- Wednesday, September 29, 2021
- 12:30 PM–1:30 PM
- Hiemenga Hall 468
Justin Giboney grew up in Denver as a serious kid who liked to win at sports and read political biographies. He went to Vanderbilt University on a football scholarship, stayed on there for law school, and ended up in medical malpractice defense in Atlanta.
Giboney started in politics working to help Kasim Reed rise from a little-known politician to the mayor of Atlanta. The election landed Giboney a job as city attorney, and in 2012, he was chosen as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention. He was disillusioned with the party platform and the way it was determined, and after a number of years working as an attorney and in politics, he wanted to find a better way. “I didn’t see a lot of examples of Christian politicians pushing their party to be more Christian.”
In 2015, Giboney, hip-hop artist Sho Baraka, and Angel Maldonado started the AND Campaign, which aims to connect conviction and compassion within politics. The organization sets out a platform you won’t find at either political convention—anti-abortion, pro-social safety nets, pro-family, pro-criminal justice reform. The point isn’t to endorse legislation or candidates or judicial decisions but to “bring Christians of both parties together on those issues.”
In 2016, Giboney ran again for a delegate spot at the Democratic National Convention and went as a “protest delegate.”
The AND Campaign leans left but has increasingly become a space for Christians dissatisfied with both political parties. In 2017, Giboney quit his day job to work full-time for AND. In 2020, AND launched a Prayer (&) Action justice initiative and raised $1.3 million for low-income churches to get through the COVID crisis. In July, Giboney and coauthors Michael Wear and Chris Butler released Compassion (&) Conviction: The AND Campaign’s Guide to Faithful Civic Engagement.
Join us for our this Pre-Law Lunch which featuring Giboney. You must RSVP for this program, since there is limited seating. Contact Ellen Hekman (elh4@calvin.edu) to reserve your place, and include your cell phone number for text reminder purposes.
