In recognition and celebration of Black History Month, Andover Newton Seminary at Yale Divinity School proudly remembers the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Virgil Alexander Wood (April 6, 1931 – December 28, 2024). Since Wood’s passing in late December, there has been no shortage of tributes celebrating the significant impact he had on the communities he led as well as those served by the generation of leaders he helped inspire. We at Andover Newton are grateful to be counted among the cloud of witnesses impacted by the ministry, advocacy, scholarship, and leadership of Dr. Wood.

In the 1950s, Andover Newton Theological School was enveloped by a series of social changes and major shifts in theological education in response to an increasingly more dynamic post-World War II society. Curricula were modernized, church and societal relations shifted, and the student body became more diverse. In the process, and in fits and starts, the institution became more ecumenical, interdenominational, and responsive to social justice and the complexities of American society.

With a history degree from Virginia Union University already in hand, the timing of Wood’s arrival in Newton coincided with a season of rapid cultural change. He came with an interest and lived experience to pursue social justice at a place that was increasingly progressive and open to more innovative approaches to ministry. He would earn his B.D. from ANTS in 1956, and as Wood emerged from theological school, his desire and devotion to social justice was met with the pastoral training and tools to uplift marginalized communities and advocate for the economic and spiritual development of African Americans through faith.

Returning to the South, Wood served as pastor of Lynchburg’s Diamond Hill Baptist Church in his home state of Virginia from 1958 to 1963. He established the Lynchburg Improvement Association (LIA) to fight for desegregation, voting rights, and economic justice. The LIA served as a local chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and used nonviolent, civil disobedience to challenge systemic racism in Virginia. Wood was a  confidant and lieutenant to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and through the SCLC, the two collaborated on helping plan and  orchestrate the 1963 March on Washington to advocate for civil and economic rights of African Americans.

Economic justice, Black-owned businesses, the financial independence of African Americans, and nonviolent, civil-disobedience were paramount to Wood and became the central focus of his ministry and social activism. In the face of tyranny, hate, and even an arrest for civil disobedience in Danville, Virginia in 1963, Wood’s resiliency, vision, and commitment helped define the modern civil rights movement that culminated with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Wood’s advocacy and activism for the civil and economic rights of African Americans continued well beyond 1965. When President Lyndon B. Johnson declared a “war on poverty,” Wood was drafted to serve on a White House Conference for economic development and provided a voice for African Americans. He would be recalled to service by both the Nixon and Carter administrations as well but never wavered from his ministry and teaching through faith.

From 1963 to 1970, Wood returned to New England to lead the Blue Hill Christian Center in Boston’s Roxbury community and crossed paths once again with his alma mater on the Hill. In the years Wood was in Virginia, ANTS had remained actively engaged in social issues including civil rights, economic justice, and the antiwar movement. The school’s progressivism, activism, and concern for urban ministry created fertile soil for a relationship between ANTS, Wood, and students looking to pursue a ministry centered on civil and economic rights. ANTS developed into a hub for students and faith leaders that were radically open to the role of the church in an ever-changing world, an ethos that continues to shape the manner in which community is cultivated at Andover Newton today.

Wood’s impact as an educator extended beyond ANTS. In 1973, Wood received his doctorate in education from Harvard University. He went on to serve as Dean and Director of the African American Institute and Associate Professor of Northeastern University at Boston. He was also a member of the faculty professor at Virginia Union Seminary and a visiting lecturer and researcher at Harvard University. Before entering emeritus status, Wood led the Pond Street Baptist Church in Providence, Rhode Island from 1983 to 2005.

Evidence of Wood’s life’s work can be found in many places, communities, and books, including most notably In Love We Stil Trust: Lessons We Must Learn from Marting Luther King, which remains a guide for the continued pursuit of civil and economic rights for African Americans. However, at Andover Newton, Wood’s impact is most visible today through the work of graduates who actively pursue a ministry based on civil and economic equality and students who come to Andover Newton Seminary at YDS whose vision for ministry is inseparable from a vision for a just world.

Earlier this month, Matthew Rivera, a third year MDiv student at Andover Newton Seminary at Yale Divinity School, delivered his senior sermon on the Book of Daniel and channeled Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on the measure of a man in the process. What Matthew taught us in the congregation was, “It’s wonderful to stand up for justice when it’s popular [and] it’s wonderful to champion causes that secretly benefit us to help us climb the ladder of success but we also must be willing to do so when the work to bring justice challenges systems of power as well.”

That Andover Newton Seminary at YDS is still a place of higher learning and theological training; where young scholars like Matthew can advocate for social justice, challenge the societal balance of power, and seek equitable change for the marginalized and disadvantaged through ministry; is a credit to the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Virgil Alexandar Wood. We are profoundly grateful.

Thank you, Dr. Wood!

Note: A special thanks to Rev. Dr. Gregory T. Bailey (ANTS, MDiv, 2000) for his time and contributions to this story.