Bishop Vashti McKenzie speaks of Bishop Sarah Davis, Bishop Carolyn Tyler Guidry, & more

In honor of Black Women’s History Month, we asked Bishop Vashti McKenzie to share with us her personal journey as well as talk about who from history influenced her. McKenzie spoke of Bishop Sarah Davis, HistoryMaker & Bishop Carolyn Tyler Guidry, Bishop Anne Henning Byfield and Reverend Cecelia Williams Bryant, all A.M.E. women.

HistoryMaker Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie was ordained by the A.M.E. Church in 1984 and in 1990, she joined Payne Memorial A.M.E. in Baltimore as pastor. In 2000, while serving as chief pastor of the 18th Episcopal District in southeast Africa, McKenzie was elected and consecrated as the 117th bishop of the A.M.E. Church at their General Council. Her historic election marked the very first time in the over 200-year history of the AME Church that a woman obtained the level of Episcopal office. The firsts continued as she served as the first woman President of the Council of Bishops, the first Chair of the General Conference Commission and was the first woman Host Bishop for the 49th Session of the General Conference of the AME Church in June 2012, with more than 30,000 in attendance. Bishop McKenzie serves as the presiding prelate of the 10th Episcopal District, where she provides leadership to all of the AME Churches in the entire state of Texas. She exercises ministry and administrative responsibilities for over 200 churches. This includes Paul Quinn College, a 140 year-old liberal arts historically black college where she serves as the vice-chairwoman.