A Reflection on Black Womanhood Throughout History

Throughout my time learning about African American History in America, I have had the opportunity to deeply explore the area surrounding the history of black women, specifically black women in Christianity. I was graciously able to attend a talk led by author Candice Marie Benbow about her book, Red Lip Theology, in which I learned on a personal level about black Christian womanhood in today’s society. In addition to this, I was able to learn about the history of this topic through our text, Freedom On My Mind, as well as the novels We are Your Sisters, written by Dorothy Sterling and The Cross and the Lynching Tree, written by James H. Cone. I have come to the conclusion through these resources that there is power in black Christian womanhood which extends back through history and has become a source of unwavering community, empathetic understanding, and compassionate love for black women today. 

To give a brief introduction to our speaker, Candice Marie Benbow is a multi-generational theologian whose main focuses include black beauty, faith, feminism, and culture. Benbow says that “faith can be a tool of liberation and transformation for women and girls.” She also shared with us a piece of advice that her mother gave her: “Have a library card and a voter registration card because then you can change your life and the lives of those around you.”

Women, especially black women, are often left out of conversations regarding faith and leadership in the church. They are seldom mentioned and even more seldom honored. This is quite surprising as black women are the most spiritual demographic in the United States. James Cone shares that “every black male minister knows that he would have no church without the women who make up more than 80 percent of the membership” (Cone, 143).

Christianity made its debut in the African American community during the time of slavery, in the early 1800’s. While slave owners encouraged their enslaved people to adopt the religion of Christianity, the black community decided to do so in their own way. They created Invisible Churches in which they “stressed the equality of all men under God, drawing on the Bible as inspiration for spirituals that expressed slaves’ own humanity, capacity for freedom, and hope of justice for an oppressed people” (Freedom On My Mind: “Slave Religion”, 369). As these churches developed into the later 1800’s,  “men dominated church leadership, but women constituted most of the members and regular attendees and did most of what was called church work. Women gave and raised money, taught Sunday school, ran women’s auxiliaries, welcomed visitors, and led social welfare programs for the needy, sick, and elderly.” (Freedom On My Mind: “Church and Community,” 529). 

These practices hold true into modern times. People don’t know black women of faith and they have often been pushed out of the discourse of what it means to create spiritually thriving communities. Black women are resilient: Sterling shares that her “white neighbors, caught up in the feminine mystique, were decorating cakes and hooking rugs to conceal their longing for meaningful occupations, while these black women were juggling work, family, and community responsibilities with extraordinary grace and self-possession.” Black women have been faced with immense responsibility, yet have handled it with elegance. In the church, “women formed organizations where they were leaders.” In the public, “While men talked, women walked and got things done. Although the civil rights movement was headed primarily by male leaders…, there never would have been a black freedom movement without the courageous work of  women” (Cone, 173-174).

Beginning by giving a background into her childhood, Benbow told us all how she was raised in the church by a mother who gave birth to her out of wedlock. Her mother was expected to go up in front of the church and apologize for this sin, but she refused to do so. Her mother believed that it was necessary to push against sexist notions to apologize because her sin was visible. The father was not expected to apologize although he committed the same sin.  For centuries, black women have been seen as “belonging to the ‘inferior’ sex of an ‘inferior’ race” (Sterling, xiii). As a black woman, Benbow’s mom showed her that she can push against the social norms and did not have to live as an inferior group although characterized that way. 

Another of the sexist notions imposed upon black Christian women is that they are expected to be prim and proper. However, Benbow loved the “hip hop” type culture and enjoyed listening and dancing to this music. In antislavery societies during the slavery times, “no one’s curtains were as starched, gloves as white, or behavior as correct as black women’s” (Sterling, xvii). To be a black woman in the church is similar. These women are expected to be perfect representations of “what a woman should be,” when they are really just humans with interests and hobbies and imperfections. 

Benbow had a fire behind her and a curiosity to learn everything, but often the questions that she wanted to ask did not fit into this proper standard that was placed on black women by the church. However, her mother did not want the church to restrain her from exploring and learning all that she had questions about. Rather than placing a restriction on her daughter, her mother would make her write her questions down before asking them in public and if they were not appropriate for the situation, she would answer it later in private. The way that Benbow’s mother encouraged exploration rather than forcing her daughter to conform to the expectations of black women in the church seems to be one of the things that created confidence and high spirit in her daughter. Benbow reveals that she came to this work of being an author and sharing her stories because of a mother who gave her the space to ask questions. 

