Veracity and Verse: A Preacher’s Reflections and Poems on Faith and Truth

Explore the remarkable life and heartfelt verse of the Rev. Dr. James A. Forbes Jr., the first Black senior minister at Riverside Church in New York City, one of the largest multicultural congregations in the US.

As the first Black senior minister at Riverside Church in New York City, James A. Forbes Jr. shattered barriers of Black leadership in mainline Christian denominations. Through his powerful sermons, Forbes brought the rich preaching styles of the African American church to white pulpits, leaving an indelible mark on the landscape of progressive Christianity.

Veracity and Verse provides a chronology of Forbes’s life in his own words, detailing his journey through discrimination and rejection to become a revered professor at Union Theological Seminary, ultimately called to the prestigious pulpit of Riverside Church, where he served for eighteen years. Through Forbes’s own poems and narratives, readers will be immersed in the triumphant story of his life—from the struggles of the segregated South to his ascent to the greatest liberal Christian pulpit in the world. Veracity and Verse is a testament to the resilience, faith, and enduring impact of an extraordinary individual.