Barry Black

Rear Admiral (Retired) Barry C. Black
62nd Chaplain of the United States Senate
Incumbent
Assumed office July 7, 2003
Preceded by	Lloyd J. Ogilvie
22nd Chief of Chaplains of the United States Navy
In office August 2000 – August 15, 2003
Preceded by	A. Byron Holderby, Jr.
Succeeded by	Louis V. Iasiello
Personal details
Born	(1948-11-01) November 1, 1948 Baltimore, Maryland
Spouse(s)	Brenda Pearsall Black (m. 1973)
Alma mater	Oakwood University (B.A.) Andrews University (M.Div.) North Carolina Central University (M.A.) Palmer Theological Seminary (D.Min.) Salve Regina University (M.A.) Alliant International University (Ph.D.)
Profession	Military officer (retired), chaplain
Religion	Seventh-day Adventist
Awards	Navy Distinguished Service Medal Legion of Merit Medal Defense Meritorious Service Medal (2) Meritorious Service Medal (2) Navy Commendation Medal (2) Marine Corps Commendation Medal
Military service
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1976–2003
Rank	Rear Admiral

Part of a series on
Seventh-day Adventism
Background Christianity Protestantism Anabaptist Restorationism Wesleyan/Arminian Pietism Millerites Great Disappointment
Theology 28 Fundamental Beliefs Pillars Sabbath Second Advent Baptism by Immersion Conditional Immortality Historicism Premillennialism Investigative judgment Remnant Three Angels' Messages End times
Organization General Conference Divisions East-Central Africa Euro-Africa Euro-Asia Inter-American North American Northern Asia-Pacific Southern Africa-Indian Ocean South American South Pacific Southern Asia Southern Asia-Pacific Trans-European West-Central Africa
Literature Adventist Review El Centinela Signs of the Times List of Ellen White writings List of periodicals Adventist Archives
Service Pathfinders Adventurers Medical Cadet Corps Adventist Education Secondary Schools Higher Education Hospitals Humanitarianism
Media Outreach Adventist World Radio It Is Written Hope Channel The Voice of Prophecy
People Ellen G. White James White Joseph Bates J. N. Andrews Uriah Smith J. H. Kellogg F. D. Nichol M. L. Andreasen George Vandeman H. M. S. Richards Edward Heppenstall Herbert E. Douglass Morris Venden Samuele Bacchiocchi George Knight List of Seventh-day Adventists
Other Adventists Seventh-day Adventist portal

Rear Admiral Barry C. Black, USN (Ret.) (born November 1, 1948) is the 62nd Chaplain of the United States Senate. He was elected to this position on June 27, 2003, becoming the first African American and the first Seventh-day Adventist to hold this office. The Senate elected its first chaplain in 1789.

He served for over 27 years as a chaplain in the United States Navy, rising to the rank of rear admiral (upper half) and ending his career as the Chief of Chaplains of the United States Navy, and chief of the United States Navy Chaplain Corps. He officially retired from the Navy on August 15, 2003.^[1]

Naval career

Commissioned as a Navy chaplain in 1976, Black’s first duty station was the Fleet Religious Support Activity in Norfolk, Virginia. Subsequent assignments included Naval Support Activity, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland; First Marine Aircraft Wing, Okinawa, Japan; Naval Training Center, San Diego, California; USS Belleau Wood (LHA-3), Long Beach, California; Naval Chaplains School Advanced Course, Newport, Rhode Island; Marine Aircraft Group Thirty-One, Beaufort, South Carolina; assistant staff chaplain, Chief of Naval Education and Training, Pensacola, Florida; and fleet chaplain, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, Norfolk, Virginia.

