Rev. Markel Hutchins

The Reverend Markel Hutchins is the visionary behind MovementForward, Inc. (MFI) and the One Congregation One Precinct (OneCOP) initiative. A renowned activist, professional speaker, businessman, and social entrepreneur, he has led countless humanitarian causes over the past two decades. Heeding Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s call to “make a career of humanity,” Hutchins has earned a national reputation advocating fairness and equality. He has held senior leadership positions in numerous organizations and is among the nation’s leading voices on an array of issues including human and civil rights, national politics, social justice, peace, and other matters of public interest. Reverend Hutchins is presently President and CEO of MFI, a modern, inclusive, and bridge-building social change organization, and National Lead Organizer of the OneCOP initiative and National Faith & Blue Weekend.

From 1997 until 2006, Hutchins simultaneously served as National President and CEO of the National Youth Connection (N.Y.C.), Inc., then America’s only young adult-led civil rights group, and as Chairman of the Board of Directors of its research and education fund, the National Youth Challenge, Inc. He was also a one-time congressional candidate and is a well-known figure in the metro-Atlanta community having led many high-profile civil rights efforts, most notably the case of 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston who was killed by Atlanta police in a botched drug raid in 2006 and the case of 18-year-old police shooting victim Corey Ward in 2002. In 2009, Hutchins led more than 100 Atlanta-area church pastors and 25 police chiefs in initiating the “One Church – One Precinct” effort aimed at uniting law enforcement and faith-based communities in addressing crime and violence objectively. Additionally, he has led thousands of participants in some of this region’s largest public demonstrations.

Prior to co-founding MFI in 2015, he was Managing Principal and CEO of MRH-LLC, a management and communications consulting firm that advised corporations, labor unions, small businesses, and religious institutions on matters of diversity, public affairs, and crisis management.