“There is something powerful about black womanhood,” Benbow says. For many years, black women have bore a heavy weight in society and have had to wear a mask. Benbow says that Red Lip Theology is about the moment when the mask came off for her and she realized that she had a community of women who loved her and could really feel her. The book is Benbow’s truth about women who deeply love God and are deeply faithful. Sterling reflects on her relationship with black women in her life when she says: “I had always accepted the liberal shibboleth of the day: black women were just like whites, except that their skins were darker. Later I realized that this was untrue. The strengths and skills that black women were forced to develop had been transmitted to their descendants. My black friends were different because their history and culture were different” (Sterling, xix). Black women have a strong faith because of their history and culture. 

Benbow addresses those who are non-black and consider themselves to be allies. She encourages people to seriously interrogate their faith systems and to reflect on what they believe and why. What people believe for themselves should leave room for others to be their freest selves, not restrict them to fitting into a mold made by those who have oppressed them. “While white women were hampered by the bonds of ‘true womanhood’ and told that their sphere was the home, the black woman was enslaved” (Sterling, xiv). This is true in a literal and metaphorical sense. During the times of slavery, white women were working in the home while black women were enslaved. Now, white women have their place in society whether it is in their homes or in the workplace, but black women still have a stigma that enslaves them. 

To end her talk, Benbow says that we owe it to the future generations to keep making demands of our faith and our god and our church, to keep asking questions, and to keep journeying to hard answers.

One question that really stood out to me after Benbow finished her talk was about when she prays and how she addresses God. Benbow said that she removes pronouns for God for restored faith because “he/him” or “she/her” is too common for God. This to me is a profound display of faith because it shows that Benbow’s conception of God is greater than the human sphere. She says that tears are prayers and a laugh is the most beautiful form of prayer in a moment. This has stuck with me since the talk. Benbow’s display of faith has affirmed to me the claim that she made earlier, that black women are amongst the most faithful demographic in America.

This program is significant to our understanding of African American History because it shows the amazing faith of the black community and helped us to dive deep into the struggles and successes of black women. Through this talk, I learned about the extensive sense of community that resides between black women that resulted from their history and their roots. As Benbow preaches: “Quest for knowledge is its own reward.”

Works Cited

Benbow, Candice Marie. Lecture on her book, Red Lip Theology. February 27, 2023.

Cone, James H. The Cross and the Lynching Tree. Orbis Books, 2022. 

Sterling, Dorothy. “Introduction.” We Are Your Sisters, W.W. Norton, New York, New York, 1984, pp. ix-xix. 

White, Deborah G., et al. Freedom on My Mind: A History of African Americans, with Documents. Bedford/St. Martins, 2021. 

Black History at USD – The Struggles Black Men Face in Education

Mikaela Tucker

Throughout American history, we’ve seen how the education system favors certain groups of people and fails others. At the start of public education in the United States, it catered to wealthy White families who had male children. The kids privileged enough to get an education were often White boys because it was seen as not a necessary thing for girls to have an education. Later on White girls were allowed the same opportunities as White boys but were treated differently in the classroom setting, such as being expected to behave “properly” and “polite” while their male counterparts were not expected to do the same things. Black children were much later allowed to gain an education in the same schools as White children but the marginalization continued. “The desegregation of schools,…, fell squarely on the shoulders of girls” who faced violence, threats, and continuous harassment (White, Ch. 14). When Black boys were introduced to the public education system, they didn’t face the same challenges as their female counterparts but faced their own set of challenges and struggles. They were looked down upon and not expected to thrive or want to do well, and this is exactly what Dr. Brooms talked about experiencing. Dr. Derrick Brooms (pictured on the top right) is a professor of African American Studies, Women’s History, Africana Studies and Sociology at the University of Tennessee. Dr. Brooms grew up on the south side of Chicago and says that this shaped his view of the world because the neighborhood he grew up in was a hyper segregated community putting him on a trajectory that he couldn’t necessarily control. While trying to find his own sense of identity and understand his own life he found the answers in Africana Studies. Dr. Brooms believes that there isn’t a homogeneous Black community and wants to use his own background and studies to take away the comparison of Black and White education. He faced so much adversity through his educational years due to his identity as a Black man and wants to put an end to the disparities in education based on gender and race. There were, and still are, preconceived notions that young Black men don’t care about their education. Society didn’t give young Black men a fighting chance in education and there are structures in place that continue to set them up for failure and little is being done to address this issue. Equal opportunities and fair treatment of Black men in education is a continuous fight to break the cycle of society continuing to fail young Black men in the education system due to harmful stereotypes placed on them dating back to the very beginning of this country and in order to accomplish such, two major things need to be addressed; proper scholarship opportunities and opportunities to seek help.

