Have you heard seen or read about the great, grand and gracious history of American Baptist College? Since 1924, ABC has trained leaders for Christian service and social justice leadership in the world through experiential and interdisciplinary education. ABC facilitated students that were prolific apparatuses in the civil rights movement in the 1960’s. ABC has graduated the most persons from any college that are active in social justice.
Brian Cash, is the senior class representative of SGA at American Baptist College, last year’s Baptist Student Union President, and an assistant to the Director of Library services. His also the college Pastor at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church in Nashville, Tennessee, a church that has been instrumental in the lives of many Tennessee State University students in many ways. The church provides students with financial help, spiritual guidance, nourishment, counseling and help in many other areas. He is from Cleveland, Ohio and there he is a part of “Preachers with Purpose”, an organization that promotes spiritual, communal, and economic development. He is also a part of the transportation team of the National Baptist Convention Inc.
He says, “American Baptist College transforms my capacity to think critically about life and the society I live in. It has transformed me into a critical thinker.” It is evident that he is glad to be a student at an HBCU and he applauds the service that HBCU’s give to students every year despite economic challenges. He also said, “When comparing an HBCU to a regular college, I believe that HBCU’s enhance a four year experience. I wish HBCU’s had funds to make my superior experiences even better.”
Since he is a sought after Counselor, I asked him if he had any advice to HBCU students. He profoundly stated, “Embrace the newness of life. Keep your mind open to new things, meet new people and embrace diversity. Never participate in exclusion, which leads marginalization and oppression.”
He is finishing up his degree in Pastoral Studies as a senior and will continue on to study to earn a Master’s of Divinity at Vanderbilt, Yale or Duke. You can view one of his sermons here: Brian Cash preaching at American Baptist College
