Rev. Dr. Eugene L. Gibson is the Senior Pastor of Mt. Olivet Baptist Church in Columbus, Ohio. His area of focus is the intersectionality of African American Preaching and Black Sacred Rhetoric. Dr. Thomas posits that Black Preaching is both Theological and Rhetorical and accordingly, Eugene wants to learn how to articulate with skill as a practitioner scholar. His concentrated interest is the African American Prophetic Rhetorical Tradition. He believes that the richness of this tradition is seen in rhetorical gifts of both female and male rhetors and crosses or blurs sacred and secular lines. It is in the blurring of these lines that Gibson locates his study.
For his dissertation, Gibson is wrestling with the idea of writing on the Religio-Prophetic Rhetoric of The Honorable Louis Farrakhan. For over 50 years, the words of the Nation of Islam Leader have been controversial yet captivating, and replete with prophetic rhetoric about the liberation of Black people through the message of Elijah Muhammed, the power of Allah and strong references to, of, and about Jesus Christ. He believes that there are rich nuggets to be mined in this study. He chose CTS because of his love for Black preaching and a curiosity about the power and passion behind all that African Americans hold sacred.