Scholarships for college education often have a minimum grade point average that needs to be maintained in order to keep the scholarship. They also tend to not cover all of the students’ costs in order to attend college. With these terms and conditions surrounding scholarships, students who cannot pay the difference out of pocket are digging themselves into a hole that they may never get out of. In today’s society it is often required to have a college education from a respectable college in order to get a well paying job. In order to get said education, you typically have to shell out tens of thousands of dollars which the average person cannot do without the help of student loans. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, 77% of Black students attending a university took out loans in order to pay for their schooling compared to the 54% of White students who took out loans. This statistic shows the disparities between Black and White college students and how the lack of scholarship disproportionately affects Black students. Dr. Brooms stated that he believes a federal solution is needed in order to combat the inevitable debt that Black students are going to put themselves in in order to receive a college education. He proposed that this federal solution could come from lower interest rates and increasing the number of federal grants available as opposed to loans. There is another struggle with scholarships that Dr. Brooms addresses and that is how it is difficult for Black male students to maintain the set grade point average due to a plethora of things that White students don’t inherently face. He says that there “is a lot to prove being a Black man on a university campus” and the weight can feel crushing. Dr. Brooms spoke from his own experience with how he faced a lack of encouragement from his professors and was even told he was going to fail. He said “[he] was only praised for his athletic achievements” rather than his educational ones. When you aren’t being supported by professors, peers, etc. it is hard to get the proper help to thrive in class. Now although a set standard is necessary for receiving and maintaining a scholarship, there needs to be a way to do so that will allow all students to benefit from it. 

Being in college, you cannot be afraid to ask for help. In order to succeed in your studies you have to ask questions, be willing to be wrong, and seek out your professors for additional help. This tends to be easy for some and very difficult for others. When you are conditioned to never ask for help and to never be vulnerable, these things are going to be hard. Society has created a dynamic between men and women that men are not allowed to be “emotional” or “vulnerable” because it is weak, and that women are “too emotional” or “too vulnerable”. This harmful dynamic causes internalization that men cannot ask for help because it is seen as being vulnerable and this causes a “I can do it myself” mentality. This mentality sets you up for failure in a college environment because you truly cannot do it yourself. According to a study done by John Ogbu, Black students tend to underperform, in comparison to their White counterparts, due to “national and local mainstream white society”, meaning perceived notions of how Black students will perform, and beliefs and behaviors from within the Black community itself (Ogbu, Ch. 1). This goes along with what Dr. Brooms had indicated, saying that “young Black men are socialized to not ask for help” and that “[their] vulnerability can be weaponized against [them]”. Within the Black community, parents and other custodial figures are implementing ideas that can subconsciously cause failure in school. When something is so engraved into you, it becomes difficult to reverse those ideas. Young Black men cannot be expected to reverse generational beliefs on their own. In order to reverse this mentality Dr. Brooms suggests that professors need to create a safe space where students can get to know each other and the professor. By doing this, you are allowing the students to make connections with their peers and you are allowing them to see it is okay to let people know you for you. If you allow people to open up during a set time it doesn’t create an added pressure of having to be the one to reach out. The student can realize that you are willing to make an effort so they should too. By creating an environment where all students feel like they can get the help they need, it will allow them to succeed in their college careers. 

Creating methods that will allow for the success of Black men in the educational system is vital to the disruption of stereotypes that have been in place in our society for decades. Understanding history is understanding how what happened in the past led society to where it stands today. With acknowledgement and understanding of Dr. Brooms’ lecture, the text Freedom on My Mind and Black American Students in an Affluent Suburb, we can understand how the history of African Americans led to the current struggles Black men face in education. 

