Departure From Black Liberation Theology
The Departure From Black Liberation Theology. Womanist theologians do not completely depart from the major views seen in black liberation theology. In fact, it is impossible to understand the role of Christ for the black female without examining black liberation theology and The Black Church. Womanist theology both expands and challenges methodologies used in black liberation theology. Black liberation theology arose out of the Black Power Movement. Black liberation theology’s goal is to expand the possibilities for black people. James H. Cone, regarded as the founder of black liberation theology, issued provocative arguments against white supremacy and stated that Christianity as he knew it was incapable of speaking or relating to black people. Cone argued that Christianity was drawn from the experiences of the white
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oppressor, and rendered it incapable of speaking to the experiences of the oppressed. In Cone’s essay “Christ in Black Theology” he states, “If Christ is to have any meaning for [black people], he must leave the security of the suburbs by joining black people in their condition” (Cone 199). Womanist theologians affirm black liberation theology’s claim that blacks are oppressed by white supremacy. Also, similar to the contextual approach from other liberation theologies, womanist theologians take seriously the use of the black experience as the source for doing theology. Although, Cone’s argument that God must identify with the downtrodden of the earth, raises the question of several omissions in the theology, specifically, the silence on sexism in black communities. While black liberation theology spoke out against oppression outside of the black community it failed to speak against the oppression of sexism within the black community. Kelly Brown Douglas, notes that “black women began to note the exclusion of black women’s experience in black theology” (qtd. in Schroer, and Bietenhard 24). In the essay “Black Women and the Churches: Triple Jeopardy”, Theressa Hoover states, “There is little to no mention of black women in accounts of any black church or black theology” (Hoover 377). In Jacquelyn Grant’s essay, “Black Theology and The Black Woman”, Grant criticizes the patriarchal culture of the Black Church. Grant states: Black men have accepted without question the patriarchal structures of the White society as normative for the Black community…Black women have been invisible in theology because theological scholarship has not been a part of the women’s sphere. (Grant “Black Theology” 421)
This issue became a prevalent topic in womanist theology, and one that womanist theologians will not let rest. Jacquelyn Grant asserts that black women “have to keep the issue of sexism ‘going’ in the Black Community, in the Black Church, and in Black Theology until it is elicited. To do otherwise means that [black women] will be pushed aside until eternity” (Grant “Black Theology” 431). The fight against sexism both within and outside of the black community is a similar to the concern held by feminist theologians, regarding sexism in the Christian Church. In the examination of womanist theology, it is impossible to disregard the connection womanist theology has to feminist theology. Both liberation theologies speak out against the oppression of women, thus sharing a similar quest for justice. The question then arises, why was there a need for womanist theology’s departure from feminist theology?
The Departure From Feminist Theology. Feminist theology’s primary concern is the liberation of women. For feminist theologians the the task of reconstructing Christology key to the liberation of women. While, feminist theology has contributed an important critique on the sexist limitations in Christology, the theology itself has its own limitations. In White Women’s Christ and Black Women’s Jesus, Jacquelyn Grant praises feminist theology for its its quest towards ending oppression; yet at the same time Grant notes the theology’s limitations in light of what black women experience. Grant argues that by feminist theology’s referral to the “women’s experience” is only a referral to the white women’s experience. Grant maintains that white women’s and black women’s experiences are not the same. Grant offers a comparative look at the black women’s experience compared to the white women’s experience during slavery and after slavery. History shows that white women were as much a participant in the brutality administered to slaves as the masters themselves. After the abolition of slavery it would be impossible to look at the experience of black women and white women in equal manner. Grant writes, “For many Black people, emancipation meant slavery without chains” (Grant 197). Grant argues that since white women have defined the feminist theological movement they have wrongly named themselves feminists. Grant goes on to say that by naming themselves as feminists they are acting as the oppressor. Grant states: To misname themselves as “feminists” who appeal to “women’s experience” is to do what oppressors always do; it is to define the rules and then solicit others to play the game. It is to presume a commonality with oppressed women themselves do not share. (Grant “White Women’s Christ” 200)
Here, Grant’s idea expresses the issue many womanist theologians took with feminist theology. In Sisters in Wilderness, Delores Williams also examines the differences between feminist theology and womanist theology. Williams examines, one experience of the black female that feminist theology fails to address. For example, the image of the Virgin Mary as pure, innocent, and obedient does not have the same appeal for black women as it does for white culture, especially males. Williams writes that, “Black women were construed by white social mythology to be loose, immoral, incapable of either innocence or purity” (Williams “Sisters in” 180). Williams challenges feminists to open up the question of what being a woman actually means. Though, as is learned from Grant the answer cannot come solely from white feminists, it must come from women of all colors for feminist theology to properly inform the perspective of the women’s experience.
