Raphael Warnock
Raphael Warnock is an influential American politician and pastor who made history as the first Black person to serve in the U.S. Senate from Georgia, following his election in January 2021. Born on July 23, 1969, in Savannah, Georgia, he was raised in a deeply religious family; both of his parents were pastors. Warnock pursued higher education at Morehouse College, where he earned a degree in psychology, and later completed a Master of Divinity and a doctorate in systematic theology at Union Theological Seminary.
His pastoral career includes a significant tenure at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, known as the church of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., where he became a prominent faith leader advocating for social justice and healthcare access. Warnock began his political career by campaigning for the U.S. Senate seat in 2020, ultimately winning a runoff election in January 2021. He was re-elected in December 2022 against Herschel Walker, securing his position for a full term.
In the Senate, Warnock has focused on issues such as healthcare affordability, climate change, and civil rights, maintaining a pro-choice stance on abortion and supporting same-sex marriage. His contributions to civil rights and his leadership in the faith community have earned him national recognition.
Raphael Warnock
Politician
- Born: July 23, 1969
- Place of Birth: Savannah, Georgia
- Significance: The longtime pastor at a historic Baptist church in Atlanta, Georgia, Raphael Warnock became the first Black person to represent Georgia in the US Senate following his election in January 2021.
Background
Politician. Raphael Gamaliel Warnock was born on July 23, 1969, in Savannah, Georgia. His parents, Jonathan and Verlene Warnock, served as pastors in their local churches and raised twelve children, of whom he was the second youngest. In addition to working with the church, his father operated a salvage business. Growing up in a religious household, Warnock began delivering sermons while still a child.
Warnock spent his childhood and teen years in Savannah, where he attended Sol C. Johnson High School and earned his high school diploma in 1987. Following graduation, Warnock enrolled at Morehouse College. He did not major in theology as an undergraduate, but he did join religious student organizations while at Morehouse and completed a summer internship at the Sixth Avenue Baptist Church in Alabama.
Receiving a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Morehouse in 1991, he moved on to New York City’s Union Theological Seminary to study at the graduate level. During that time, he joined the fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha and took a position as a youth pastor at the Abyssinian Baptist Church, located in the city’s Harlem neighborhood. In 1994, he completed a master of divinity degree.
Pastoral Career
Warnock spent six years as a youth pastor at the Abyssinian Baptist Church before advancing to the position of assistant pastor, which he held for an additional four years. In addition to earning a master’s degree and pursuing further study, he was active in political and social causes in New York during that period, including efforts to oppose new restrictions on New Yorkers receiving public assistance.
In 2001, Warnock relocated to Baltimore, Maryland, to take a position as pastor at that city’s Douglas Memorial Community Church. He remained in Baltimore until 2005, when he was offered the position of senior pastor at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia. An influential church founded in the late nineteenth century, the Ebenezer Baptist Church was perhaps best known as the home church of civil rights leader Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who, alongside his father, had served as copastor there between 1960 and 1968. Warnock accepted the position and relocated to Atlanta, where he established himself as one of the city’s prominent faith leaders over the next fifteen years.
In the meantime, Warnock earned a doctorate in systematic theology from Union Theological Seminary in 2006 and published his first book, The Divided Mind of the Black Church: Theology, Piety, and Public Witness, in 2013. In addition to his academic studies, he completed a number of leadership-focused educational programs over the course of his career, including the Summer Leadership Institute conducted through Harvard Divinity School.
Political Career
During his tenure as pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church, Warnock also remained politically active and became well known for agitating in support of progressive causes, including expanded access to health care. His work gained him the attention of political leaders such as President Barack Obama, on whose behalf Warnock delivered a prayer at the 2013 Inaugural Prayer Service and a sermon at the 2016 White House Prayer Breakfast. Later in the 2010s, Warnock likewise became known for his work to expand the voter base in Georgia, working alongside voting-rights advocate and 2018 gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams.
Warnock began his first campaign for political office in January 2020, following the resignation of Republican Georgia senator Johnny Isakson and the appointment of his successor, Kelly Loeffler. In keeping with policy, Georgia was set to hold a special election in November 2020 to determine whether Loeffler would retain the seat to which she had been appointed. Warnock entered the race, soon becoming the Democratic frontrunner. He went on to receive the greatest percentage of the vote in the special election, held on November 3, 2020, but did not attain a majority. As no candidate received the majority of the votes, the top two candidates, Warnock and Loeffler, advanced to a runoff election that took place on January 5, 2021. After ultimately winning the runoff election by about ninety-three thousand votes, receiving 51 percent of the total vote, he was sworn into the US Senate on January 20, 2021.
