WHO ARE OUR NEIGHBORS?
Dr. Michael W. Waters
The Reverend Dr. Michael W. Waters is a bridge builder. Throughout his life of service, he has sought to build bridges for marginalized communities to experience peace, protection, and prosperity. He has served on the frontlines of justice movements, fighting to preserve voting rights, standing up for immigrant families, working to address poverty and gun violence, and standing against islamophobia, antisemitism, police violence, and more.
As a pastor, professor, advocate, national award-winning author, and social commentator for national and international media outlets, Dr. Waters is unwavering in his commitment towards achieving human flourishing for all communities. He has spread this message everywhere, being invited to address such esteemed institutions as the Muhammad Ali Center, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the National Civil Rights Museum, Oxford University, the United States House of Representatives.
Since 2005, Dr. Waters has led numerous individuals on a Civil Rights Pilgrimage through the Deep South to visit cities and sites significant to the American Civil Rights Movement. There, participants have directly interacted with Civil Rights heroes. These pilgrimages have inspired many to dedicate their lives to achieving peace, justice, and equity. Dr. Waters has also designed and taught a national course entitled Race in Dallas for schools, religious organizations, and corporations to aid them in furthering their anti-racism work.
Dr. Waters is a three-time winner of the prestigious Wilbur Award for Stakes Is High: Race, Faith, and Hope for America, named Nonfiction Book of the Year, and For Beautiful Black Boys Who Believe in a Better World and Liberty’s Civil Rights Road Trip, both named Children’s Book of the Year. Awarded the Children’s Book Council’s Youth Book Prize for Social Justice, Essence Magazine calls For Beautiful Black Boys one of the “Six Must-Read Books About Race For Your Children and Teens,” and Liberty’s Civil Rights Road Trip was named among the Library of Congress’ “Great Reads from Great Places.” Dr. Waters is a founding member of Dallas Black Clergy for Safety, Equity, and Justice. He has served as the chair of the City of Dallas’ Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center Board and as the co-chair of Faith Forward Dallas at Thanks-Giving Square. Committed to the preservation of racial memory, Dr. Waters serves on the board of Foot Soldiers Park and Educational Center in Selma, Alabama.
Dr. Waters’ efforts have been widely recognized. He has received commendations from The White House and Special Congressional Recognition for Service and Leadership from the U. S. House of Representatives. His leadership amid the COVID-19 pandemic and Winter Storm Uri garnered him the Texas Legislative Black Caucus’ Outstanding Texan Award. Dr. Waters is also a recipient of the Dallas-Fort Worth Council on American-Islamic Relations’ Community Leader of the Year Award, the Dallas Peace and Justice Center’s Peacemaker of the Year Award, and Southern Methodist University’s Distinguished Alumni Emerging Leader Award.
Dr. Waters is wonderfully married to the Reverend Yulise Reaves Waters, Esq, and they are the proud parents of four children: Jeremiah, Hope, Liberty, and Justice.
