Dr. Robert Jones, Founder and President of the Public Religious Research Institute and a native of Jackson, Miss, will be the guest speaker at USM's 2022 Sam Barefield Lecture. Dr. Jones’ talk will be based on his book White Too Long: Disentangling Christianity from White Supremacy.

Dr. Jones and the PRRI conduct nonpartisan research on issues at the intersection of religion, culture, and public policy. He is often sought for his expert analysis as a widely respected scholar and public commentator. He has been featured on major media outlets like NBC, CNN,  The Washington Post, and The New York Times.

The Barefield Lecture, supported by the Barefield Foundation and USM President Emeritus Dr. Aubrey K. Lucas, honors the late Sam Barefield, who served as director of the USM Wesley Foundation in the 1950s.