Walter Strickland

Walter R. Strickland II is Professor of Systematic and Contextual Theology at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and an important voice in African American evangelical theology. Elected first vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention in 2017, Strickland brings scholarly rigor and prophetic concern to conversations about race, theology, and justice within evangelicalism.

His groundbreaking two-volume work Swing Low: A History of Black Christianity in the United States provides a theological-intellectual history highlighting how theology has formed and motivated Black Christianity across centuries. Framing his analysis around five theological anchors—"a big God," Jesus as essential, conversion, sanctification, and walking in the Spirit—Strickland recovers the deep theological traditions of Black churches while addressing systemic injustices. His scholarship and leadership challenge evangelicals to acknowledge and learn from Black theological traditions.