Rev. A. Knighton Stanley Recognition Resolution of 2025

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A CEREMONIAL RESOLUTION

26-102

IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

October 21, 2025

To honor Rev. Dr. A. Knighton Stanley and his legacy as pastor of Peoples Congregational
United Church of Christ for nearly 40 years, for the occasion of the designation of Iowa
Avenue N.W., between Arkansas Avenue, N.W., and 13th Street, N.W., in Ward 4, as
“Rev. A. Knighton Stanley Way”.

WHEREAS, Rev. Dr. A. Knighton Stanley, a minister, civil rights leader, educator, and
community leader, served the Washington, D.C. community for nearly 40 years;

WHEREAS, Rev. Dr. A. Knighton Stanley graduated with top honors from Talladega
College in 1959, earned a Master of Divinity Degree from Yale University and a Doctor of
Ministry degree from Howard University, as well as serving as a Woodrow Wilson and
Rockefeller Fellow;

WHEREAS, Rev. Dr. A. Knighton Stanley was active in the Greensboro, North Carolina
Civil Rights Movement, served as advisor to the local chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality
(“CORE”), a Field Representative for CORE in eastern North Carolina and was appointed to the
first Human Rights Commission of the city of Greensboro, North Carolina, in 1962-63;

WHEREAS, Dr. A. Knighton Stanley joined the faculty and administration of Bennett
College as an instructor in the Humanities and Social Sciences Department, and Director of
Religious life in 1964;

WHEREAS, Rev. Dr. A. Knighton Stanley was first called to Washington in 1968 as the
eighth senior pastor of Peoples’ Congregational United Church of Christ in the Petworth
community;

WHEREAS, Under his leadership, the church became the keystone institution in the
Petworth Community, the congregation’s membership grew three-fold, it was home to the largest
scouting troops in the city, a food pantry that served hundreds of families, a youth group that
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included dozens of youth from the neighborhood and beyond, a credit union, drama and liturgical
dance groups and other community programs for children and adults;

WHEREAS, During his tenure, Peoples Congregational United Church was a cultural
hub for black scholars and activists including Maya Angelou, Desmond Tutu, Andrew Young,
James Baldwin, Shirley Chisolm, and Dorothy Irene Height who donned the pulpit on special
occasions;

WHEREAS, During his tenure, Peoples Church became known for its cultural arts
programs; its scholarship program, which serves church and community; its openness to all as a
community facility, and its efforts to forge new alliances across religious and cultural lines;

WHEREAS, During his tenure, Peoples Church spear-headed conversations between
African Americans and African immigrants and with the Jewish, Islamic and Ethiopian Orthodox
communities;

WHEREAS, Rev. Dr. A. Knighton Stanley served his Denomination in numerous
capacities, including a member of the Committee on Theological Education; a member of the
Council for Christian Social Action; President of Ministers for Racial and Social Justice; a
member of the Board of the Office of Communications, a member of the New Century Hymnal
Committee; a member of the Nominating Committee of the General Synod; a member of the
Large Gifts Committee of the Denomination’s Capital Funds Campaign; a member on the
Church and Ministry Committee of the Potomac Association and as a member of the Board of
Directors of the Central Atlantic Conference of the United Church of Christ and served as a
consultant for the revision of the Book of Worship for the United Church of Christ;

WHEREAS, Dr. A. Knighton Stanley was a teacher and administrator on the post-
secondary level, served as Adjunct Faculty at Howard University School of Divinity, and Chair
of the Board of Trustees of the University of the District of Columbia, and was a member of the
Board of Governors of the Washington Latin School and the Board of Advisors of the Yale
University Divinity School;

WHEREAS, Dr. A. Knighton Stanley was the writer of many articles, former publisher
of “The New American Missionary,” and the author of The Children is Crying, and traveled
extensively in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Caribbean and the Middle East;

WHEREAS, Rev. Dr. A. Knighton Stanley served on the Board of Directors and as Vice
President of Greater Washington Council of Churches, chairman of the District of Columbia
Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, appointed to the Educational
Institution Licensure Commission by Mayor Walter E. Washington, special advisor to Mayor

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Walter Washington on the DC Bicentennial Commission, and served on the Advisory Board of
Industrial Bank of Washington;

WHEREAS, Dr. A. Knighton Stanley served as a member of the Judiciary Nominating
Committee for the District of Columbia Superior Court and Court of Appeals; was the founder
and General Secretary of the Petworth Assembly and a member of the Board of Directors of the
National Interfaith Alliance, as well as the founding President of the Faith Based Community
Action Partnership, an interfaith organization which, in conjunction with the Metropolitan Police
Department and area schools, addresses the needs of children and youth, also serving on the
panel of Religious Advisors to Mayor Anthony Williams; and

WHEREAS, the Council passed the “Rev. A. Knighton Stanley Way Designation Act of
2025”, symbolically designating Iowa Avenue N.W., between Arkansas Avenue, N.W., and 13th
Street, N.W., in Ward 4, as “Rev. A. Knighton Stanley Way”.

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
resolution may be cited as the “Rev. A. Knighton Stanley Recognition Resolution of 2025”.

Sec. 2. The Council of the District of Columbia honors Rev. Dr. A. Knighton Stanley and
his legacy as pastor of Peoples Congregational United Church of Christ for nearly 40 years, for
the occasion of the designation of Iowa Avenue N.W., between Arkansas Avenue, N.W., and
13th Street, N.W., in Ward 4, as “Rev. A. Knighton Stanley Way”.

Sec. 3. This resolution shall take effect immediately.