As a rear admiral, his personal decorations included the Navy Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit Medal, twice awarded the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, twice awarded the Meritorious Service Medal, and twice received the Navy Commendation Medal, and the Marine Corps Commendation Medal, and numerous unit awards, campaign, and service medals.^[2]

Rear Adm. Barry C. Black, Chief of Navy Chaplains remarks after receiving the Navy Distinguished Service Medal from Adm. Vern Clark, Chief of Naval Operations (CNO). Sitting (center) and next to the CNO, Rear Adm. Christopher E. Weaver, Commandant, Naval District Washington, during the change of office and retirement ceremony at the Washington Navy Yard, August 15, 2003

United States Senate Chaplain

On June 27, 2003, Black was elected the 62nd Chaplain of the United States Senate. He began working in the Senate on July 7, 2003.^[3]

During the 16 day United States federal government shutdown of 2013, his invocations began to garner widespread national attention. On Oct. 1, the first day of the shutdown, he prayed for divine guidance to, “strengthen our weakness, replacing cynicism with faith and cowardice with courage.” On Oct. 3, he prayed, “Save us from the madness. We acknowledge our transgressions, our shortcomings, our smugness, our selfishness and our pride... Deliver us from the hypocrisy of attempting to sound reasonable while being unreasonable.”^[4]

During his prayer, on Oct. 4, 2013, the day after officers from the U.S. Capitol Police shot and killed a woman who had used her car in an attempt to breach federal grounds, Black noted that the officers were not being paid because of the government shutdown. Like other government workers, he too is unpaid during the shutdown, stating, “I’m being remunerated from above. And that’s pretty special.”^[5] On the fourth day of the shutdown, he also prayed, regarding the senators, “Remove from them that stubborn pride which imagines itself to be above and beyond criticism,” he said. “Forgive them the blunders they have committed.”^[6]

On day nine, prompted by news of the delay of death benefits for military families, Black prayed, “It’s time for our lawmakers to say ‘Enough is enough'”, and asked that God, “cover our shame with the robe of Your righteousness.” On day eleven, Black prayed to, “give our lawmakers the wisdom to distinguish between truth and error... Give them a hatred of all hypocrisy, deceit and shame as they seek to replace them with gentleness, patience and truth,” he prayed.^[7]

The U.S. House of Representatives, which has its own chaplain, also invited him to deliver an invocation in their Chamber.^[8]

Rear Adm. Barry C. Black, Chief of Chaplains of the U.S. Navy

Awards

In 1995, Black was chosen from 127 nominees for the NAACP Renowned Service Award, for his contributions to equal opportunity and civil rights.

In 2002, he received the Benjamin Elijah Mays Distinguished Leadership Award from the Morehouse School of Religion. In 2004, the Old Dominion University chapter of the NAACP conferred on him the Image Award, "Reaffirming the Dream - Realizing the Vision", for military excellence.^[9]

Rear Adm. Barry C. Black, USN (Ret.), (left), the chaplain of the U.S. Senate, and Maj. Gen. Douglas L. Carver, the U.S. Army chief of chaplains, take their places on the dais at the Pentagon Memorial dedication ceremony, Sept. 11, 2008

Education

Black has an extensive educational background. He is an alumnus of Oakwood University; Andrews University; North Carolina Central University; Eastern Baptist Seminary, now known as Palmer Theological Seminary; Salve Regina University; and the United States International University, now known as Alliant International University.

In addition to earning three separate Master of Arts degrees in: divinity, counseling, and management; he also holds two earned doctorates: a Doctorate of Ministry and a Ph.D. in psychology.^[10]

In 2004, he also received an Honorary Doctorate of Divinity degree from La Sierra University.^[11]

Publication

His autobiography, entitled "From the Hood to the Hill," was published in 2006.^[12] He has explained its title as follows:

"One of the reasons why I call my book ”From the Hood to the Hill” is because we grew up in the hood. We grew up in the toxic pathology of an inner city ghetto. There were prostitutes on the corner, there were drug pushers, there was domestic violence that you could see sitting on the steps of your – of your home. So, it was a very challenging situation. And my mother, who for a significant portion of my life was on public assistance, would often have difficulty paying the rent and ensuring that her children matriculated at Christian schools because my seven siblings and I all matriculated at Christian schools from grade 1 all the way through graduate school. So, to pull this off, many times she couldn’t pay the rent, and when you don’t pay the rent, you will be evicted. And so, three times in my life, I came home from my nice Christian school to find our furniture out on the street."^[13]

Popular Culture

As a result of the attention his invocations received during the federal government shutdown, Black was parodied on NBC's "Saturday Night Live." Playing Black during the show's, "Weekend Update" segment that aired on October 12, 2013, SNL cast member, Kenan Thompson prayed, "Lord, bless and forgive these braying jackasses." Thompson's Black prayed, "May they find themselves in a restroom stall devoid of toilet paper."^[14]

