ATLANTA – State Representative Mesha Mainor (R-Atlanta) congratulates Dr. Walter Earl Fluker, interim pastor at Friendship Baptist Church in Atlanta, on receiving the 2023 Freedom of Worship Award from the Roosevelt Institute as a part of their Four Freedoms Awards. Additionally, Dr. Fluker was selected for Boston University’s 2023 School of Theology Distinguished Alumni Award.
“I am proud to call Dr. Fluker a friend and am thrilled that his achievements are being recognized by the Roosevelt Institute and Boston University,” said Rep. Mainor. “I have known Dr. Fluker for many years, and he is most deserving of these awards for all of the work he has done to support communities across Atlanta. He joins a very distinguished list of award recipients, and I congratulate him on these incredible accomplishments.”
Dr. Walter Earl Fluker will be honored by the Roosevelt Institute for carrying on the legacies of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Howard Thurman by helping students navigate the ethical questions of today and being a thought leader for Black churches.
Dr. Fluker is the founder of Walter Earl Fluker & Associates. He also serves as Distinguished Professor of the Howard Thurman Center, Hartford University for Religion and Peace; Dean’s Professor of Spirituality, Ethics and Leadership, Candler School of Theology, Emory University; Professor Emeritus of Ethical Leadership (formerly the Martin Luther King, Jr Chair) at Boston University and the editor of the Howard Thurman Papers Project. He was founding executive director of the Andrew Young Center for Global Leadership Center and the Coca-Cola Professor of Leadership Studies at Morehouse College. Dr. Fluker is a featured consultant, speaker, lecturer and workshop leader at foundations, businesses, corporations, colleges, universities, governmental and religious institutions, nationally and globally.
The Four Freedoms Awards are presented in alternating years by the Roosevelt Institute to men and women whose achievements demonstrated a commitment to the principles that President Roosevelt proclaimed in his speech to Congress on January 6, 1941, as essential to democracy: freedom of speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want, freedom from fear.
This year’s Four Freedoms Award Ceremony, took place on September 23, 2023, at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park, NY.
Boston University’s 2023 School of Theology Distinguished Alumni Award is presented annually to alumni who exemplify the ways that courageous, compassionate advocacy fosters concentric circles of transformation toward peace and justice. Dr. Fluker was presented with the 2023 School of Theology Distinguished Alumni Award on September 20, 2023.
Representative Mesha Mainor represents the citizens of District 56, which includes portions of Fulton County. She was elected to the House of Representatives in 2020 and currently serves on the Education, Governmental Affairs, Regulated Industries and State Planning & Community Affairs committees.
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