The Rev. Jim Wallis is founder of the Christian magazineSojourners and a spiritual adviser to President Barack Obama. Wallis will be one of the key speakers at Sunday night’s interfaith event related to Ferguson at St. Louis University’s Chaifetz Arena.
In the following Q&A – edited for clarity and length – Wallis talks about how faith played a role in his coming to St. Louis and how his past involvement in the civil rights era compares to today.
Can you tell me how you became involved in Ferguson and what you expect from your visit?
It turns out I was in South Africa all of August doing a speaking tour, and so when Ferguson broke out that’s where I was. In South Africa, it was all over the news. So in every media interview I had in South Africa, Ferguson came up. The way it was an issue in South Africa and around the world says something all by itself. We’ve had local clergy brief us on what’s going on and how it feels after 60 days. Imagine 60 days of this stress. It takes its toll on everyone. The people there are the ones who are leading this every day.