James is currently the State President of the Georgia NAACP. A native of Riverdale, Georgia and an alumnus of Georgia Southern University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a minor in Religious Studies. He is in his final year at the Morehouse School of Religion pursuing a Master of Divinity from the Interdenominational Theological Center. He also is an 8-year veteran of the United States Army, having served as an Intelligence Analyst.
He ran for State Representative in 2016 and also served on the State Committee of the Democratic Party of Georgia and State Vice President of the Georgia Clients Council. He also served as the Deputy Campaign Manager for Francys Johnson for Congress [GA12] and has served as the legislative aide to State Representative Miriam Paris [HD142-Macon] for three years in the Georgia General Assembly. He also sits on the Georgia Chamber’s Board of Directors.
Major is a Gold-Life member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. He has served as its State President of the Georgia Youth & College Division, Vice President of its Bulloch County branch and State Chairman of the Young Adults Committee. He graduated in December 2018 as an inaugural member of the Next Gen Program, a national NAACP leadership co-hort.
Woodall is a minister of the gospel. He is an Associate Minister at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Marietta, Georgia where Rev. Sammie J. Dow is the Pastor. He has been named to Georgia Southern’s “40 under 40,” and “Alumnus of the Year” in 2020 and was named an 2021 #Atlanta500 Leader by Atlanta Magazine while being a 2020 Fellow in the Civil Society Fellowship of the ADL and the Aspen Institute.
Rev. James Woodall is a public theologian, an activist, a student and most importantly, a prisoner of hope. He is guided by the words of the prophet in Zechariah 9:12, “Return to your fortress, you prisoners of hope. Today I declare that I will restore double to you.” And in these days of challenge and adversity, he believes in the beauty of this moment to make America a better nation.