Rev. Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook Premieres Documentary on Black Women in Ministry
News related to:Rev. Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook · 2 min read
NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, September 29, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- Rev. Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook, known as "America’s Chaplain," has spent 45 years at the intersection of faith, leadership, and public life, breaking barriers and making history. Her journey began when she was appointed as the first female NYPD chaplain, serving for 21 years. Johnson Cook also became the first woman elected president of the historic Hampton University Ministers’ Conference, marking a significant milestone in her career.
As the 2026 midterm elections heat up and America marks 25 years since the September 11 attacks, Johnson Cook is bringing a national conversation about Black women, faith, leadership, and power to the screen with the October 15 premiere of Silent No More: The R.E.A.L. BWIM Story in Harlem. The documentary captures the stories of Black women ministers, highlighting their experiences of calling, rejection, isolation, advancement, mentorship, and sisterhood. One minister shares that she ran from her calling for approximately 20 years because she did not want to face "the woman question." Others recall being rejected or not recognized as preachers because they were women.
Johnson Cook's experience as a trailblazer is deeply rooted in her own journey. When she answered her call to ministry more than four decades ago, women faced significant barriers to being recognized as ministers. Many women had to preach from the floor if they were invited to preach at all, and many were put down and ostracized. Influential male ministers supported her, signed her ordination certificate, attended her installation, and helped open doors often closed to women.
This belief led Johnson Cook to create the R.E.A.L. Black Women in Ministry Initiative, connecting established Black women ministers with emerging leaders through mentorship, professional development, and access. Women featured in the documentary describe moving from isolation to sisterhood and from mentees to mentors, while some who once questioned whether they would ever pastor are now leading congregations.
The documentary Silent No More: The R.E.A.L. BWIM Story premieres Thursday, October 15 at Canaan Baptist Church of Christ, 132 W. 116th Street in Harlem, as part of the October 15-16 Global Black Women of Faith Celebration. The celebration concludes October 16 with the TUSH Trailblazers & Unsung She-Roes Awards and Community Champions Gala at the Alhambra Ballroom.
For Johnson Cook, bringing the documentary to Harlem is also a homecoming. Born in Harlem and raised in Harlem and the Bronx, she is the daughter of Southern sharecroppers who migrated north, became civil servants, and built a family business. Her path ultimately stretched from Harlem to Ground Zero, the White House, and the global stage.
Johnson Cook's commitment to opening doors is part of a larger philosophy she calls "Faith on the Front Lines." Her own front lines have stretched from Harlem pulpits to Ground Zero, the White House, and global diplomacy. As an NYPD chaplain, she was called to Ground Zero on September 11, 2001, spending the weeks that followed supporting first responders and families through rescue, recovery, and funerals.
Her work on the front lines later expanded globally. As U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, Johnson Cook served as a principal adviser to the President and Secretary of State on religious freedom worldwide.