Reverend Dr. Frances Murphy Draper
b.k.a. Pastor Toni
Reverend Dr. Frances Murphy Draper (b.k.a. Pastor Toni) is the visionary and founding pastor of the Freedom Temple African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in Baltimore, Maryland (2002). A native of Baltimore, Dr. Draper was graduated magna cum laud from Morgan State University and has earned masters’ degrees from the Johns Hopkins University (Education), the University of Baltimore (Business Administration), and Loyola College (Pastoral Counseling). She also studied theology at St. Mary’s Seminary and University. In 2006, she received her doctor of ministry degree in preaching and leadership from the United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. Her dissertation title was: “Relationship Theology: A Model for Producing Healthy Marriages in the African American Context”.
In 2016, Dr. Draper published the century-old love letters of her maternal grandparents, Carl and Vashti Turley Murphy. This entertaining and enlightening book, No Ordinary Hook Up, provides an intimate look into 20th century courtships and relationships. Dr. Draper’s first book, Life Happens, but You Can Finish!, co-authored by Dr. Pamela Love Manning, was released in 2014.
Dr. Draper is also the CEO and Publisher of the AFRO-American Newspapers (a publication founded by her great grandfather, John H. Murphy, Sr., in 1892). She served as vice chair of Morgan State University’ Board of Regents (1995-2020), and is currently a board member of the Y of Central Maryland and the National Newspaper Publishers Association. She is on the advisory board for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (Baltimore City) and the Johns Hopkins Institute for Clinical and Translational Research.
For more than 45 years, Dr. Draper has been married to Andre Draper. The couple has four children and 12 grandchildren.
b.k.a. Pastor Toni
Reverend Dr. Frances Murphy Draper (b.k.a. Pastor Toni) is the visionary and founding pastor of the Freedom Temple African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in Baltimore, Maryland (2002). A native of Baltimore, Dr. Draper was graduated magna cum laud from Morgan State University and has earned masters’ degrees from the Johns Hopkins University (Education), the University of Baltimore (Business Administration), and Loyola College (Pastoral Counseling). She also studied theology at St. Mary’s Seminary and University. In 2006, she received her doctor of ministry degree in preaching and leadership from the United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. Her dissertation title was: “Relationship Theology: A Model for Producing Healthy Marriages in the African American Context”.
In 2016, Dr. Draper published the century-old love letters of her maternal grandparents, Carl and Vashti Turley Murphy. This entertaining and enlightening book, No Ordinary Hook Up, provides an intimate look into 20th century courtships and relationships. Dr. Draper’s first book, Life Happens, but You Can Finish!, co-authored by Dr. Pamela Love Manning, was released in 2014.
Dr. Draper is also the CEO and Publisher of the AFRO-American Newspapers (a publication founded by her great grandfather, John H. Murphy, Sr., in 1892). She served as vice chair of Morgan State University’ Board of Regents (1995-2020), and is currently a board member of the Y of Central Maryland and the National Newspaper Publishers Association. She is on the advisory board for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (Baltimore City) and the Johns Hopkins Institute for Clinical and Translational Research.
For more than 45 years, Dr. Draper has been married to Andre Draper. The couple has four children and 12 grandchildren.