Works Cited (MLA 9)

In Class Source: White, Deborah G., et al. Freedom on My Mind: A History of African Americans, with Documents. Bedford/St. Martins, 2021. 

External Sources: Ogbu, John U. Black American Students in an Affluent Suburb: A Study of Academic Disengagement. Routledge, 2009. 

“Indicator 22: Financial Aid.” National Center for Educational Statistics, Feb. 2019, nces.ed.gov

Confidence: the feeling needed to accomplish the impossible. Throughout her life, Dr. Mae Jemison trusted in the power of confidence in order to accomplish scientific greatness. On March 29, I had the opportunity to hear about her greatness and all the baby steps that came along with it during an interview hosted by the Black Student Union and The Society of Black Engineers here at the University of San Diego. Through the interview, Jemison shows what can happen when oppression both racially and gender-wise is challenged and the success that can be achieved when Black people but more specifically Black women are allowed to thrive in their chosen career paths.

Dr. Jemison accomplished many great things in her career. At the young age of 16, she attended Stanford University to pursue a degree in Chemical Engineering. During her time there, Chemical Engineering was an extremely white male dominated profession and being the strong young black woman she was, no one had faith in her. Many professors encouraged her to switch her major to Biology so she could become a nurse but Jemison had bigger aspirations than that. When she went to school, the major we know today as Biomedical Engineering didn’t exist yet; so instead Jemison decided to make this major on her own. Upon graduation she made the decision to attend medical school at Cornell University so she could challenge herself and prove she was as strong as she knew she was.

During her time in New York, Jemison worked hard as a medical student but also continued to pursue her love for dance. She grew up doing professional dance and continued this passion during her college years and had the opportunity to become a professional dancer and join a company. At this point, Jemison had a decision to make and decided science was the path her life needed to continue on because dance will always be a hobby she can pursue but becoming a biomedical engineer and taking care of people was her calling during this time. Medical school taught her a great deal and she ended up finishing but didn’t go in the normal path most would. Jemison had a very strong urge to travel abroad so she joined the Peace Corp. She served in Liberia and Sierra Leone from 1983-1985. There she was able to gain more knowledge by working in an impoverished country and learning to adapt with little to no supplies. Upon returning to the states, Jemison had one more thing that she wanted to accomplish. She wanted to go to space. Jemison applied to the NASA astronaut program and was one of 2 women accepted and the first ever African American woman accepted. She worked as a mission specialist on her mission in 1992. In the later parts of her career she found that the reason she was chosen over every other applicant was due to the diversity in her career and mainly the time in the peace corps showed the committee she had resilience and was built for space.

Dr. Jemison’s accomplishments are examples about why the freedom to pursue a career is necessary. During the time that she lived in, it was common for a woman to have to stay at home with the kids and not be given the chance to work. This idea of unequal treatment reminded me of a quote from Freedom On My Mind. “It looks like … a male-dominated world…. Somehow the male comes up and gets the attention. Others seem to just respect male leadership more. I think the men have always had the edge.(pg. 843)” Thelma Glass, one of the members of the Women’s Political Council during the Civil Rights Movement stated this powerful quote to describe the struggles that women were facing and how they will never truly gain the respect they deserve. Jemison had many instances where men achieved the upper edge simply because they were a man but it never stopped her from working. During the interview, she shared this anecdote from her times in college when a professor discouraged her multiple times from pursuing her dreams of both medical school and a degree with chemical engineering. He stated over and over again about how being a doctor was a “man’s work” and that she should work in an easier field such as a nurse. This conversation was a driving force for Jemison’s career choices and was the flame that guided her to scientific greatness.