THE BLACK FEMALE’S RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS As previously mentioned, womanist theology is done with tripartite oppression at the forefront of womanist theologians’ thoughts. Black women are oppressed by the racism of white supremacy; they are oppressed by the sexism present both within and outside of the black community; and as a result of the aforementioned forms of oppression black women make up a higher percentage of the poor and working class3, thus resulting in classism. Womanist theology must achieve what other North American liberation theologies have failed to do for black women, that is define the black female’s relationship with Christ in light of the tripartite oppression. In order to understand the significance of Jesus in womanist theology, it is important to understand the black female’s experience with religion from slavery to present day. Throughout history it is revealed that black Christian women used the Bible as a primary source for understanding their relationship with God (Grant “White Women’s Christ” 195). In Identity Crisis in Black Theology, Cecil Wayne Cone explains that though the black woman’s relationship with God proceeded their introduction to the Bible, the Bible provided black women with context for their God-consciousness. Delores Williams also discovered that the black community traditionally used biblical appropriation in their self-understanding and understanding of God’s relation to their life. One biblical appropriation that speaks specifically to black women is the story of the female slave of African descent who was forced to be a surrogate mother, reproducing a child for her slave master because the slave master’s wife was barren. The story of Hagar closely relates to the narratives of African-American slaves. Black women throughout history have related to Hagar’s story, and used it to create meaning in their own relationship with God (Williams “Sister in” 9). According to Williams, from the time of slavery to present day black women used the bible to make sense of their own oppression. Womanist theologians believe that in terms of Jesus, black women identified with Jesus because they believed Jesus identified with them. Specifically, black women were able to identify with Jesus’ suffering. According to Grant, Jesus was crucified on the cross, black women were metaphorically crucified through rape and abuse (Grant “White Women’s Christ” 212). The above understanding of what Jesus means in the community of black women has allowed womanist theologians to understand how womanist theology should portray the black female’s relationship with Christ. For example, Grant focuses on the humanity of Jesus because black women identify with and are inspired by Jesus. Grant argues that the maleness of Jesus is not an issue. Grant writes, “If Jesus Christ were a Savior of men then it is true the maleness of Christ would be paramount. But if Christ is Savior of all, then it is the humanity— the wholeness— of Christ which is significant” (qtd. by Coleman 15) . Grant references black liberation theology’s view that Jesus identifies with the lowliest of the low; and she therefore draws similarities between black women’s suffering and Jesus’ suffering. In White Women’s Christ Black Women’s Jesus, Grant extends black liberation theology’s argument that Jesus Christ was black to say that Christ is also a black woman (Grant “White Women’s Christ” 217). Kelly Brown Douglas’ womanist view expands on Grant’s idea that Jesus was a black woman. Brown takes a different approach to explaining the black female’s relationship with Christ, in that she does not focus of the experience of oppression but rather the struggle against oppression. For Douglas, Christ is “found where Black people, men as well as women, are struggling to bring the entire Black community to wholeness” (qtd. by Coleman 19). In The Black Christ Douglas states that wholeness means the freedom from racism, sexism, classism, and heterosexism. Douglas also says that blacks must not only identify with Jesus, but they must imitate Jesus’ prophetic role of challenging oppression both within and outside of the black community (Coleman 19). Delores S.
