A pastor with Harlem and Bronx roots who calmed religious tensions after 9/11 was sworn in yesterday as President Obama’s ambassador for religious freedom.
The Rev. Suzan Johnson Cook is the first woman and first African-American to hold the post.
Critics questioned whether she was too much Oprah – with a website and nearly a dozen spiritual books – and not enough ambassador.
She said doubters should read her résumé more carefully.
“I have certainly learned to navigate political waters,” Johnson Cook said with a laugh.
She was the first woman to serve as a chaplain for the NYPD, a position she has held since 1990. After 9/11, she helped traumatized police officers and worked with the city’s Muslim leaders.
She had taken religious delegations to Israel, Jordan and Egypt and was the first female senior pastor in the 200-year history of the American Baptist Churches USA.
She founded the Bronx Christian Fellowship Baptist Church in 1996. In 2002, she was the first woman to lead the heavyweight Hampton University Minister’s Conference.
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article courtesy of Newsone.com/nydailynews.com
