A.J. Walton is currently a Ph.D. student in Theology, Ethics, and Culture in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Virginia. He concentrates in Christian theological ethics, with particular interests in racial identity, lived theology, and ecclesiology. A native of Gates, North Carolina, he holds a BA in journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (go Tar Heels!) and a Masters of Divinity from Duke Divinity School. While pursuing his doctorate, he also works as the director of food justice at Metro Baptist Church and Rauschenbusch Metro Ministries in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of New York City. In his free time, he enjoys catching up with friends over drinks and exploring everything the city has to offer, which, much to his chagrin, does not include sweet tea.