Dr. Jemison pursuing her chosen career path has allowed for significant scientific advancements that are contributing to the economic state of our country. In 2011, Dr. Jemison earned a grant for a project called “100 year starship”. The mission of this project is to be able to figure out a way that we can travel outside of our galaxy and explore what is beyond. As stated directly in the mission statement, “The challenge of traveling to another star system could generate transformative activities, knowledge, and technologies that would dramatically benefit every nation on Earth in the near term and years to come.” As stated, this project is serving two purposes: advancements in space exploration for the future and a common ground for nations to come together. Space exploration has always been seen as a competition between countries instead of a solution for peace. Jemison’s project however is something that is embarking on untouched territory and can be a chance for a solution of peace between countries at war. Exploring what is beyond our galaxy could benefit the economy by opening up potential solutions to problems plaguing our world such as the damage to the environment. It is still unknown if there are other inhabitable planets for humans in other galaxies and this project is working to find out if there is a planet and if this solution is found then it opens up avenues for not just the United States but every country. With this incentive, the importance of countries working together to research solutions to help further this project is extremely important. This incentive also capitalizes on a solution for peace because countries at war can’t agree. This common ground could help ease tensions and flourish into a relationship that can develop trade and other economic incentives that benefit each country equally.

In conclusion, Jemison’s trailblazing actions and being able to challenge racial and gender standards made history in not only women’s history but primarily African American women’s history. The future she paved for African American women is something that wouldn’t have happened without faith in a dream. During an interview with MUSAU, Jemison stated “The best way to make dreams come true is to wake up.” This quote I feel sums up her interview perfectly and is something I plan on implementing especially in my college journey. So many young students such as myself enter college without a single clue on what they want to do. We all have passions and aspirations but they are often shut down and turned away by the expectation of the real world that in order to be successful you need to have a good-paying job that will support a family. This stigma needs to be broken and instead confidence in dreams should be encouraged and supported. As the old saying goes, if you do what you love you’ll never work a day in your life and this is an important lesson I learned. Jemison did what she loved everyday and had the confidence that her love would be enough to not only accomplish greatness but make history and redefine standards. Mae Jemison should forever be remembered for her contributions to space exploration and is an inspiration to every woman with a dream.

Tiffany Lethabo King, a PhD associate professor of women, gender, and sexuality studies at the University of Virginia, spoke of reimagining Black memorials and “Black land” in America. In the beginning of her speech, King recounts an important event that unlocked her curiosity and concern about Black people’s relationship with the land. In 1997, King and a friend discovered an imprint of two fingers in the brick of a University of Virginia building. These prints belonged to an enslaved Black person. At this moment, King truly realized that she was standing on plantation ground. Current studies rely heavily on viewing labor as a visual image of a bent down body with strained muscles to determine the Black Body’s relationship to the New World. King hopes to change the reimagining of the Black Body as forms of space in process rather than human producers. This ‘space’ allows us to reflect on the relationships Black people have to not only the land but also plants, objects, and non-human life forms. 

Freedom on My Mind explains this viewing of enslaved Black people as “human producers” during the time of forced labor as chattel slavery. African slaves were seen as movable personal property that were legally equivalent to domestic animals and furniture. They had no legal authority over their own children. Thus, it is easy to say that White slave owners viewed enslaved Black people as a business rather than human beings. To White slave owners, Black labor poured into our land wasn’t done by humans but by machines. To White slave owners, Black labor was not appreciated now connected to the Black people. That land was White land. Tiffany King heavily stressed the importance of the valorization of Black labor. This was a big motivation as to why so many Black people resisted colonization in the 1800s. The American Colonization Society (ACS) was a movement that contained White clergymen and politicians. Both White anti- and pro-slavery supporters were in favor of Black colonization. They supported the migration of freeborn Black people and emancipated enslaved Blacks outside of the USA. However, many Black people resisted colonization because they had no immediate ties to the lands outside of America. They felt tied to American land through their ancestors’ work. They believed that if America was anyone’s nation, it was theirs. They deserve the right to access and benefit from the fruits of their labor. And it’s true – Black people built this country. King desires to bring liberation of Black people as well as all those oppressed, such as the Indigenous peoples and return the land to the decolonized commons. One way King suggests we combat this is by having Black and Indigenous people work together in harmony. Black people were forced to work on stolen land of the Indigenous and, although they are different groups, they have a shared history. Both being victims of colonization, Blacks and all oppressed groups deserve justice. 