Williams emphasizes a contrasting view from the previous theologians for the black female’s relationship with Jesus. Williams rejects Jesus as a surrogate for humankind’s sins. Williams takes issue with the idea of surrogacy. Williams’ reference to the surrogate mother Hagar acting as a model for black women, means that black women should not accept Jesus as a surrogate. Williams argues that Jesus on the cross should not be a model for black women. Williams writes, “If black women accept this idea of redemption, can they not also passively accept the exploitation that surrogacy brings?” (Williams “Sister in” 162). In rejecting the cross, Williams instead focusses on the vision that was offered by Jesus through his ministry as presented in the Synoptic Gospels. For example, the moral guidance as shown through the beatitudes and parables. In Sisters in the Wilderness Williams explains that her womanist perspective focuses on the idea of vision. This vision extends past liberation from oppression and into a way of life. Williams argues that black females should strive to look towards Jesus’ ministry as a model for living their
lives. Karen Baker-Fletcher affirms all of the womanist perspectives mentioned above. Though, Baker-Fletcher extends their ideas to include the natural world in her understanding of the black woman’s relationship with Christ. For example, in Dancing with God Baker-Fletcher gives the example of Jesus being lynched on the cross. The cross, or tree as Baker-Fletcher calls it, acts as a symbol for blacks, because just as Jesus was crucified on a tree blacks were lynched on trees (Baker-Fletcher 128). Baker-Fletcher goes on to say that just as the lives of African-American freedom fighters is are sacred Jesus is sacred as well; both give hope for future generations to struggle for justice. Baker-Fletcher writes: Jesus’ ministry of resistance against evil and his empowerment of others involved the real risks of political persecution, character assassination, and even death. The cross must not be forgotten because such persecution is a possible consequence of standing up for what is morally right. (qtd. Coleman 29)
Baker-Fletcher goes on to compare Jesus’ sustaining qualities with the sustaining qualities of the earth. She states: Without the life-sustaining warmth of the sun, the quenching power of rain, the oxygen the air provides, there wold be no hope for the physical sustenance of the bodies that enflesh our spirits. The entire cosmos, then is engaged in God’s activity of providing resources for survival and wholeness. (qtd. Coleman 29)
Here, Baker-Fletcher says that not only is Jesus found in the faces of black women, but in nature itself. Baker-Fletcher also says that for black women Jesus should be thought of as an ancestor. Drawing of the Pan-African theologians and African traditional religious understandings of Jesus, Baker-Fletcher argues that Jesus’ death cannot erase the significance of Jesus’ life. In discussing the African ancestral tradition she states: According to certain African cosmologies, the ancestors, which contemporary African Americans too often disremember, live on through ‘children, relatives, rituals of remembrance, and significant deeds. (qtd. Coleman 31)
Baker-Fletcher argues that black women must remember their African ancestors of the past and Jesus, the greatest ancestor, in order to inform their present and future ways of living. While there are many additional works from womanist theologians, the perspectives presented above represent the range of views taken by various womanist theologians. The central theme for womanist theology is that a black woman’s relationship with Jesus Christ comes from their ability to identify with Jesus’ suffering and their shared similarities. For womanist theologians black females must embrace the vision that Jesus provided simply by living His life. Drawing from black women’s past and cultural experiences womanist theologians have presented ways for how black women can use their relationship with Jesus to overcome oppression and live a fulfilling life.
CONCLUSION
By providing the context behind womanist theology and the womanist perspective on Christology, this paper provided the womanist view for the black female’s relationship with Christ in light of the racism, sexism, and classism black women experience. This paper acknowledged the flaws in black liberation theology and feminist theology that led to the development of womanist theology; however, it would be remiss to not acknowledge that womanist theology has errors itself. Going forward, just as womanist theology critiqued the errors in other North American liberation theologies it should critique the errors in its own theology. Modern day womanist theologians should continue to look for ways in which their epistemology fails to address issues of religious pluralism, sexual differences, and globalization. Just as womanist theology created a space for black women in the United States; by drawing on the universal experience of women of color it should seek to create a space in Christology for all women of color around the world.
Notes
Alice Walker, In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens: Womanist Prose (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1983), xi Womanist 1. From womanish. (Opp. Of “girlish,” i.e., frivolous, irresponsible, not serious.) A black feminist or feminist of color. From the black folk expression of mothers to female children, “You acting womanish,” i.e., like a woman. Usually referring to outrageous, audacious, courageous or willful behavior. Wanting to know more and in greater depth than is considered “good” for one. Interested in grown-up doings. Acting grown up. Being grown up. Interchangeable with another black folk expression: “you trying to be grown.” Responsible. In charge. Serious. 2. Also: A woman who loves other women, sexually and/or nonsexually. Appreciates and prefers women’s culture, women’s emotional flexibility (values tears as natural counterbalance of laughter), and women’s strength. Sometimes loves individual men, sexually and/or nonsexually. Committed to survival and wholeness of entire people, male and female. Not a separatist, except periodically, for health. Traditionally universalist, as in: “Mama, why are we brown, pink, and yellow, and our cousins are white, beige, and black? Ans.: “Well, you know the colored race is just like a flower garden, with every color flower represented.” Traditionally capable, as in: “Mama, I’m walking to Canada and I’m taking you and a bunch of other slaves with me.” Reply: “It wouldn’t be the first time.” 3. Loves music. Loves dance. Loves the moon. Loves the Spirit. Loves love and food and roundness. Loves struggle. Loves the folk. Loves herself. Regardless. 4. Womanist is to feminist as purple to lavender.
