Conrad Bennette Tillard Sr. is an American activist, minister, father, adjunct professor, and radio host.
Tillard has been a critical force in New York City activism for 34 years. Conrad was born in St. Louis and raised in Washington, D.C., and is a graduate of Francis L. Cardozo High School. A proud District 25 resident for more than 20 years, Tillard understands acutely that our communities need stable, dependable leadership. His history of activism and community leadership make him the only choice for this seat.
Rev. Jesse Jackson’s 1984 presidential campaign galvanized Tillard into activism as a student at the University of Pennsylvania. The years 1986-1988 saw him lead the effort to organize the national Student Unity Conference and Congress, which hosted leaders like Kwame Touré, Rev. Jesse Jackson, and Robert L. Woodson.
At 26 years old, Tillard became the presiding minister at Mosque #7 in Harlem, which Malcolm X ran 30 years earlier. While at Mosque #7 he worked to bridge the gap between faith groups, communities, and young people throughout New York City. After leaving Mosque #7, he started A Movement for CHHANGE (CHHANGE) in 1998, which used conscious hip hop activism to bridge the gap between local and national politics and the hip hop community. Through CHHANGE, Tillard and his team helped register tens of thousands of young people around the country to vote. Issuing the quote “Hands that once scratched turntables will one day pick a president,” Tillard forecasted the Obama Coalition, the multi-racial hip hop coalition that helped elect America’s first Black president.
In the early 2000s Tillard returned to the faith of his youth and was licensed and ordained as a Baptist minister at the renowned Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem. Shortly thereafter, Tillard became the Senior Minister at the Nazarene Congregational United Church of Christ in Bedford Stuyvesant, where he served for many years. While at Nazarene, Conrad elevated the neighborhood’s cultural and community issues into a tenet of his ministry, welcoming leaders like the Harvard Law Professor Charles Ogletree, Dick Gregory, NAACP President Ben Jealous, and others to address the congregation. One of the highlights of his ministry at Nazarene was to serve on the community advisory board of the historic Boys and Girls High School, after being appointed to the board by then City Councilmember Al Vann.
After his tenure at Nazarene, he became the Senior Minister at Flatbush Tompkins Congregational Church. While at Flatbush Tompkins Congregational, he helped to make sure members’ needs were met at both spiritual and community levels, leading the congregation through a global pandemic.
Tillard believes education is critical to improving one’s life circumstances. He is a two-time PTA President, a current board member at his son’s independent school, and the proud father of children who have attended both public and private schools in New York City. His children are graduates of the Historically Black Howard and Fisk Universities, with his eldest son now a part of the entertainment industry in Los Angeles.
In addition to the University of Pennsylvania, Tillard also holds degrees from Union Theological Seminary and Princeton Theological Seminary. He also attended Harvard Divinity School and the John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Tillard currently serves as an adjunct professor in the Black Studies Department at The City College of New York, where he instructs students on the social impact of Hip Hop, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Black Power Movement. Tillard was awarded Instructor of the Year for exceptional teaching and service to the Black Studies program for the 2020-2021 school year. He has been featured in films like Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes (2006), Digging for Weldon Irvine (2017) and Storm Over Brooklyn (2020), and is working on his autobiography, In My Father's House: The Spiritual and Political Memoir of the Man Once Known as the Hip Hop Minister. He is also the host of “Conversations with Conrad,” which airs Sundays at 6pm on WHCR 90.3 FM (he is on hiatus during the campaign).
Tillard understands that the issues his community deals with daily can only be helped through consistent, common-sense leadership, designed to create a district that works for everyone. His commitment to homeowners is the same as his commitment to tenants, understanding that affordable, quality housing is important for a vibrant, diverse community. He believes that residents also have a right to family-sustaining jobs, and that they deserve to live with dignity in safe communities. Tillard also believes that living with dignity extends to ensuring that families have educational options for their children, and are able to choose what works best for them.
His commitment to the community is proven, and he stands ready to create the change that’s needed to ensure residents have a vibrant, authentic voice in the Brooklyn neighborhoods they call home.
Tillard is proud to have raised his family in Brooklyn and remains actively engaged in civic and community life.
