Rev. Traci Blackmon
Pastor Traci is a pastor who believes the gospel must be lived out loud, in the church, on the streets, in the halls of power, and wherever human dignity is at stake. She is a nationally recognized public theologian whose ministry lives at the intersection of faith, public witness, and collective action. Ordained in the United Church of Christ, she is known for biblically grounded, story-telling preaching, rooted in liberation theology and the prophetic tradition of the Black Church.
Pastor Traci emerged as a national moral leader during the Ferguson uprising following the death of Michael Brown. Her pastoral presence, community organizing, and prophetic clarity helped to shape a faith-rooted response to the state violence and racial injustice in her region. As a registered nurse who holds 25 years of healthcare experience, Rev. Blackmon combines her expertise in patient care with pastoral wisdom to tend to the needs of people in both sacred and civic spaces.
She served as pastor of Simpson Chapel AME in Millersburg, MO for three years before entering seminary. After graduation, she was called and installed as the first woman pastor in the 159 year history of Christ the King United Church of Christ, in Florissant, MO. Rev. Blackmon served the local church for 10 years before being recruited to serve as Associate General Minister of Justice and Local Church Ministries for the United Church of Christ, a position she held for three terms, guiding the national public witness and local congregational support of the denomination.
Today, she serves the Church as a public theologian, movement strategist, and organizational consultant advancing justice-centered, faith-rooted change. She is founder and CEO of HopeBuilds, a faith-based consultancy; co-founder of The Prophetic Convening, a collaborative space for moral imagination, and Lead Catalyst for Faith Out Loud!, an emergent justice strategy hub committed to embodied discipleship, narrative change, and sustained organizing across religious, political, and cultural barriers.
Rev. Blackmon is the recipient of many awards and honors. She also served on the White House Faith-Based Advisory Council under President Barack Obama, addressed the Pontifical Council at the Vatican under Pope Francis, and is a member of the Morehouse College Board of Preachers. She currently serves on the boards of the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference, Americans United, and the Parliament of the World’s Religions.
Her forthcoming book, Enfleshed, will be released in Spring 2026.
