John Hurst Adams (1927–2018) was an American preacher, bishop, and civil rights leader whose influential ministry within the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church spanned over five decades, blending spiritual leadership with social activism. Born in Columbia, South Carolina, to Reverend E.A. Adams and Charity Nash Adams, he grew up in a religious household, graduating from Booker T. Washington High School. Adams earned an AB in history from Johnson C. Smith University in 1947, followed by a Bachelor of Sacred Theology (1952) and Master of Sacred Theology (1956) from Boston University School of Theology, where he studied alongside Martin Luther King Jr. His early career included teaching at Payne Theological Seminary, but he soon turned to full-time ministry, marrying Dolly Desselle in 1956, with whom he had three children. Adams’s preaching career took him across the United States, notably as pastor of First AME Church in Seattle from 1962 to 1968, where he emerged as a civil rights leader, chairing the Central Area Civil Rights Committee and co-founding the Central Area Motivation Program, a pioneering anti-poverty initiative. Elected an AME bishop in 1972, he served districts in Texas, Georgia, and South Carolina, and held leadership roles like president of Paul Quinn College (1956–1962) and founder of the Congress of National Black Churches in 1978. A gifted orator, Adams preached racial justice and education, helping establish Simmons College of Kentucky. He died in 2018 in Atlanta, leaving a legacy as a preacher who bridged faith and action, honored with awards like Seattle’s Man of the Year (1964–1965) and numerous honorary degrees.