Yale Bulletin and Calendar

September 27, 2002|Volume 31, Number 4

Yale College graduate and New Haven Police Officer Anthony Campbell is currently studying at the Yale Divinity School, where he is pursuing his dream of becoming involved in prison ministry.

'Blessing' of washerwoman's legacy brings
New Haven policeman to Divinity School

New Haven Police Officer Anthony Campbell firmly believes that by extending a helping hand to another person, you not only assist that one person, you bring benefit to everyone connected to him or her, including future generations of descendants.

This semester, Campbell saw that philosophy borne out in his own life when he was awarded a scholarship -- made possible by a small gift to Yale 130 years ago -- that is helping to fund his education at the Divinity School, where he is a first-year student.

Campbell, a 1995 graduate of Yale College, is the latest recipient of the Divinity School's Mary A. Goodman Scholarship, which is named after an African-American washerwoman who in 1872 bequeathed her entire life savings to what was then Yale's Theological Department. She asked that the gift, amounting to nearly $5,000, be used "to educate men of her own color in Yale College for the Gospel ministry."

The way Campbell sees it, Mary Goodman's original act of goodwill over a century ago is still "blessing" people today, and he fully intends to continue her legacy by being a blessing to others.

"I'm struck by the fact that here's this woman who leaves her life savings to Yale 100 years before I was born, and 100-plus years later, here's little me -- a kid from Harlem who wants to get a Master of Divinity degree but couldn't do it if I had to pay out of my own pocket," he says. "In coming to me, her gift makes it possible for me to extend even further what she has done, which is to help and love people."

Specifically, Campbell hopes to work in prison ministry, an interest rooted in his childhood. His mother is a corrections officer in New York City while his late father spent time in prison on more than one occasion for drug-related offenses. Campbell heard stories about prison life from the perspective of both parents, and he also began to notice a pattern in his father's life: Whenever he was in prison, he'd reconnect with his spiritual side and would come out of jail determined to live within the law and to "do right" by his family. Without the structure of prison life, however, his father would ultimately return to his bad habits, Campbell recalls.

"I came to realize that one of the biggest failures of religion is that it doesn't always take account of people's hearts," says the Yale divinity student. "In the case of my father, for example, there was no continuation of the support he got in prison. He was a good man who tried to teach me what is right, and I think that he might have been able to sustain his transformation with the right kind of ministering."

Campbell first began to consider a life in the ministry while he was a high school student at Fordham Preparatory School, and he says he can't help but to think that his choice to pursue that goal at Yale was, in part, divinely ordained.

"Every day while I was at Fordham Prep, I'd see the Metro North train headed for New Haven," he recalls. "Once it became time to choose what college to attend, I was struck by the fact that I stood in front of that train every day. Then, when I discovered that Yale was originally founded to train young people for the clergy and public service, I was convinced it was where I was meant to be."

At Yale, Campbell majored in religious studies and also met his future wife, Stephanie Clarke Campbell '96. The two became actively involved in the Baptist Student Union. Through that group, Campbell made meal deliveries to the homebound and worked during the summer at a Pennsylvania soup kitchen and in an impoverished area of Georgia.

After graduating, Campbell decided to become a New Haven police officer, a career he viewed as a stepping stone to his ultimate goal of prison ministry. He has been in the department since 1998.

"I felt that it was important for me to have the experience of dealing with criminals, and working in the legal system," says the divinity student. "Being a police officer also gives me the unique opportunity to minister to people before they become criminals -- to take aside young people who might be headed for trouble and talk to them about their lives. Or sometimes just to kneel down and comfort them."

In fact, it is not unusual for Campbell to receive letters or telephone calls from New Haven citizens whose lives he has somehow touched, sometimes even from people he has arrested.

"One woman I arrested called me recently and thanked me for allowing her to maintain her dignity," recalls Campbell. "My feeling is that no matter how lowly or guilty you are, you are still a human being, and everyone deserves to be treated with respect."

As a police officer, Campbell works part of the time training new recruits at the New Haven Police Training Academy. When class is not in session, he returns to his nighttime shift as a patrol officer.

"I enjoy being a cop," he says, stressing that in his case, "C-O-P" also stands for "Christian on Patrol."

Campbell is currently taking two courses at the Divinity School -- Robert Wilson's "Old Testament Interpretation" class and Kristen Leslie's "Pastoral Care for Young Adults." As the father of a 13-month-old son, also named Anthony, Campbell wanted to leave some time for his family while adjusting to his new role as a student and balancing his career as a police officer. Next year, however, he hopes to squeeze in a few more courses, with the goal of finishing his degree in four or five years. In the fall, he intends to apply for the joint Master of Divinity/Master of Social Work degree.

Looking to the future, Campbell says he ,can envision himself eventually becoming a pastor, although he does not wish to lead his own church.

"I see myself giving pastoral care to families, to couples and definitely to those in prison, who desperately need help," says the Yale student. "Society is judged by how well it treats its prisoners. Yet they often become forgotten people. They shouldn't be forgotten."

-- By Susan Gonzalez

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