YDS Black Alumni

This biographical collection is a snapshot of  the legacy of accomplishment by select Black Alumni of Yale Divinity School beginning with James Pennington, the first student of color in the 1830s, and including such entries as Mary Goodman, the first person of color to bequeath an endowment to YDS in 1872, and Rena Weller Karefa-Smart, the first black female graduate in 1945.

The bios were prepared by Yale Black Seminarians in conjunction with the Been in the Storm history project at YDS.

Lecia Allman M.Div. ‘16