Working in harmony is not only seen as a possible solution to these injustices but also something that was done all throughout African American history. Even seen from the very beginning on the slave ships, the film ‘Roots’ showed how Africans being shipped to America had no one but each other. Many spoke different languages, so it was difficult to communicate. But, through each other’s presence and will to fight, they remained strong. In a way, they were almost forced to work together. Black people were also in harmony as a form of resistance. They created their own culture mixed with customs from Africa and customs from the New World. They created a world within a world by working together as a team. They created Gullah Geechee which was a language developed in the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida, and the Sea Islands where they labored in the rice plantations. They created new rituals and embraced Christianity in a different way from the colonials. King suggests we do a similar thing to bring liberation and return land to the oppressed. We must work together despite our differences to truly make a change for the better. Like discussed in class, Black nationalism can be used as a leading practice and strategy such as having Black pride and therefore unity. 

During her speech, King showed a video of a timeline of events that happened over the years in or around the University of Virginia. One event that stood out to me was an attack on a twelve-year-old enslaved girl by three students in a field next to the school. This theme of violence was always present and continues to be present today. In 1800, Virginia plotted a rebellion and White Virginians responded with violence and harm to ensure that enslaved Blacks were scared. They had hoped to suppress their freedom and force Black people to abide by their policies. If not, they would be punished. The Black Reconstruction, in the mid-1800s, started to fall as White redemption arose. Much of this defeat was due to the rise of mob violence such as the Ku Klux Klan in 1865 as well as lynching and terrorism. In an attempt to stay alive, Black people had no other choice but to be violent. Even cops who weren’t to be trusted. They often even joined in on White violence. Martin Luther King Jr. argued against using violence with violence in his speech at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, but after a bomb exploded in Birmingham’s Sixteenth Street Baptist Church that killed 4 Black girls, Black people wanted justice and many desired to fight back. It is quite interesting to see how Black people have this reputation of being violent, when White people were the ones to start the violence from the beginning. 

It is one thing to know that the land we live on has a history filled with violence, discrimination, and hatred. But it is another to do something about it. Tiffany King speaks of Black Fungibility in her paper, The Labor of (Re)reading Plantation Landscapes Fungible(ly). She mentions the term “plantation futures” with a hopeful approach to Black fungibility to “recognize the violence of plantation and its afterlife while simultaneously acknowledging the ongoing capacity for the making and remaking of Black life in the midst of plantation violence … [while also having the] capacity to transform conditions of subjection” (King, Tiffany 2016). Tiffany King gives us great advice on how we can work together to bring liberation to the oppressed, recognize the past violence on our land, and bring the land back to the decolonized commons. In order to do so, King believes that the capitalist state apparatus and its systems of control must be dismantled; this means dismantling the police forces and prison-industrial complex, state surveillance and repressive apparatus, and the US military. 

King ends her presentation on the forces at work today that are striving to accomplish these changes mentioned in the previous paragraph. Examples of corporations set up are the Native American Student Association, the Black Student Union, and the Indigenous Feminist Futures Institute to Reimagine Black and Indigenous Space, Peoples, and Relations. In North Carolina, there is the Medicine Bowl, which is a hub for healing that aims to help mend Black and Indigenous peoples’ relationship with the land and help liberate these people and the history behind them. 

All in all, attending this event has brought me greater knowledge about the history of our land and the things we must do to bring justice and liberation to those greatly affected by the violence and discrimination, namely the Black and indigenous peoples. Together, we have moved towards a better world but nonetheless have a far way to go. With these associations and their movement towards reconciliation, love, equality, liberty, and justice, we may just be able to get to where we both want and need to be.

Medicine Bowl’s Mission

A Black and Indigenous led land-based plan for liberation located in the Green Mountains of Western North Carolina. The corporation is made up of organizers, farmers, medicine people, and land stewards hoping to flourish, feed, and build houses for the community. 

Citations

White, Deborah G., et al. Freedom on My Mind: A History of African Americans, with Documents. Bedford/St. Martins, 2021. 

“Roots.” Films, Inc., 1977. 

The Labor of (Re)Reading Plantation Landscapes Fungible(Ly). https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/anti.12227. 

“Who We Are.” Medicine Bowl, https://www.medicinebowl.org/who-we-are. 

“Medicine Bowl.” Medicine Bowl, https://www.medicinebowl.org/. 

