By Jada Jefferson

It’s about 10:15 on a Tuesday night. While the majority of my Facebook timeline is going in on how great the season finale of Tyler Perry’s The Haves and the Have Nots was, I come across a post of one of my followers that read, “This #ShoutYourAbortion campaign is making me sick.” I, being the inquisitive self-proclaimed feminist that I am, decided to click on the hashtag to see what the fuss is about.

by Joséphine Kabambi

It's September and Pope Francis has recently arrived in the United States. Between the Secret Service’s Pope blockade in Philadelphia’s Center City, confusion and frustration about SEPTA transportation service, and the growing appeal of skipping town altogether, the Pope's visit to Philadelphia has certainly given us much to talk about. But as a Christian and dedicated Pope watcher working at an abortion access organization in Philadelphia, I can't help but notice that the Pope's visit coincides almost exactly with the 39th anniversary of the Hyde Amendment, a federal legislative provision voted on yearly which denies low-income women coverage for abortion. Although Pope Francis himself has maintained an anti-abortion stance, his calls to challenge systems of oppression that perpetuate economic inequality have felt both refreshing and relevant to my work.

It is back-to-school season. I have my classes set and all my books are on the way from Amazon. When I tell people that I’m pursuing an M.Div., they look at me like they’re confused. To be honest, I’m confused too! I don’t know how I got here, how I learned this was the path I wanted to explore, or why I left a full-time teaching job with benefits and brilliant children for part-time hustles and french toast dinners. And with two parents who are wonderful pastors, I find myself side-eyeing… myself. I knew better. I knew I was signing myself up for some difficult conversations with friends and angry early morning prayers with God. Yet here I am. A second year seminary student.

By Anna Gibson

In recent news, county clerk Kim Davis has been under fire for refusing to carry out her duty in providing a marriage license to a same-sex couple. This has caused an uproar on both sides with many calling her a “martyr” for her actions and others calling her a bigot. While I won’t disparage her character like some who oppose her actions, it can’t be denied that standing up for your religion has nothing to do with following the law. Church and state are separated for a reason.

by Candace Simpson

Last month’s #BlackChurchSex Twitter chat introduced me to a wave of new Twitter followers and Facebook friends in my messages. These were young Black church kids who felt like their faith contradicted with their sexuality. There are even more stories of suicide ideation, catalyzed by conflicting messages about self-worth and God’s supposed “mistake.”

by Cherise Martinez-McBride

I only got to see four of them before I had to close my browser window. Profiles of people who were spending their Wednesday night at Bible study, and never got back in their cars or on the bus or the sidewalk again.

by Crystal St. Marie Lewis

I’m certain you’ve heard the news by now. Nine Black people were murdered last night at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) church in Charleston, South Carolina. The gunman, a White man, reportedly attended Bible study and prayed with his victims before launching into a tirade about how Black people are “taking over the country” and “raping white women.” He opened fire on the congregants, killing most of those in attendance, including the Rev. Senator Clementa Pinckney.

by Anna Gibson

by Nyah Levone Molineaux


One of the amazing aspects about being Black is the diversity of our community—including the diversity of religious beliefs and spiritual practices. This was highlighted in C. Imani Williams' essay, “Beyond Christianity: Yes, Non-Religious Blacks Find Spiritual Connection Too,” published on For Harriet earlier this year. The article is a brilliant introduction into the religious diversity of the Black community—in particular, those such as myself who are do not follow or participate in the Abrahamic faiths (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam).

by Candace Simpson


I attended a conference in February that gathered pastors, seminarians, professors, and lay people. The yearly conference is meant to provide resources for people of faith as we seek to make sense of the task of social justice.

