Rev. Dr. Deborah McGill-Jackson

The Rev. Dr. Deborah McGill-Jackson was born on September 18, 1955, in Chicago, Illinois to  Mr. Harry McGill and Mrs. Lillie Ella Thomas McGill. She and her sister, Ms. Carla Harriet, were raised in Metropolitan Community Church to serve and love the Lord from an early age. A product of the public schools on the Southside of Chicago, she received numerous academic and civic honors upon her graduation from Harlan High School.

Deborah continued her education at Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, earning her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and, also, the degree requirements for the Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. While at Brown, she along with thirteen pioneering women, chartered the Iota Alpha Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated® on May 18, 1974. After Brown, she worked at the Corporate Office on Greenwood Ave. of  Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated®. Later, she pursued legal studies at DePaul University Law School and Indiana University of Law but relinquished those studies upon her acceptance of the call to ministry. While at Indiana University, Bloomington, she married Leslie A. Jackson, Jr. on February 16, 1979, and from this union two children, Leslie and Candacé, would be born. She was licensed by the Second Baptist Church, Bloomington, Indiana by the Rev. Dr. Ernest D. Butler, Pastor, in April of 1979. Her mission in ministry was to be inclusive in bringing souls to Christ and in educating others about His love. Her greatest honor was baptizing both of her children back to the Lord.

Recognizing her ministerial calling was one of preparation, she earned the Master of Divinity (MDiv), with distinction, in Worship and Administration from the School of Theology of Virginia Union University, Richmond, Virginia, Christian Education from the Presbyterian School of Christian Education. Rev. Dr. McGill-Jackson was ordained in January of 1982 by Rev. Dr. Ralph Reavis, Pastor of Riverview Baptist Church in Richmond, Virginia. Her ordination allowed her to fully serve as Chaplain to the Women’s Correctional Center, Goochland, Virginia. Later, her preparation for ministry enabled her to serve numerous churches and related church organizations locally, regionally, and nationally. As a chaplain, Rev. Dr. McGill-Jackson ministered in various settings, including prisons, universities, and hospitals. With both gift and training as a religious educator, she held positions at seven universities, one synagogue, and two seminaries to include: The Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University, Ohef Sholom Temple in Norfolk, VA, Howard University’s School of Divinity, wherein she earned her Doctor of Ministry (DD) degree, with distinction; this distinction is now memorialized and located in the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center’s collection at Howard University. She taught courses in history, the humanities, political science, sociology, English, and world religions.

She was named an “Outstanding Young Woman of America” for two consecutive years. A noted author, educator, and preacher, her sermon, “To Set at Liberty,” was included in the first book of sermons by African American Women titled Those Preachin’ Women, edited by Dr. Ella Pearson Mitchell, and published by Judson Press, and, within its pages, Rev. Dr. Deborah McGill-Jackson demonstrated her pronounced theology and commitment to serve God and His people.

In 2014, during its 100th Anniversary Celebration, the Hampton University Ministers’ Conference (HUMC) honored her as the Women in Ministry Founder. Rev. Dr. Deborah McGill-Jackson, again, was among the trailblazers in women participating in the conference when she was the first woman permitted to participate in a public capacity in 1981. While 8.5 months pregnant with her son, she was asked by the conference’s president, Dr. Perry, to read the scriptures for Rev. Dr. Gardner C. Taylor during the main evening service. It was a historic moment that led to a small group of women advocating for greater visibility and leadership at the conference, which has led to a woman holding its highest office; this honor was bestowed on her by former United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Dr. Suzanne Cook-Johnson, the first president of the HUMC.

Her service as a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated® included membership in Iota Alpha, Xi Omega, and Iota Omega chapters prior to becoming a general member. She served on the program to dedicate the “Founder’s Window” at Rankin Memorial Chapel on the campus of Howard University during the sorority’s 85th year. The last year of her life was filled with three major celebrations to highlight her 50 years of service to her beloved Alpha Kappa Alpha: Brown University’s Black Alumni Weekend in October 2023, the North Atlantic Regional Conference in February 2024, and the Iota Alpha Chapter’s Chartering Anniversary weekend in May 2024. She was given the distinction of being a Golden Soror and received her flowers for being a charter member of the chapter along with her “Fourteen Fine Foxes” line sisters from Spring 1974. She was grateful to share these moments with her daughter, who continued her legacy of love and leadership in the first African American sorority founded in 1908.

Before retiring in 2019, Rev. Dr. Deborah McGill-Jackson served as an Assistant Professor in the College of Education and Continuing Studies and as the Assistant University Chaplain of Memorial Church at Hampton University. She served on the board of the Peninsula Head Start Program, Aberdeen Gardens Historic Foundation, and other academic and civic organizations. Additionally, she spent several years teaching religion and history at Norfolk State University’s History Department and social science courses at Strayer University. Her church affiliations included: First Baptist Church of Hampton, First Baptist Church Bute Street, Second Baptist Church-Los Angeles, Metropolitan Baptist Church-Washington, DC, People’s Congregational Church-Washington, DC, Carver Memorial Presbyterian Church- Newport News, VA, and Liberation Baptist Church-Washington, DC.

She was preceded in death by her parents and her husband of twenty-four years, Leslie Armon Jackson, Jr. Deborah leaves behind to cherish her memory and continue her legacy: her son, Leslie Armon Jackson, III and his wife, Eliaha Sunyet Jackson, and her daughter, Candacé McGill Jackson; granddaughters: Daelah J. B. Jackson, Alexia Y. Jackson, Rayla D. Jackson, and Sunyet Armon Jackson. Her sister, Carla H. McGill Yearby and brother-in-law, Jhon Yearby; her sister-in-law Denitta Nottingham-Jackson; nephews Dominic Nottingham-Jackson and Wynton Elliot Yearby, along with a host of nieces, great-nephews, great-nieces, cousins, godchildren, members of the Order of Eastern Star (OES), sorority sisters, family, and many beloved friends.