paying the rent and ensuring that her children matriculated at Christian schools because my seven siblings and I all matriculated at Christian schools from grade 1 all the way through graduate school. So, to pull this off, many times she couldn't pay the rent, and when you don't pay the rent, you will be evicted. And so, three times in my life, I came home from my nice Christian school to find our furniture out on the street. [9]

Barry Black on 26 March 2020 at Governors' Video Teleconference on Partnership for the COVID-19 Response Barry Black on 26 March 2020 detail, from- Governors' Video Teleconference on Partnership for the COVID-19 Response (49701994656) (cropped).jpg
Barry Black on 26 March 2020 at Governors' Video Teleconference on Partnership for the COVID-19 Response

As a result of the attention his invocations received during the federal government shutdown, Black was parodied on NBC's Saturday Night Live . Playing Black during the show's "Weekend Update" segment that aired on October 12, 2013, SNL cast member Kenan Thompson prayed, "Lord, bless and forgive these braying jackasses." Thompson's Black prayed, "May they find themselves in a restroom stall devoid of toilet paper." [10]

When approached for a reaction, Black responded that, while he had not seen it, he was a fan of the show and did not object to the parody. "It's all in good humor", he said. "If you're doing something constructive enough that you're part of their cartoons, that's a great honor." [10]

Personal life

Black is a native of Baltimore, Maryland. His mother was a domestic and his father was a long-distance truck driver "and something of a nomad". He is one of eight children. [9]

He is married to Brenda Black, née Pearsall, of St. Petersburg, Florida. They have three sons: Barry II, Brendan, and Bradford. [2]

Black is a Seventh-day Adventist and vegetarian. He has said, "that is not something that is a test of fellowship in my church. I'm a vegetarian because I grew up that way and I believe it's a rather healthy lifestyle." [9]

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References

  1. ↑ Martin, H. Lawrence (1984). "Black, Barry Clayton". History of the Chaplain Corps, United States Navy. Vol. VIII. U.S. Navy Chaplain Corps. p. 12. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Barry C. Black Chaplain". www.senate.gov. United States Senate. 2013. Retrieved October 13, 2013.
  3. ↑ A bully pulpit for the Senate chaplain Jena McGregor. The Washington Post . October 14, 2013. Retrieved October 14, 2013
  4. 1 2 Markham, Isobel (October 13, 2013). "Praying for a Miracle: Senate Chaplain Barry Black Says 'Enough is Enough'". ABC News.com. George Stephanopoulos. Retrieved October 13, 2013.
  5. 1 2 "Chaplain Barry Black chides Senate during shutdown". charlotteobserver.com. October 10, 2013. Archived from the original on October 14, 2013. Retrieved October 13, 2013.
  6. ↑ "2019 Canterbury Medal Gala". Becket. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  7. ↑ Tucker, Darla Martin (September 24, 2015). "New documentary "CHAPLAINS" to screen at La Sierra University". La Sierra University . Retrieved November 17, 2023.
  8. ↑ Excerpt: From The Hood To The Hill NPR Books. npr.org. 2013. Retrieved October 13, 2013
  9. 1 2 3 "Barry Black. Senate Chaplain Q & A". C-SPAN . National Cable Satellite Corporation. October 25, 2009. Retrieved October 13, 2013.
  10. 1 2 Douglas, William (October 13, 2013). "Senate Chaplain Barry Black calls SNL parody 'a great honor'". McClatchy DC. Archived from the original on October 21, 2013. Retrieved October 14, 2013.
Military offices
Preceded by Chief of Chaplains of the United States Navy
2000–2003		Succeeded by
Religious titles
Preceded by Chaplain of the United States Senate
2003–present		Incumbent
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