I was looking forward to the premiere of Preachers of Detroit. After watching pastors argue over honorariums and babies “born out of wedlock” on Preachers of LA, I couldn’t stomach another show about the “real” lives of pastors. Yet, the Detroit cast boasted two women who have been influential to my life and so many others. Bishop Corletta Vaughn has been a consistent example to and inspiration for many of us who know God has called us to lead the church. Evangelist Dorinda Clark-Cole’s trajectory has been one that many a church girl looked to and found evidence that you can love God, be trendy and still be blessed and highly favored. Naturally, when I learned that they were apart of the cast, I found myself excited. Unlike Preachers of LA, which portrayed women as only pastors’ wives and perpetual girlfriends with no real leadership ability or power, Preachers of Detroit would show two women in ministry, standing in their own authority and proving that God anointed us too.

by Tracey Michae’l


"Yes, baby. Man might be the head of the Body but us women are the neck. Without us, the head wouldn't know which way he is going."

by  C. Imani Williams


We all need a source of strength and hope to make it through life.

Almost all organized religions center around a belief in a Higher Power, something greater than oneself. This belief provides followers with a community they can turn to when in need of support and fellowship. It also provides them with guidance for dealing with life’s challenges and obstacles. Many Black folks in the U.S. follow some denomination of Christianity. They may also identify as Muslim, following the lessons put forth in the Quran. There are also Black Jews, even if not as widely recognized.

by Brittany Dawson


Lifetime’s controversial reality television show Preacher’s Daughters chronicles the whereabouts of nine preacher’s daughters from across the United States whose fathers—and respective church communities—believe a mission trip to Cabo, Mexico will sanctify their unorthodox, morally abducted souls from worldly vice. (Insert sarcasm.)

by Kareema El-Amin


I am a single, saved, 40-something woman who is waiting until marriage to have sex. And yes, I think about having sex at least a hundred times throughout the day.

By Valerie Jean-Charles

We live in the age of prosperity preachers: Joel Osteen, Paula White, T.D. Jakes. These well known pastors, along with others, have helped usher an age in the Church where teachings of wealth-building reign supreme. Before I go into why this branch of theology robs congregants of benefits from the institution, it’s best that I provide definitions of what exactly the “prosperity gospel” is.

by Simone Oliver

At first, when her call came, I thought she was calling to console and encourage me in my grief and recovery, but she called to share her own story. Like me, she found that the connection with her pastor as a confidante and spiritual mentor had morphed into a relationship that turned controlling, threatening, and abusive. As we swapped stories we both bemoaned our stupidity, naivety, and had taken to self-loathing. Her plan was to leave town and start all over in another state. My plan – to continue praying that I would miraculously recover from the 28 stab wounds he inflicted resulting in my paraplegia. When the third call came, different woman, different pastor, similar story I knew that there was something bigger going on. Bigger than being “stupid”, “naïve”, or “making poor choices”. Like most women, we had learned how to turn on ourselves, but as I considered their stories, others that I had heard, and things I had witnessed in the church I knew that we could not all be stupid, naïve, or just making poor choices, there had to be another dynamic at play.

Black women are said to be the most religious group in America. What happens, then, when the oppressive and constraining practices of the black church push us away during childhood?

For eighteen years of my life, my family would wake up every Sunday at 6:00 am and head to our mega church in Southfield, Michigan. Like a lot of small black children, I attended the children's service while my parents attended the service in the main sanctuary. I was interested in the one thing children are excited to do whenever they're around their peers: I wanted to make friends. The obvious step to take was to join the Children's Choir.

I cannot recall a clear moment when I lost my faith--just that recently all has been coming back to me. Lately, I have found myself praying for miracles. This is a strange occurrence for a progressive graduate student in her 20s now a far cry from the girl growing up near the Ohio river praying for an exodus. As a young child, faith had always been the substance of things hoped for and remained largely invisible--hidden on the other side of the riverbank. While I acknowledge my experience is not universal, I would like to share some lessons I’ve learned about faith, race, and plotting one’s own course.

The Muslim Anti-Racist Collaborative (MuslimARC), a collaborative of diverse Muslims dedicated to combatting anti-Black racism, discrimination and exclusion within the Muslim community, launched a Twitter campaign that has opened the door to discussing anti-black racism within the Muslim community.