When approached for a reaction, Black responded that, while he had not seen it, he was a fan of the show and did not object to the parody. "It's all in good humor," he said. "If you're doing something constructive enough that you're part of their cartoons, that's a great honor."^[15]

Personal life

Black is a native of Baltimore, Maryland. His mother was a domestic and his father was a long distance truck driver "and something of a nomad." He is one of eight children.^[16]

He is married to Brenda Black, née Pearsall, of St. Petersburg, Florida. They have three sons: Barry II, Brendan, and Bradford.^[17]

Black is a vegetarian. He has said, "that is not something that is a test of fellowship in my church. I’m a vegetarian because I grew up that way and I believe it’s a – it’s a rather healthy lifestyle."^[18]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Barry Black.

• United States Senate – Barry Black
• United States Navy Chaplain Corps – Rear Admiral Black's Remarks at His Retirement as Chief of Navy Chaplains
• Black, Barry. "Expecting the Unexpected: An excerpt from the book "From the Hood to the Hill"". Adventist Review. Retrieved 2010-01-30. 
• C-SPAN Q&A interview with Black, October 25, 2009
• 2007 PBS interview with Barry C. Black
• June 22, 2007 PBS interview of Barry C. Black

United States Navy Portal: United States Navy Category: United States Navy Leadership Secretary of the Navy Under Secretary of the Navy Chief of Naval Operations Vice Chief of Naval Operations Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy 4-star admirals House Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces Senate Subcommittee on Seapower Structure Navy Navy Reserve Fleet Marine Force Expeditionary Combat Command Merchant Marine Operating forces Fleet Forces Command Pacific Fleet Naval Forces Europe Naval Forces Central Command Naval Forces Southern Command Naval Special Warfare Command Naval Reserve Forces Operational Test and Evaluation Force Naval Network Warfare Command Military Sealift Command Shore establishments Naval Sea Systems Command Naval Air Systems Command Naval Facilities Engineering Command Naval Supply Systems Command Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command Fleet Cyber Command Naval Academy Naval Education and Training Command Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command Office of Naval Intelligence Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center Naval Legal Service Command Naval Observatory Navy Occupational Safety & Health Bureau of Naval Personnel Bureau of Medicine and Surgery Fleets Third Fleet Fourth Fleet Fifth Fleet Sixth Fleet Seventh Fleet Tenth Fleet Structure The Pentagon Units Aircraft wings Aircraft squadrons Carrier strike group Installations Naval Observatory Master jet base Ships A–B C D–F G–H I–K L M N–O P Q–R S T–V W–Z Aircraft carriers Airships Amphibious warfare ships Auxiliaries Battleships Cruisers Destroyers Destroyer escorts Escort carriers Frigates Mine warfare vessels Monitors Patrol vessels Sailing frigates Steam frigates Steam gunboats Ships of the line Sloops of war Submarines Torpedo boats Personnel & training People Officers Officer insignia Designators Enlisted Enlisted insignia Ratings Classification Personnel Chaplain Corps (Chief of Chaplains) United States Navy EOD Medical Corps Dental Corps Nurse Corps Medical Service Corps Supply Corps Civil Engineer Corps JAG Corps (JAG) NCIS Boatswain's mates Hospital corpsman Naval Aviator SEALs Seabees SWCCs Hispanic sailors Training: Recruit training United States Naval Academy Officer Candidate School STA-21 NROTC BESS BFTT CNATT COMPTUEX NAWCTSD AIM Naval Chaplaincy School Naval Hospital Corps School Naval Justice School Naval Postgraduate School Navy School of Music Navy Senior Enlisted Academy Navy Supply Corps School Naval War College Nuclear Power School JMTC TOPGUN USNTPS Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences Equipment Uniforms Awards Badges Current fleet Reserve fleet Aircraft Weapons Naval reactors History & traditions History "Anchors Aweigh" Blue Angels Continental Navy Ensign Fleet bands Fleet Week Jack Line-crossing ceremony National Museum Navy Band Navy Flag Navy Hymn Navy Memorial Navy service numbers Sailor's Creed Ship commissioning Ship decommissioning USS Constitution Wetting-down