Encountering the sacred Black feminine
“God’s social location is nowhere near women or Black people. I had to start looking for an image of the Divine that can speak to that.”
Christena Cleveland is a social psychologist, public theologian, founder and director of the Center for Justice + Renewal, and author of God Is a Black Woman. Cassidy Hall spoke to Cleveland for her podcast Contemplating Now, where a longer version of this conversation can be found.
In God Is a Black Woman, you remind the reader that Christian mystics throughout the centuries have savored the feminine in Christ and affirmed the divine mother working within the person of Jesus Christ. Is it possible for us to get back to those roots in a world doused with White supremacy and patriarchy?
It’s a challenge. The world was simpler for medieval mystics. The trappings of capitalism—which I think is an excellent partner to White supremacy and patriarchy—were not as available to everyone. If you were a low-level monk or nun, access to power was not even a possibility. People looked for power in other ways, such as connection with the Divine—power with rather than power over.
