Our Roots

In 2017, McCormick Theological Seminary President David Crawford announced plans to develop and launch a pilot theological studies certificate program at Cook County Jail. The program was inspired by the work of Dr. Jennifer M. McBride, Assistant Professor of Theology and Ethics and Associate Dean of Doctor of Ministry Programs and Continuing Education at McCormick. Dr. McBride served as program director and theology professor in a certificate in theological studies program in a women’s correctional center in Georgia.

In 2018, a pilot certificate in theological studies was established with the leadership of Dr. McBride. After students in the pilot certificate program expressed enthusiasm and interest in wanting more courses, in 2019 the pilot grew into the program for Theological Studies at the Cook County Department of Corrections, led by Jia Johnson, project director and second year seminary student.  In 2020, the program became part of McCormick’s commitment to community engagement and alumni relations under the direction and leadership of Reverend Nannette E. Banks, Vice President of Community Engagement and Alumni Relations. 

In May of 2020, Jia Johnson designed and established the Solidarity Building Initiative for Liberative Carceral Education at the Cook County Jail (SBI) at McCormick Theological Seminary, and currently serves as its director. It is our collective vision that the SBI not only provide intellectual resources to incarcerated learners, but it also seeks to build a community within the jail and outside of the jail in order to work alongside others to create a beloved community with those who have been impacted by mass incarceration.

The late Dr. James Cone rightly asserts that salvation means liberation from oppressive systems, ideologies and practices that seek to dehumanize and mare all of creation.  In the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, we are invited to co-labor with God in the struggle for our collective freedom in history and social transformation. As Jesus followers, we are called to struggle for social equity and justice so that those who are most marginalized  have access to the necessary resources for their human flourishing; in turn, creating a more just and inclusive society for all people. The heartbeat of SBI is Jesus’ prophetic words:

It is our hope that McCormick students in the SBI program know that they are seen by a village of faithful humans beholden to them in the spirit of deep solidarity that Jesus demonstrated on the Cross.