Skip to main content
Duke University Libraries
DukeSpace Scholarship by Duke Authors
  • Login
  • Ask
  • Menu
  • Login
  • Ask a Librarian
  • Search & Find
  • Using the Library
  • Research Support
  • Course Support
  • Libraries
  • About
View Item 
  •   DukeSpace
  • Theses and Dissertations
  • Divinity School
  • View Item
  •   DukeSpace
  • Theses and Dissertations
  • Divinity School
  • View Item
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

“All We Had Was God and Each Other”: How the Transformational Leadership of Black Clergywomen Disrupts Male Dominance and Patriarchal Normativity in the Black Church

Thumbnail
View / Download
832.0 Kb
Date
2022
Author
Jennings, Kaiya M
Advisor
Goatley, David E
Repository Usage Stats
192
views
178
downloads
Abstract

Despite the significant contributions made by African American women since the Black Church's founding, titles like pastor, bishop, and reverend for centuries have been freely awarded to men while being restricted to women. The leadership of black clergywomen in these roles traditionally held by men helps to challenge the stereotypes of what it means to be a leader. Black clergywomen's contributions to religious institutions like the Black Church are frequently only remembered through the prism of deconstruction. In an effort to not only deconstruct but also reconstruct the church into a more equitable organization, this study explores how the ministries of black clergywomen from the early 19th to the late 20th century undermine male domination and patriarchal normativity within Christianity. Using memoirs, interviews, sermons, and lectures, assumes that black clergywomen's transformative leadership is disruptive epistemologically, politically, and anthropologically. This study will demonstrate how different leadership avenues were altered or established as a result of the experiences of these African American preaching women by evaluating their lives and ministerial work. This essay intends to demonstrate how black clergywomen's ministries challenge orthodox beliefs, rituals, and theologies, opening up new avenues of leadership for themselves and others.

Description
Dissertation
Type
Dissertation
Department
Duke Divinity School
Subject
Religion
African American studies
Black studies
African American Women
Black Church
Black Clergywomen
Black Women
Disruption
Women Preachers
Permalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/25624
Citation
Jennings, Kaiya M (2022). “All We Had Was God and Each Other”: How the Transformational Leadership of Black Clergywomen Disrupts Male Dominance and Patriarchal Normativity in the Black Church. Dissertation, Duke University. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/25624.
Collections
  • Divinity School
More Info
Show full item record

Works are deposited here by their authors, and represent their research and opinions, not that of Duke University. Some materials and descriptions may include offensive content. More info

Related items

Showing items related by title, author, creator, and subject.

  • Thumbnail

    Black Mosaic: Expanding Contours of Black Identity and Black Politics 

    Watts, Candis S. (2011)
    The increasing ethnic diversity among Black people in the United States is growing at a near exponential rate due to the migration of Afro-Caribbean, Afro-Latino, and African immigrants to the United States. This study is ...
  • Thumbnail

    Explorations of Black Health in America: The Effects of Trust on Health Care Utilization between U.S.-Born Black Americans and Black Foreign-Born African Immigrants 

    Ezem, Natalie (2022-04)
    Historically, those that identify with the African diaspora have had a complicated and understudied relationship with the United States medical system. Available literature makes generalizations related to different populations ...
  • Thumbnail

    Fast Tailed Girls: An Inquiry into Black Girlhood, Black Womanhood, and the Politics of Sexuality 

    Parker, Adriana (2018-04-22)

Make Your Work Available Here

How to Deposit

Browse

All of DukeSpaceCommunities & CollectionsAuthorsTitlesTypesBy Issue DateDepartmentsAffiliations of Duke Author(s)SubjectsBy Submit DateThis CollectionAuthorsTitlesTypesBy Issue DateDepartmentsAffiliations of Duke Author(s)SubjectsBy Submit Date

My Account

LoginRegister

Statistics

View Usage Statistics
Duke University Libraries

Contact Us

411 Chapel Drive
Durham, NC 27708
(919) 660-5870
Perkins Library Service Desk

Digital Repositories at Duke

  • Report a problem with the repositories
  • About digital repositories at Duke
  • Accessibility Policy
  • Deaccession and DMCA Takedown Policy

TwitterFacebookYouTubeFlickrInstagramBlogs

Sign Up for Our Newsletter
  • Re-use & Attribution / Privacy
  • Harmful Language Statement
  • Support the Libraries
Duke University