Jacquelyn Grant

Born	Jacquelyn Grant Georgetown, South Carolina
Occupation	Reverend, Author, Theologian
Nationality	American
Education	Bennett College, Harvard Divinity School, Turner Theological Seminary,
Notable works	White Women's Christ and Black Women's Jesus: Feminist Christology and Womanist Response
Spouse	Reverend John Collier Died 2009
Children	John W.P. Collier III, Joan K. Collier

Rev. Dr. Jacquelyn Grant (b.December 19, 1948) an African American feminist, theologian, and author, one of the developers of womanist theology.

Overview

Rev. Dr. Jacquelyn Grant is an author, theology professor, and reverend. She has earned a Ph.D in systematic theology and was nominated Woman of the Year by the Iota Phi Lambda Sorority. Grant has written the notable "White Women's Christ and Black Women's Jesus: Feminist Christology and Womanist Response"

Biography

Grant was born December 19, 1948 in Georgetown, South Carolina. She always had an interest in religion, attending Catholic school at a young age, and graduating from Howard High School in 1966. A graduate of Bennett College and Turner Theological Seminary, she became the first black woman to earn a doctoral degree in systematic theology at Union Theological Seminary, with a thesis The development and limitations of feminist Christology : toward an engagement of white women's and black women's religious experiences NY under the tutelage of James Hal Cone, who is known as the father of Black Theology. In 1977, Grant became involved with Harvard Divinity School’s Women’s Research Program and with her involvement, it led to the creation of the Women’s Studies in Religion Program in which she remained for two years. Grant led efforts to join women in the fight for equality “She spearheaded efforts to bring women together to address the role and equality of women with a position paper on the status of women written for the 1976 General Conference, convening a meeting of the female ministers at the General Conference to voice concerns about representation in the governing processes and ministry of the AMEC, and leading a delegation to take these concerns before the Council of Bishops in 1977 at Atlantic City, NJ”

In 1981, she founded the Center for Black Women in Church and Society at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta in 1981, where she holds the title of Professor. She has been assistant minister at Flipper Temple African Methodist Episcopal Church from 1980 to 1982,and later the Victory African Methodist Episcopal Church in Atlanta. She is now Callaway Professor of Systematic Theology at the Interdenominational Theological Union in Atlanta where she is also the Founding Director of Black Women in Church and Society. She is widowed to Reverend John Collier, and now resides in Atlanta.

Achievements and Awards

Dr. Grant is a Community Mother well known for her commitment to building stronger communities and churches. As a Result of this, Grant founded the Center for Black Women in Church and Society at the Interdenominational Theological Center (Atlanta, GA) in 1981. There she continues to serve as director and professor, also mentoring numerous Black women through one of her initiatives, Black Women in Ministerial Leadership Program. Through her wisdom, cohorts of women are learning to harness their collective wisdom to build stronger families, communities, and churches that will influence future generations.

This also led to the formation of an Ad Hoc Committee on WIM, chaired by Dr. Grant, out of which grew a restructured Steering Committee in 1980, and the organizing of AME/WIM in 1986. Dr. Grant serves as Consultant to the AME/WIM Executive BoardGrant was the recipient of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Ministry Award in 1986 and has been nominated as the Woman of the Year in Religion by the Iota Phi Lambda Sorority. She also appears in Who's Who Among African Americans. Dr. Grant currently has a research project that examines Black people’s understanding of the divine through Black theology and Black art.

Jacquelyn Grant as a Womanist Theologian

Jacquelyn Grant as a womanist theologian, “Theologian Jacquelyn Grant distinguishes between the remote and heavenly Christ worshipped in mainline white churches and the immanent and intimate Jesus whim black women recognize as their friend”. (Bois). Many of these women shared a commitment to using their faith and avoid construction of stereotypes. Even with black women being the vast majority of active participants in church their work went unrecognized. Women serving as activist of the black church were put institutional barriers to their political expression by black church itself. However, Dr. Grant reminds black women “while it sounded like a compliment to justify that they are the “backbone” of the church, “the telling portion of the world backbone” is ‘back’. It has become apparent to me that most of the ministers who use this term have reference to location rather than function.”

Jacquelyn Grant is a first generation of womanist theologians. She differs from other theologians such as James Hal Cone, whose work was seen as sexist because of his male centered views and did not include the experience of black women in his sources. Dr. Grant feels as though he did not take into account the experiences of black women as she point out "Black women have been invisible in theology including black theology and feminist theology”. Also arguing, the oppression of black women is different then that of men. She then concluded that black women are more oppressed and therefore need more liberation than white women and men. Dolores Williams took the work of both theologians and expanded them by concluding that “Womanist theology is a prophetic voice concerned about the well-being of the entire African American community, male and female, adults and children. Womanist theology attempts to help black women see, affirm, and have confidence in the importance of their experience and faith for determining the character of the Christian religion in the African American community. Womanist theology challenges all oppressive forces impeding black women’s struggle for survival and for the development of a positive, productive quality of life conducive to women’s and the family’s freedom and well being. Womanist theology opposes all oppression based on race, sex, class, sexual preference, physical ability, and caste”.

Publications

• White Women's Christ and Black Women's Jesus: Feminist Christology and Womanist Response (Atlanta, Ga. : Scholars Press, 1989. American Academy of Religion academy series),
• (co-ed. with Randall C. Bailey) The Recovery of Black Presence: An Interdisciplinary Exploration : Essays in Honor of Dr. Charles B. Copher. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1995.
• Perspectives on Womanist Theology. Atlanta: ITC Press, 1995.
• "Black women and the church" in Hull, Gloria T., Patricia Bell-Scott, and Barbara Smith. All the Women Are White, All the Blacks Are Men, but Some of Us Are Brave: Black Women's Studies. Old Westbury, N.Y.: Feminist Press, 1982.
• "The challenge of the darker sister" in Soskice, Janet Martin, and Diana Lipton. Feminism and Theology. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.