oppressor, and rendered it incapable of speaking to the experiences of the oppressed. In Cone’s essay “Christ in Black Theology” he states, “If Christ is to have any meaning for [black people], he must leave the security of the suburbs by joining black people in their condition” (Cone 199). Womanist theologians affirm black liberation theology’s claim that blacks are oppressed by white supremacy. Also, similar to the contextual approach from other liberation theologies, womanist theologians take seriously the use of the black experience as the source for doing theology. Although, Cone’s argument that God must identify with the downtrodden of the earth, raises the question of several omissions in the theology, specifically, the silence on sexism in black communities. While black liberation theology spoke out against oppression outside of the black community it failed to speak against the oppression of sexism within the black community. Kelly Brown Douglas, notes that “black women began to note the exclusion of black women’s experience in black theology” (qtd. in Schroer, and Bietenhard 24). In the essay “Black Women and the Churches: Triple Jeopardy”, Theressa Hoover states, “There is little to no mention of black women in accounts of any black church or black theology” (Hoover 377). In Jacquelyn Grant’s essay, “Black Theology and The Black Woman”, Grant criticizes the patriarchal culture of the Black Church. Grant states: Black men have accepted without question the patriarchal structures of the White society as normative for the Black community…Black women have been invisible in theology because theological scholarship has not been a part of the women’s sphere. (Grant “Black Theology” 421)
This issue became a prevalent topic in womanist theology, and one that womanist theologians will not let rest. Jacquelyn Grant asserts that black women “have to keep the issue of sexism ‘going’ in the Black Community, in the Black Church, and in Black Theology until it is elicited. To do otherwise means that [black women] will be pushed aside until eternity” (Grant “Black Theology” 431). The fight against sexism both within and outside of the black community is a similar to the concern held by feminist theologians, regarding sexism in the Christian Church. In the examination of womanist theology, it is impossible to disregard the connection womanist theology has to feminist theology. Both liberation theologies speak out against the oppression of women, thus sharing a similar quest for justice. The question then arises, why was there a need for womanist theology’s departure from feminist theology?
The Departure From Feminist Theology. Feminist theology’s primary concern is the liberation of women. For feminist theologians the the task of reconstructing Christology key to the liberation of women. While, feminist theology has contributed an important critique on the sexist limitations in Christology, the theology itself has its own limitations. In White Women’s Christ and Black Women’s Jesus, Jacquelyn Grant praises feminist theology for its its quest towards ending oppression; yet at the same time Grant notes the theology’s limitations in light of what black women experience. Grant argues that by feminist theology’s referral to the “women’s experience” is only a referral to the white women’s experience. Grant maintains that white women’s and black women’s experiences are not the same. Grant offers a comparative look at the black women’s experience compared to the white women’s experience during slavery and after slavery. History shows that white women were as much a participant in the brutality administered to slaves as the masters themselves. After the abolition of slavery it would be impossible to look at the experience of black women and white women in equal manner. Grant writes, “For many Black people, emancipation meant slavery without chains” (Grant 197). Grant argues that since white women have defined the feminist theological movement they have wrongly named themselves feminists. Grant goes on to say that by naming themselves as feminists they are acting as the oppressor. Grant states: To misname themselves as “feminists” who appeal to “women’s experience” is to do what oppressors always do; it is to define the rules and then solicit others to play the game. It is to presume a commonality with oppressed women themselves do not share. (Grant “White Women’s Christ” 200)
Here, Grant’s idea expresses the issue many womanist theologians took with feminist theology. In Sisters in Wilderness, Delores Williams also examines the differences between feminist theology and womanist theology. Williams examines, one experience of the black female that feminist theology fails to address. For example, the image of the Virgin Mary as pure, innocent, and obedient does not have the same appeal for black women as it does for white culture, especially males. Williams writes that, “Black women were construed by white social mythology to be loose, immoral, incapable of either innocence or purity” (Williams “Sisters in” 180). Williams challenges feminists to open up the question of what being a woman actually means. Though, as is learned from Grant the answer cannot come solely from white feminists, it must come from women of all colors for feminist theology to properly inform the perspective of the women’s experience.
