Jamal Harrison Bryant (born May 21, 1971) is an American minister, author and former political candidate. He is the senior pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church.

Early life and education

Jamal Harrison Bryant was born on May 21, 1971, in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, to John Richard and Cecelia Bryant (née Williams). He has a younger sister. He was raised in the Westside neighborhood of

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

, where, as a child, he attended his father's church Bethel A.M.E. Church. He preached his first sermon when he was a child at Bethel titled "No Pain, No Gain." Bryant attended

Morehouse College Morehouse College is a Private college, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black, Men's colleges in the United States, men's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia, ...

where he earned an undergraduate degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

and

international studies International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

. He obtained a master's of divinity degree from

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

. He received a doctorate of ministry degree from the Graduate Theological Foundation. Bryant is a member of the

Kappa Alpha Psi Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. () is a List of African-American fraternities, historically African American Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911, at Indiana University Bloomington, it has n ...

fraternity.

Ministry

In April 2000, Pastor Jamal Bryant founded the Empowerment Temple

African Methodist Episcopal Church The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a Methodist denomination based in the United States. It adheres to Wesleyan theology, Wesleyan–Arminian theology and has a connexionalism, connexional polity. It ...

, and served for 18 years. In December 2018, he became pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in

Stonecrest, Georgia Stonecrest is a city in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The boundaries of the city generally lie in the far southeastern corner of the county, with a smaller portion just north of Interstate 20 in Georgia, Interstate 20. The city borders ...

Politics

Bryant ostensibly ran for U.S. Congress in 2015, aiming to represent Baltimore, Maryland, as a Democrat. He suspended his campaign less than two weeks after announcing his run. In a February 2, 2025, service, Bryant announced a 40-day initiative to

boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent resistance, nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organisation, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for Morality, moral, society, social, politics, political, or Environmenta ...

the retailer

Target Target may refer to: Warfare and shooting * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artille ...

for eliminating their

diversity, equity, and inclusion In the United States, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are organizational frameworks that seek to promote the fair treatment and full participation of all people, particularly groups who have historically been underrepresented or subject ...

(DEI) commitments. The original boycott was planned to run from March 3 to April 19, but on April 20,

Easter Sunday Easter, also called Pascha (Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek language, Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, de ...

, he announced that the initiative would now be indefinite.

AME review after divorce

Officials of the A.M.E. denomination intended, as of February 2008, to enter into discussions regarding Bryant's leadership, following mutual filings for divorce by Bryant, his spouse, Hampton alumna and future '' Real Housewives of Potomac'' star Gizelle Bryant. However, they said that Bryant did not face a disciplinary trial because no one came forward with a complaint against him. Church officials said that Bryant "was never charged through the church system with anything". In 2019, the couple briefly dated. Many speculated this was just to give Gizelle a storyline as Jamal remained in Georgia and was seen with other ladies, including singer

Tweet (singer) Charlene Keys (born January 21, 1971), better known by the stage name Tweet, is an American singer-songwriter.Birchmeier, JasonTweet Biography, Allmusic, retrieved December 18, 2010 Career Early career In the early nineties, Tweet joined the ...

Controversies

In 2022, in Rashan Ali's "Cool Soror" podcast, he said he wanted to develop a "new gospel for adults" who are used to having sex (suggesting celibacy as a reasonable message for teenagers, but an off-putting one for older single adults), and further suggested that he wanted to grow

marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

on the land of the church to attract young men. Bishop Patrick Wooden Sr., pastor of the Upper Room Church of God in Christ in Raleigh, North Carolina, said, "I’m holding out that this is like that Babylon Bee thing .e., satire">satire.html" ;"title=".e., satire">.e., satire" but continued, addressing the likelihood that it was not, saying that "[m]arijuana is not... a harmless drug... Depressions are up... suicides are up. It’s a gateway drug, gateway..." that "in and of itself [it] is bad," even if not leading to other drugs, "ruining high school students, messing up their minds, messing up their development". He continues with what he perceives to be the spiritual implication, referencing Romans 1:28-32:

we are witnessing... e worst thing that God can do... to turn us over to ourselves... r that means the Holy Spirit will no longer... bring any conviction".

References

External links

Jamal Harrison Bryant's website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bryant, Jamal Harrison 1971 births Living people People of the African Methodist Episcopal church American evangelists American motivational speakers American Pentecostals American television personalities Religious leaders from Baltimore Duke University alumni