Geography and the Environment Colloquium Series

Rooted in Faith: Black Women and Black Religious Geographies of the U.S. South

Priscilla McCutcheon, Ph.D. 

Assistant Professor, Department of Geography, University of Kentucky

This lecture will focus on Black women’s spiritual and religious geographies in the U.S. South. It will do so historically and contemporarily to understand how Black women have used spirituality and religion to inspire their activism but also to make radical change both inside of and outside of religious spaces.

It will first discuss the life, anti-poverty and food work of Fannie Lou Hamer. Her motivation was in part intrinsic and rooted in a radical faith. In fact, Hamer’s liberation work was sometimes a response to inaction that she saw in churches. Importantly, this work was still rooted in faith, but always an active faith.

In the second portion of the talk, will turn to the present day work of Black Protestant church women in the U.S. South who have a distinct definition of the word activism. These are Black women, born during the Civil Rights and Black Power movement, who see the Black church’s mission as one that is clearly meant to meet the basic needs of humanity. Both Fannie Lou Hamer and the Black Protestant church women of today are exhibiting a profound and nuanced definition of Black women’s religious geographies that is based in faith and dreaming, but also meant to serve the realities of the present moment.