THE BLACK FEMALE’S RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS As previously mentioned, womanist theology is done with tripartite oppression at the forefront of womanist theologians’ thoughts. Black women are oppressed by the racism of white supremacy; they are oppressed by the sexism present both within and outside of the black community; and as a result of the aforementioned forms of oppression black women make up a higher percentage of the poor and working class3, thus resulting in classism. Womanist theology must achieve what other North American liberation theologies have failed to do for black women, that is define the black female’s relationship with Christ in light of the tripartite oppression. In order to understand the significance of Jesus in womanist theology, it is important to understand the black female’s experience with religion from slavery to present day. Throughout history it is revealed that black Christian women used the Bible as a primary source for understanding their relationship with God (Grant “White Women’s Christ” 195). In Identity Crisis in Black Theology, Cecil Wayne Cone explains that though the black woman’s relationship with God proceeded their introduction to the Bible, the Bible provided black women with context for their God-consciousness. Delores Williams also discovered that the black community traditionally used biblical appropriation in their self-understanding and understanding of God’s relation to their life. One biblical appropriation that speaks specifically to black women is the story of the female slave of African descent who was forced to be a surrogate mother, reproducing a child for her slave master because the slave master’s wife was barren. The story of Hagar closely relates to the narratives of African-American slaves. Black women throughout history have related to Hagar’s story, and used it to create meaning in their own relationship with God (Williams “Sister in” 9). According to Williams, from the time of slavery to present day black women used the bible to make sense of their own oppression. Womanist theologians believe that in terms of Jesus, black women identified with Jesus because they believed Jesus identified with them. Specifically, black women were able to identify with Jesus’ suffering. According to Grant, Jesus was crucified on the cross, black women were metaphorically crucified through rape and abuse (Grant “White Women’s Christ” 212). The above understanding of what Jesus means in the community of black women has allowed womanist theologians to understand how womanist theology should portray the black female’s relationship with Christ. For example, Grant focuses on the humanity of Jesus because black women identify with and are inspired by Jesus. Grant argues that the maleness of Jesus is not an issue. Grant writes, “If Jesus Christ were a Savior of men then it is true the maleness of Christ would be paramount. But if Christ is Savior of all, then it is the humanity— the wholeness— of Christ which is significant” (qtd. by Coleman 15) . Grant references black liberation theology’s view that Jesus identifies with the lowliest of the low; and she therefore draws similarities between black women’s suffering and Jesus’ suffering. In White Women’s Christ Black Women’s Jesus, Grant extends black liberation theology’s argument that Jesus Christ was black to say that Christ is also a black woman (Grant “White Women’s Christ” 217). Kelly Brown Douglas’ womanist view expands on Grant’s idea that Jesus was a black woman. Brown takes a different approach to explaining the black female’s relationship with Christ, in that she does not focus of the experience of oppression but rather the struggle against oppression. For Douglas, Christ is “found where Black people, men as well as women, are struggling to bring the entire Black community to wholeness” (qtd. by Coleman 19). In The Black Christ Douglas states that wholeness means the freedom from racism, sexism, classism, and heterosexism. Douglas also says that blacks must not only identify with Jesus, but they must imitate Jesus’ prophetic role of challenging oppression both within and outside of the black community (Coleman 19). Delores S.
