ATLANTA (September 16, 2024) —Spelman College’s Dr. Rosetta Ross, professor of philosophy and religious studies, and Georgia State University’s Dr. Monique Moultrie, professor of religious studies, will host a two-day conference, “When We Lead: Black Women’s Spiritual Activism and Social Change Conference,” on Oct. 4 and 5 at the Emory Conference Center Hotel in Atlanta.
The groundbreaking event will bring together scholars, religious leaders, activists and community members to explore the significant impact of Black women’s leadership in religious activism and social justice movements. Attendees can look forward to in-depth discussions, mentoring opportunities and professional development sessions aimed at fostering a deeper understanding of Black women’s spiritual leadership across diverse religious traditions.
“I have been pleased to learn how much I did not know about Black women’s religious leadership across traditions in the United States,” said Dr. Ross. “The research has yielded new knowledge for me about the existence of Black women I had not heard of who are making important contributions.”
The conference is a celebration of Ross and Moultrie’s work on the Garden Initiative for Black Women’s Religious Activism, a three-year project funded by the Henry Luce Foundation. The initiative was established to address the lack of comprehensive documentation and recognition of Black women religious leaders’ contributions to American society.
The Garden Initiative set out with four primary goals: to document and archive Black women’s religious leadership, create a mentoring hub for leaders, expand scholarship on Black women religious leaders beyond Christianity and advance public knowledge about the gendered role of Black religious participation in social justice movements.
Since its inception, the project has made significant strides. The Garden Initiative’s website now includes a comprehensive timeline of Black women’s religious leadership, activism and organizing from the 1800s to the present day. The site also features biographies and resource guides on prominent Black women religious activists such as Coretta Scott King and Harriet Tubman.
“My deepest hope is that people recognize that Black women religious leaders’ contributions have helped shape public life as we endeavor to help the nation be a more just and inclusive society,” said Dr. Moultrie.
A significant reason Ross and Moultrie set out to create the Garden Initiative is because most of the scholarly and popular attention to Black religious leaders, especially the influence of religious leaders in the civil rights movement, has focused on male leadership. Their hope is that this project will help change the public’s perception when it comes to Black religious leadership.
“If the Garden Initiative’s future progress helps people recognize the full impact of the contributions Black women make, then that recognition, for me, will be a significant legacy,” said Dr. Ross.