African American History Blog

            While attending the University of San Diego, my classmates and I have had the privilege to learn more about the history of African Americans through a variety of sources. My class titled “African American History” has taught me a tremendous amount about the long and storied journey Black Americans have had both before and after their arrival in America. To gain a deeper understanding of African American culture and history, my classmates and I were tasked with attending a selected program that would further our knowledge about Black life in America. The program I chose to attend was Dr. Candice Marie Benbow’s speech about her book titled “Red Lip Theology”. During the speech, Ms. Benbow sparked a dialogue about what it means to be both a black woman in America and a person of faith. She discusses the social constructs America has placed on Black women and the importance of having a voice and embracing self-love. Similar Black theologies have been seen throughout African American history. The book “Freedom on My Mind: A History of African Americans with Documents” captures specific moments throughout history that relate to the concepts explored by Dr. Benbow. Both the program conducted by Candice Marie and the class literature share impactful stories and information about Black theology, specifically ideas of voice and self-love which has elevated my understanding of African American history.

To better understand the concepts shared in “Red Lip Theology” it’s important to understand the background of the speaker. Candice Marie Benbow is a Black theologian who focuses her attention on beauty, faith, womanhood, and culture. Growing up, Candice was surrounded by religion and spirituality because her mother was a member of their local Church. During her presentation, she told the story of when her mother got pregnant while being a member of the Church. Her mother was forced to apologize to the church for getting pregnant because she was a single woman. However, her mother refused to apologize due to the sexist nature of the situation, that single women should be forced to apologize for getting pregnant and not the single men who impregnate them. This story instilled strong feminist ideas within Candice from a very young age. Her mother purposefully raised Candice with principles of both the church and feminism alike and strongly encouraged her to ask questions no matter how uncomfortable. This allowed Candice to create her own personal identity and lens through which she can interpret the world, rather than being told by society what she should be as a Black female. She grounds her faith in the teachings of Jesus, her ancestors, and black womanhood which has allowed her to push the bounds of societal norms. She shares many important theological principles in her book “Red Lip Theology”, rooted in the philosophies of what it means to be a Black woman in America.

Candice began her presentation by discussing why she felt the need to write this book. She talked about how she felt left out of the religious discourse in this country because of her sex, a trend that black women have fought against for decades. She stated, “People don’t know black women of faith because we have been pushed out of the discourse… yet black women remain the most religious demographic in America”. She also discussed how “Black women are often left out of conversations when we are thinking about… black and religious leaders”. This led her to the creation of this book, a chance to generate a discourse that Black women can use to gain various perspectives and get their voices heard. There have been numerous instances in history where Black women have struggled to get their voices heard similar to what Candice discussed.  Chapter 14 of “Freedom on My Mind” discusses a historic moment in American history and how Black female leaders were excluded from this event. The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963 was one of the most important moments in Civil Rights history, with 250,000 black and white Americans gathering on the National Mall in Washington D.C. Many prominent religious figures and Black leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. appeared and gave speeches at this event, however not a single Black female leader was invited to talk at this event. The chapter states, “Male leaders incurred the wrath of black women when not one woman was invited to participate in the planning of the march or to give a major speech” (867). While this important Civil Rights moment was used to achieve Black liberation and equality, the entire Black female demographic and their leaders were excluded from talking, spreading ideas, and creating an impact during this event(montblanc meisterstuck 149). Candice Marie has used her platform and novel to alter this course of history, encouraging Black women to share their thoughts and ideas and allowing men the opportunity to listen. These principles of black womanhood and voice have furthered my understanding of African American history, allowing me to better visualize the struggle black women have faced to get their own voices heard in both the Black community and throughout the political and social landscape of America.

