Hello

Rev. Damon O. Smith, affectionately known as the “Bow-Tie Baptist,” currently works as the IYIP Intermediary Program Director at UCAN, a Chicago-based organization with over 150 years of service strengthening communities through youth development, mental health services, workforce development, and violence prevention. In this role, Rev. Smith advances community-based strategies that support youth and families most impacted by structural inequity and violence.

 

Rev. Smith also serves as Youth Pastor and Associate Minister of Social Justice at the historic Liberty Baptist Church of Chicago, pastored by Rev. Andrew D. Hunt, Jr. Liberty Baptist was the home and organizing church of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the Chicago Freedom Movement. Grounded in liberation theology, Rev. Smith proclaims that “nothing is more liberating than the love of Jesus Christ—and that love must liberate all people from every system of oppression.”

 

A committed civic leader, Rev. Smith previously served as Deputy Director for District Councils at the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability, where he supported, trained, and managed 66 elected officials working to repair and strengthen relationships between Chicago’s 77 communities and the Chicago Police Department. He continues to consult with nonprofit and civic organizations across the city on issues of social justice, civic accountability, public safety, economic development and community engagement.

 

Rev. Smith is pursuing a Ph.D. in Applied Social Justice at Dominican University and holds a Master of Divinity from McCormick Theological Seminary, where he served on the Board of Trustees and was recognized for excellence in preaching and pastoral care. His academic formation also includes fellowships with the Black Theological Leadership Institute Princeton Theological Seminary and the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference for Social Justice. 

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Rev. Smith is and will continue his ecumenical experience to develop scholarly research and policy analyzing the intersection of the role of the Black Church in the Civil Rights Movements and contemporary Social Justice Activism.   This research will include and has not been limited to an analysis of Christology, Biblical Scholarship, Civil Rights Legislation and Social Justice  practices. 

 

For over 15 years, Rev. Smith served as a Professor at Columbia College Chicago, mentoring hundreds of students and artists while leveraging industry partnerships across music, film, television, and digital medias and mediums. His professional work spans collaborations with major entertainment companies and cultural institutions, and I have received multiple recognitions across music, media, politics, and public relations industries.

 

A native Chicagoan, Rev. Smith lives by the principle “servant leader.” An entrepreneur, educator, youth pastor, crisis strategist and media training and communications, he is a progressive civic advocate committed to addressing education inequity, urban violence, police accountability, racial reconciliation, and ending economic disparities. He remains active with Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the NAACP, and serves as Chair of the 3rd Ward Pastors and Ministers Alliance.

 

As Rev. Smith often affirms: 
“I am a slave to no one—but a servant to one Master.”