Black Christian Women Break Silence on Facing Sexism and Racism in Church

Black Christian women revealed their own heartbreaking experiences on Twitter after observing that a popular hashtag about the negativity Christian women face was mostly centered on White women.

Most of the women who tweeted under #ThingsOnlyChristianWomenHear hashtag are white.#ThingsBlackChristianWomenHear would make everyone weep.

— M.DivA (@sista_theology) April 21, 2017

Ironically, the hashtag for #ThingsOnlyBlackChristianWomenHear seems to have started with a man attempting to introduce African-American women’s experiences into the #ThingsOnlyChristianWomenHear discussion started by author Sarah Bessey.

Propaganda, a hip-hop and spoken word artist, suggested to Bessey that there was plenty to be said of #ThingsOnlyBlackChristianWomenHear.

https://twitter.com/prophiphop/status/854547701840531457

Propaganda then followed up with his first tweet on the subject, writing: “Girl just wait for your Boaz” (along with the hashtag).

It was unclear if Bessey followed through with her response to Propaganda that she would “retweet the heck out of that” conversation. However, another user, identified as PinkLady404, attempted to help carry on the conversation.

"It wasn't wrong for Christians to have slaves. They had slaves in the Bible."#ThingsOnlyBlackChristianWomenHear

— Pink Lady (@pinklady404) April 21, 2017

Pretty soon, several Black women were chiming in, adding their own perspectives and experiences with sexism and racism (misogynoir) in the church, with a similar hasthtag apparently started by @sista_theology — #ThingsBlackChristianWomenHear — eventually thrown into the conversation.

Unlike the #ThingsOnlyChristianWomenHear Twitter discussion involving mostly White women, the Twitter conversations specifically tied to the Black Christian woman experience did not get much attention outside of the social network. For example, the Religion News Service, Premier Christianity, Christians for Biblical Equality, Relevant magazine, Patheos and churchleaders.com all published stories on the conversation White Christian women were having about the negative things they often hear from other Christians.

Below are a few revealing tweets from the Twitter conversation Black Christian women led about their experiences, followed by four articles that might contextualize their remarks.

Y'all so bossy
You won't get a husband with your hair like that#ThingsOnlyBlackChristianWomenHear

— jurrita (@jurritawilliams) April 21, 2017

Hearing sermons about being slow to speak when someone gets shot, but being told to speak for the unborn. #ThingsOnlyBlackChristianWomenHear

— Ally Quaranhenny (@thearmchaircom) April 22, 2017

I love you but I can't speak out against my racist friends' attacks against you b/c I'd lose my platform. #ThingsOnlyBlackChristianWomenHear

— M.DivA (@sista_theology) April 21, 2017

We paid *insert male celeb pastors name* thousands of dollars so we can't pay you,but you'll get exposure #ThingsOnlyBlackChristianWomenHear

— M.DivA (@sista_theology) April 21, 2017

https://twitter.com/DelaineTheBrain/status/855842782912688129

I was pleasantly surprised at how well spoken you were on stage. You're different from the other ones #ThingsBlackChristianWomenHear

— ILESHA GRAHAM (@cocospeaks) April 23, 2017

We heard your concerns about diversity. Heres a Black cis-het man to talk over you and take your ideas. #ThingsOnlyBlackChristianWomenHear pic.twitter.com/6HCVYhPsVK

— Optimus Fine (@sunnydaejones) April 22, 2017

Further reading:

The Legacy of Women in the Black Church (Christianity Today)

Do Black Women Matter to the Black Church? (Dissent Magazine)

Let’s Talk About Sexism in the Black Church (Huffington Post)

Black women are among country’s most religious groups (Washington Post)