Warnock’s victory was historic, but his win only filled the Georgia Senate seat for the remainder of the term. Warnock would again face a challenger in 2022 for a full six-year term in the Senate. That challenger was former George football star Herschel Walker, who won the 1982 Heisman Trophy (awarded to the best player in college football) and played twelve seasons in the NFL. Warnock defeated Walker in the November election but failed to win 50 percent of the vote, prompting another runoff. Warnock emerged victorious in the December 2022 runoff.
In his first term as a Senator, Warnock served on the Committees on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry; Commerce, Science, and Transportation; and Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. He was also a member of the Congressional Joint Economic Committee and the Special Committee on Aging.
Impact
Raphael Warnock, acknowledged by local and national publications as one of the most influential figures in Atlanta and as one of the United States’ most influential faith leaders during his years at Ebenezer Baptist Church, received widespread recognition for his contributions to civil rights causes. In 2015, he was inducted into the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame. He also received the Unitas Distinguished Alumni Award from the Union Theological Seminary in 2016. Upon being sworn in to office in January 2021, Warnock became the first Black person to represent Georgia in the US Senate.
Issues
Warnock remained staunchly pro-choice even in the face of pressure from the religious community, believing abortion is a woman’s healthcare decision.
Warnock opposed the death penalty.
Warnock actively campaigned for attention to be brought to the effects of climate change, noting that climate change disproportionately affected minority communities.
Warnock actively sought plans to make healthcare more affordable.
Warnock suppported same-sex marriage and fought against discrimination based on gender or sexual identity.
Personal Life
Warnock married human rights activist Oulèye Ndoye in 2016. They had two children together before separating in 2019 and divorcing in 2020.
Bibliography
“About The Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock.” Raphael Warnock, 2023, www.warnock.senate.gov/about/. Accessed 14 Oct. 2024.
Barrow, Bill, and Jeff Amy. “Democratic Sen. Warnock Wins Georgia Runoff Against Walker." Associated Press, 7 Dec. 2022, apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-walker-warnock-runoff-3d4e4d1ab1760792454e1cbd618ce332. Accessed 14 Oct. 2024.
Brack, Naomii. “Raphael G. Warnock (1969– ).” BlackPast, 19 Nov. 2020, www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/raphael-g-warnock-1969. Accessed 14 Oct. 2024.
Dewan, Shaila, and Mike Baker. “Raphael Warnock, from the Pulpit to Politics, Doesn’t Shy from ‘Uncomfortable’ Truths.” The New YorkTimes, 8 Jan. 2021, www.nytimes.com/2021/01/02/us/politics/raphael-warnock-georgia-senate.html. Accessed 14 Oct. 2024.
Dreier, Natalie. “Who Is Senator-Elect Raphael Warnock? Here Are 5 Things to Know.” KIRO7, 6 Jan. 2021, www.kiro7.com/news/trending/who-is-senator-elect-raphael-warnock-here-are-5-things-know/G4OVZNIBTFGXFAVAGXTQKX3P2I/. Accessed 14 Oct. 2024.
Garber, Nick. “How Raphael Warnock Got His Start in Harlem.” Patch Harlem, NY, Patch Media, 6 Jan. 2021, patch.com/new-york/harlem/how-raphael-warnock-got-his-start-harlem. Accessed 14 Oct. 2024.
“Georgia Election: Who Is Reverend Raphael Warnock?” BBCNews, 6 Jan. 2021, www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-55559966. Accessed 14 Oct. 2024.
Karimi, Faith. “Raphael Warnock Honors the Journey of His 82-Year-Old Mother, Who, as a Teen ‘Used to Pick Somebody Else’s Cotton.’” CNN, 6 Jan. 2021, www.cnn.com/2021/01/06/us/verlene-warnock-pick-cotton-trnd/index.html. Accessed 14 Oct. 2024.
Wise, Alana. “Democrat Raphael Warnock Wins Georgia Runoff.” NPR, 6 Jan. 2021, www.npr.org/2021/01/06/952429877/democrat-raphael-warnock-wins-georgia-runoff. Accessed 14 Oct. 2024.