Another major component of African American history I learned both in class and during this program was the representation of Black women throughout history and the degradation they’ve experienced in America. Moments of sexual exploitation of Black female bodies can be traced back as early as the Middle Passage during the slave trade. Chapter 3 of “Freedom on My Mind” discusses this exploitation, stating “it was common for the dirty filthy sailors to take African women and lie upon their bodies” (124). Other instances of exploitation can be seen with slave masters’ treatment of female slaves, which is constant in Chapter 6 of “Freedom on My Mind”. When discussing infant deaths during childbirth, the chapter states “Such losses were psychologically devastating for slave women, whose numerous pregnancies and miscarriages often took place under conditions that could be lethal to their own health” (372). Moments like this reflect the dehumanization of the Black female and how they were viewed as nothing more than physical bodies that could be exploited. The history of Black female exploitation is prevalent throughout this country’s history which has had long-standing negative effects on the African American community. Candice Marie uses her platform to change this historical notion and promote self-love and acceptance for Black females. She discusses the importance of “taking off the mask” that black women place on themselves to fit society’s standards for black women and embracing being in their own skin. Candice was quoted in her speech saying “We are sexual and sensual and smart and kind. We got to Beyonce concerts and bible studies”. This quote reflects her beliefs that black women should feel comfortable in their bodies, embracing their sexuality while also valuing their moral and spiritual beliefs. She also discusses the lack of support that Black females have received from the church. She stated, “We all owe it to our religious institutions to say, as black women that we deserve sermons who care about us… talk about a god who loves us and likes us”. Candice placed heavy emphasis on this idea because she believes that Black women are attempting to “live into fullness that sometimes gets robbed in patriarchy and church”. Using “Red Lip Theology” and her background as a progressive Christian, Candice Marie is changing the way people view the church in relation to Black womanhood and rallies for support to embrace Black females as the beautiful, strong beings they are. These stories of sexual exploitation and lack of support from the church have changed my understanding of African American history. Previously, I had only heard stories of male Black leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. and W.E.B. DuBois. Now I understand that female Black Americans have struggled and continue to struggle to gain the respect and voice that their male counterparts have. This was eye-opening for me to learn and changed the way I think about and evaluate Black history.

The aspects of Black theology shared so far throughout this blog are not mutually exclusive to the lectures I’ve learned in class and the presentation made by Candice Marie Benbow. The academic journal titled “The Will to Adorn: Beyond Self-Surveillance, toward a Womanist Ethic of Redemptive Self-love” by Melanie C. Jones shares another historical example of Black women fighting the degradation of their bodies. The article writes how in the 1920s black women hid aspects of their personal lives and sexual identities to protect themselves from being stereotyped or even raped. The article discusses how Black churchwomen would wear floor-length Victorian-style makeshift dresses and avoid bright-colored clothing to uphold their moral virtue. Melanie C. Jones even states that “fashion, styling, and dress became strategic tactics for early twentieth-century Black churchwomen to “look back” (hooks, Lorde) and thus combat sexual degradation and exploitation by covering their bodies in efforts to display their moral virtue” (8). The exploitation of Black female bodies has been a constant throughout their history in America, however, Black women have taken numerous actions to fight these stereotypes and gain moral respect from the rest of the nation. These actions are yet another example of African Americans altering their everyday lives as an act of progress for the black freedom struggle. The quote further explores the ideas shared by Dr. Benbow that African American women need to question the behaviors of the church rather than blindly accepting sexist behavior. In the words of Candie Marie Benbow herself, “Our silence is a level of complacency”. This philosophy of silence as complacency has been one of the greatest takeaways I’ve learned throughout my exploration of African American history. Had Black people remained silent and complacent with the oppression and horrors that surround them, change may never have been made. This resilience is what makes African American history so awe-inspiring to learn and explore.

When learning about African American history, writers and theologians like Candice Marie Benbow continue to change how people view and interpret the experiences of Black Americans. The lens through which we can evaluate, and change society is shaped by those willing enough to question the constructs that have been set in place for hundreds of years. Advocating for Black females is one way in which Black leaders like Candice Marie are changing history, moving away from the oppression and marginalization of the past. Remaining resilient has been the most pivotal factor that has led to the continued growth of the Black community. Recognizing and learning about the long and storied history of African Americans is one way in which individuals can take power into their own hands, deciding for themselves how others should be understood and treated. As the world continues to evolve, knowledge, understanding, and resilience are one way in which the human race can strive for a more equitable society.

Works Cited

Benbow, Candice Marie. Red Lip Theology: For Church Girls Who’ve Considered Tithing to the Beauty Supply Store When Sunday Morning Isn’t Enough. Convergent Books, 2022.

Jones, Melanie C. “The Will to Adorn: Beyond Self-Surveillance, Toward a Womanist Ethic of Redemptive Self-Love.” Login, https://eds-p-ebscohost-com.sandiego.idm.oclc.org/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=0&sid=1004cd6f-1622-4219-80c9-905f89f777f1%40redis.

White, Deborah G., et al. Freedom on My Mind a History of African Americans, with Documents. Bedford/St. Martins, 2021.