Williams emphasizes a contrasting view from the previous theologians for the black female’s relationship with Jesus. Williams rejects Jesus as a surrogate for humankind’s sins. Williams takes issue with the idea of surrogacy. Williams’ reference to the surrogate mother Hagar acting as a model for black women, means that black women should not accept Jesus as a surrogate. Williams argues that Jesus on the cross should not be a model for black women. Williams writes, “If black women accept this idea of redemption, can they not also passively accept the exploitation that surrogacy brings?” (Williams “Sister in” 162). In rejecting the cross, Williams instead focusses on the vision that was offered by Jesus through his ministry as presented in the Synoptic Gospels. For example, the moral guidance as shown through the beatitudes and parables. In Sisters in the Wilderness Williams explains that her womanist perspective focuses on the idea of vision. This vision extends past liberation from oppression and into a way of life. Williams argues that black females should strive to look towards Jesus’ ministry as a model for living their
lives. Karen Baker-Fletcher affirms all of the womanist perspectives mentioned above. Though, Baker-Fletcher extends their ideas to include the natural world in her understanding of the black woman’s relationship with Christ. For example, in Dancing with God Baker-Fletcher gives the example of Jesus being lynched on the cross. The cross, or tree as Baker-Fletcher calls it, acts as a symbol for blacks, because just as Jesus was crucified on a tree blacks were lynched on trees (Baker-Fletcher 128). Baker-Fletcher goes on to say that just as the lives of African-American freedom fighters is are sacred Jesus is sacred as well; both give hope for future generations to struggle for justice. Baker-Fletcher writes: Jesus’ ministry of resistance against evil and his empowerment of others involved the real risks of political persecution, character assassination, and even death. The cross must not be forgotten because such persecution is a possible consequence of standing up for what is morally right. (qtd. Coleman 29)
Baker-Fletcher goes on to compare Jesus’ sustaining qualities with the sustaining qualities of the earth. She states: Without the life-sustaining warmth of the sun, the quenching power of rain, the oxygen the air provides, there wold be no hope for the physical sustenance of the bodies that enflesh our spirits. The entire cosmos, then is engaged in God’s activity of providing resources for survival and wholeness. (qtd. Coleman 29)
Here, Baker-Fletcher says that not only is Jesus found in the faces of black women, but in nature itself. Baker-Fletcher also says that for black women Jesus should be thought of as an ancestor. Drawing of the Pan-African theologians and African traditional religious understandings of Jesus, Baker-Fletcher argues that Jesus’ death cannot erase the significance of Jesus’ life. In discussing the African ancestral tradition she states: According to certain African cosmologies, the ancestors, which contemporary African Americans too often disremember, live on through ‘children, relatives, rituals of remembrance, and significant deeds. (qtd. Coleman 31)
Baker-Fletcher argues that black women must remember their African ancestors of the past and Jesus, the greatest ancestor, in order to inform their present and future ways of living. While there are many additional works from womanist theologians, the perspectives presented above represent the range of views taken by various womanist theologians. The central theme for womanist theology is that a black woman’s relationship with Jesus Christ comes from their ability to identify with Jesus’ suffering and their shared similarities. For womanist theologians black females must embrace the vision that Jesus provided simply by living His life. Drawing from black women’s past and cultural experiences womanist theologians have presented ways for how black women can use their relationship with Jesus to overcome oppression and live a fulfilling life.
CONCLUSION
By providing the context behind womanist theology and the womanist perspective on Christology, this paper provided the womanist view for the black female’s relationship with Christ in light of the racism, sexism, and classism black women experience. This paper acknowledged the flaws in black liberation theology and feminist theology that led to the development of womanist theology; however, it would be remiss to not acknowledge that womanist theology has errors itself. Going forward, just as womanist theology critiqued the errors in other North American liberation theologies it should critique the errors in its own theology. Modern day womanist theologians should continue to look for ways in which their epistemology fails to address issues of religious pluralism, sexual differences, and globalization. Just as womanist theology created a space for black women in the United States; by drawing on the universal experience of women of color it should seek to create a space in Christology for all women of color around the world.
Notes
Alice Walker, In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens: Womanist Prose (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1983), xi Womanist 1. From womanish. (Opp. Of “girlish,” i.e., frivolous, irresponsible, not serious.) A black feminist or feminist of color. From the black folk expression of mothers to female children, “You acting womanish,” i.e., like a woman. Usually referring to outrageous, audacious, courageous or willful behavior. Wanting to know more and in greater depth than is considered “good” for one. Interested in grown-up doings. Acting grown up. Being grown up. Interchangeable with another black folk expression: “you trying to be grown.” Responsible. In charge. Serious. 2. Also: A woman who loves other women, sexually and/or nonsexually. Appreciates and prefers women’s culture, women’s emotional flexibility (values tears as natural counterbalance of laughter), and women’s strength. Sometimes loves individual men, sexually and/or nonsexually. Committed to survival and wholeness of entire people, male and female. Not a separatist, except periodically, for health. Traditionally universalist, as in: “Mama, why are we brown, pink, and yellow, and our cousins are white, beige, and black? Ans.: “Well, you know the colored race is just like a flower garden, with every color flower represented.” Traditionally capable, as in: “Mama, I’m walking to Canada and I’m taking you and a bunch of other slaves with me.” Reply: “It wouldn’t be the first time.” 3. Loves music. Loves dance. Loves the moon. Loves the Spirit. Loves love and food and roundness. Loves struggle. Loves the folk. Loves herself. Regardless. 4. Womanist is to feminist as purple to lavender.