Keynote: Dr. Jemar Tisby

BUY PASS & PARKING

Join Dr. Jemar Tisby for his perspectives on faith, history and activism at 8 p.m. Tuesday, July 11 in Hoover Auditorium. 

Tisby credits the beginnings of his faith journey to a friend from high school who was an evangelist at the age of 15. He invited Tisby to go to his white, evangelical youth group with him. Tisby started going because it was a social outlet. Over time, the youth pastor’s messages really sunk in and helped Tisby see the attraction to this new way of life.  

While getting his degree at the University of Notre Dame, Tisby began attending his first explicitly reformed Christian church. At most services, he was the only Black person in the congregation. The book-by-book and verse-by-verse exposition of scripture scratched an intellectual itch he had for understanding Christianity.  

After graduating from Notre Dame, Tisby became a corps member with Teach for America and was placed as a sixth-grade teacher in a new public charter school on the Arkansas side of the Mississippi Delta.  

In 2011, he enrolled in Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS) in Jackson, Mississippi, to earn his Master of Divinity degree. He also began to take on a much more public voice in speaking and writing about race and religion.  

While at RTS, he came “under care” in the Presbyterian Church of America and worked at an intentionally multi-racial Presbyterian Church. Also, at RTS, he started the Reformed African American Network and the African American Leadership Initiative.  

Tisby received a lot of support and found there was a hunger and desire to address racism in the church. There was a community he could gather around these topics and around making progress in terms of racial justice. Tisby imagined making space for Black people at the white, Reformed and Evangelical table to which he’d first been offered a seat in high school.  

Tisby took a graduate course in history at Jackson State University, and that launched him on the path to earning a PhD in History from the University of Mississippi. Shortly after, he began working for the Center for Antiracist Research at Boston University. He realized his real passion is writing, challenging and encouraging the nation and the church to be a racially and ethnically inclusive community. He stepped down from that position with the hopes of writing and creating content that can help move everybody forward in the journey toward racial justice.  

Live stream this presentation!
New this summer, Lakeside is proud to provide live-stream access for select keynote speaker presentations. For a $40 fee, get online access to 5 keynote speaker presentations – Dr. Adam Met (June 27), Dr. Kathryn Sullivan (July 5), Dr. Jemar Tisby (July 11), Scott Simon (July 25) and Jim Tressel (Aug. 3). Season Chautauqua Passholders receive FREE access to these summer live-streams. View details and register at lakesideohio.com/lakesideonline.

Keynote Presentation Information 

• Admission & Parking Passes: A Chautauqua Pass and Auto Pass are required to enter the Lakeside gates from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day. Guests may purchase passes online at lakesideohio.com/admission or upon entering the gates of Lakeside. If purchased online, you may present a mobile pass when entering the Lakeside gates and Hoover Auditorium. Upon receiving your Auto Pass, please place it in the lower left corner of your windshield. The Safety Services Department will check Auto Passes as part of their daily routine.
• Entry: A Chautauqua Pass (physical pass, mobile or printed pass) must be presented upon entering and exiting the Lakeside Chautauqua gates and entering Hoover Auditorium for the keynote presentation.
• Hoover Auditorium: The keynote presentation will be held at Hoover Auditorium (115 W. Third St.), located on Third St. between Walnut and Central Avenues in Lakeside, Ohio. The auditorium is a short walk from all available parking locations. A complimentary golf cart shuttle service is available on a continuous route. The historic auditorium seats more than 2,000 guests.
• Doors Open: The doors to Hoover Auditorium open at 7:30 p.m. ADA access to the auditorium begins at 7:30 p.m. through the center doors on the west side of the building along Walnut Ave. The keynote presentation starts at 7:30 p.m.
• Seating: Seats in Hoover Auditorium are general admission and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Each guest may hold only one seat in addition to their own.
• Food & Beverages:  Food and beverages are prohibited inside Hoover Auditorium. Bottled water is permitted.
• No Backpacks or Large Purses: Backpacks and large purses are prohibited inside Hoover Auditorium. All bags will be checked upon entry.
• Directions to Lakeside: Lakeside Chautauqua is located in Ohio on the Marblehead Peninsula, halfway between Toledo and Cleveland on Lake Erie’s south shore. It’s easily accessible from the east or west via Interstate 90, Route 2 and Route 163. View directions.
• Parking: An Auto Pass is required to enter the Lakeside gates from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day. Lakeside offers three different parking options and fees: 1) inside the gates, 2) at the South Gate Parking Lot and 3) Danbury School Parking Lot. Limited parking is available in Lakeside. If parking within the gates, please park in the grass area around the Lakeside Schoolhouse (along Seventh Street). Parking at Hotel Lakeside and the Fountain Inn lots is reserved for hotel guests only.
• Shuttles: Complimentary golf cart shuttles run 7 a.m.-11 p.m. daily, with the last pick up at 10:30 p.m. For those with limited mobility, the Mack Mobile is available by calling 419-341-8247. Shuttles run on a continuous route between the following stops: Welcome Center (South Gate), Campground, Pool area (Sixth Street), Shuffleboard (Second Street & Central Avenue), Hotel Lakeside, the Fountain Inn, Hoover Auditorium, Fifth Street Gate, the Rhein Center (Sixth Street & Walnut Avenue) and the Lakeside Schoolhouse parking area. Please note that a shuttle service does not run from the Danbury School Parking Lot. Guests can pick up a shuttle from the South Gate entrance.
• Staying Overnight: Rooms are available at historic Hotel Lakeside or our family-friendly Fountain Inn, both located a short walking distance from Hoover Auditorium. For more information, visit lakesideohio.com/stay.