Pastor Mark E. Blue was born in the City of Buffalo. He joined the United States Air Force Reserve in 1983 and retired in 2003 with the rank of Master Sergeant. During the time of his military service, Blue was employed at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station – 914th Tactical Airlift Group as an Aircraft Propulsion Technician. While employed at the Reserve Base, he also served as a Base Equal Opportunity Employment Counselor and served on the Air Force Reserve Base Human Resource Development Council.
Pastor Blue was called to the pastorate of Second Baptist Church of Lackawanna New York on November 27, 2001. In October 2012, Pastor Blue was elevated to serve as the President of the Baptist Ministers’ Conference of Buffalo and Vicinity, where he is dedicated to the working with pastors and ministers across Western New York. He is also very active in the Lackawanna Ministerial Alliance. He received the Buffalo Citizenship Award for his dedicated work in the community, and he also received the Key to the City of Lackawanna.
Also, in 2012, Pastor Blue was appointed as the President of the Board of Directors of the Lackawanna Chambers of Commerce; a historical event, as he is the first African American to hold the presidency position within the Lackawanna Chamber. Pastor Blue also served on the Overall Policy Committee Chairperson of Head Start program and on the Community Action Organization of Erie County Board.
In October 2016, Pastor Blue was voted in as the President of the Buffalo Branch National Association for the Advancement of Color People (NAACP), subscribing as a Gold Life member. He is currently in his second term as the branch president. In this capacity, Pastor Blue serves on the Erie County Industrial Development Board, the President Advisory Committee of Buffalo State College, the Legal Aid Bureau of Buffalo, Inc. in July 2020 was appointed as a commissioner on the Board of the Niagara Frontier Transit Authority, Appointed by Governor to lead the Vaccine Health Equity Vaccination taskforce for Western New York, and in May of 2021 appointed to the Board of the ECMC and member of the Men In Action Group in Lackawanna NY.
Pastor Blue is the Co-Chair of the Tops May 5-14 massacre survivors fund.
The effort to eradicate hate requires the active participation of every component of our society, to include governments, the private sector, communities of faith and indeed every aspect of civil society. There is no more urgent task in front of us. The organizers of the Eradicate Hate Global Summit are doing the United States and the world an enormous service by tackling hatred and extremism with a focus on honest dialogue and conversation, genuine learning and practical solutions. This will not happen overnight, but the Pittsburgh community’s leadership in this effort is genuinely inspiring and motivating.
