Rev. Jimmie Ray Hawkins serves as the Director of the Presbyterian Church (USA) Office of Public Witness in Washington DC.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Social Studies from North Carolina Central University (Durham, NC); a Master of Arts in Christian Education from the Presbyterian School of Christian Education (Richmond, VA); and a Master of Divinity from the Interdenominational Theological Center/Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary (Atlanta, GA).
For twenty years he served as the pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church in Durham, NC, 1996 - 2016. During that time God blessed the congregation to construct a new facility, maintain ministries for youth people, provide meeting space for non-profits and community groups and experienced church growth. Between 1992 - 1996, he served as the senior pastor of Grace Presbyterian, Holmes Memorial and Trinity Presbyterian churches in western Virginia (Peaks Presbytery).
He served on the boards of Church World Service, the National Council of Churches and currently Union Presbyterian Seminary. He has chaired several interfaith /ecumenical and non-profit boards: NC NAACP Executive Committee, Durham Congregations in Action, the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance, the Religious Coalition for a Non-Violent Durham, Housing for New Hope (homeless advocacy), End Poverty Now, and others.
His community ministry includes being a leader for the Moral Monday Movement since its onset in 2013. He engaged in four actions of civil disobedience protesting the actions to curtail voting rights, healthcare and a living wage. He has been active in justice advocacy throughout his ministry.
He is the son of Elsie L. and the late James P. Hawkins. He is married to Sheinita Hampton Hawkins and they have two children: Kaela Renee and James Hampton.
