Boise Kimber

Boise Kimber (born February 9, 1959) is an American Baptist minister and civil rights activist. He is the pastor of First Calvary Baptist churches in New Haven and Hartford, Connecticut.

In Connecticut, Kimber has been described as one of the “powerful players within the black community”. Locally, Kimber is President Emeritus of the Greater New Haven Clergy Association, a consultant to the office of Multicultural Affairs and the Multicultural Center at Southern Connecticut State University, a Fire Commissioner for the City of New Haven, a Director for Aids Interfaith Network, Inc., an advisor to local labor unions, and a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity.

Nationally, he serves as Director of Rev Al Sharpton’s National Action Network, Inc., the Conference of National Black Churches, and as Executive Director of the Social Justice Initiative.

Kimber formerly served as the Chairman of the New Haven Fire Commission, where he was embroiled in controversy after the union head accused him making racist comments. After Kimber stepped down from leadership, long-serving New Haven Mayor John DeStefano, Jr., who appointed Kimber, said he was “pleased that he acknowledged that they were inappropriate and demonstrated real leadership by not letting his leadership as head of the commission become an issue."

Kimber is president of the Connecticut Missionary Baptist State Convention, and in 2013 was a candidate for president of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., the nation’s oldest and largest African-American religious group. While addressing the Louisiana Missionary Baptist State Convention (LMBSC) in November 2013, Kimber said,

“We must speak for those who cannot speak for themselves, for those who are disenfranchised… we must have a voice… When was the last time you heard this convention talk about anything that was wrong in our world? We said nothing about Trayvon Martin; we said nothing about the (federal government) shutdown. We said nothing about gay and lesbian marriages." Kimber was later endorsed by LMBSC President C.S. Gordon Jr.

...
Wikipedia