Meet Bishop Harry L. Seawright, the new leader of AME’s Second Episcopal District

By Tashi McQueen
AFRO Staff Writer
tmcqueen@afro.com

Bishop Harry L. Seawright, 70, is the 133rd elected and consecrated bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, one of the oldest independent Black denominations in the United States.

Seawright was appointed Dec. 12, 2025, to the church’s Second Episcopal District, where he oversees churches and conferences in Baltimore, North Carolina, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and Western North Carolina. The denomination, founded in 1816, has members across 20 Episcopal Districts in 39 countries on five continents.

His return to the district marks a homecoming after more than 35 years as pastor over various churches in the area, including Payne Memorial AME Church in Jessup, Md.; Hemingway Temple AME Church in Washington, D.C. and Union Bethel AME Church in Brandywine, Md. and Temple Hills, Md.

He opened his first annual conference in the district as Bishop March 24 at Empowerment Temple AME in Baltimore and has since presided over gatherings in Washington D.C. and Wilmington, N.C. His next conference is scheduled for May 19–23 in Norfolk, Va.

Seawright was elected bishop in 2016 during the church’s 50th Quadrennial General Conference, becoming only the second bishop elected on the first ballot. From 2016 to 2024, he oversaw the Ninth Episcopal District, which includes Alabama, and later served the Thirteenth Episcopal District, covering Kentucky and Tennessee.

In addition to his episcopal duties, Seawright chairs the AME Commission on Christian Education and served as president of the Council of Bishops from 2019 to 2020.

Born March 16, 1956, in Swansea, S.C., Seawright grew up as the youngest of seven children in a sharecropping family.

“Sharecropping was one step above slavery,” said Bishop Seawright. “We never were able to own anything and my parents always came short at the end of every year. It just made us indebted to the landlord.”

After his father died when he was five, his family was forced off the land and lived in poor-quality housing for years before his mother was able to purchase property and build a home. 

“None of the houses had indoor plumbing or running water or accessibility to an indoor bathroom,” said Seawright. 

Seawright began working at the young age of 6, taking on farm labor such as picking cotton, peas, beans and cutting wood. From age 14, he worked a series of jobs including sorting laundry, serving as a nurse aide and loading trucks, to support him throughout high school and four years of college.

Seawright has a bachelor’s in Business Administration from Benedict College in Columbia, S.C. and a Master of Divinity degree from Howard University School of Divinity in Washington, D.C.

Seawright, a fourth-generation AME member, began his faith journey at Prodigal AME Church in his hometown and entered ministry leadership in college, a path he said felt natural.

“When I went to college, I got involved in the Student Christian Association,” he said. “Then I spoke in the chapel, led a prayer, and it became so natural that I went to my pastor and said I thought I had been called to preach, and it just started like that.”

After Seawright completed his studies at Howard University, he received his first pastoral appointment in 1981. He went on to pastor three churches over the course of his ministry, serving one for two years, another for three years and the third for 30 years.

His work has centered on social action and economic development, with a focus on helping individuals secure jobs and build stability.

“My greater theme in my ministry has been to enable, encourage and empower people,” said Seawright.

That mission continues to shape his leadership across the district, where he now oversees multiple conferences and congregations.

His grandson, Cameron Seawright, said the bishop’s leadership has had a lasting impact on those around him.

“As his grandson, I have had the unique privilege of witnessing Bishop Harry L. Seawright not only as a leader, but as a man of deep faith, integrity and compassion,” he said. “His years of service in the African Methodist Episcopal Church and his commitment to uplifting the Black community continue to inspire me and so many others. His leadership is both impactful and ongoing, and his legacy is still being written through the lives he touches every day.”

Bishop Seawright plans to dedicate his final six years of service as Bishop to economic development and community empowerment before reaching the AME Church’s mandatory retirement age of 75. 

However, because the church requires bishops to retire at a general conference and the next one following his 75th birthday is not scheduled until 2032, he is expected to remain in active ministry through age 76.

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