Remembering What I Never Knew

A conversation with Katie G. Cannon
by Bridgett N. Cannon
REYWT/NNPCW young adult intern

The first time I read her primer, The Womanist Theology Primer — Remembering What We Never Knew: The Epistemology of Womanist Theology, I separated myself from the story. In doing so, I missed the very point that she was trying to emphasize. I was trying to read from an unbiased point of view, and by separating myself I was not only doing the author a disservice, but also missing out on a piece of my own story. I figured the demographic for the primer was for women that were 30 years my senior. Sure, I could somehow relate to some of the events that are mentioned in the primer such as the Vietnam War and/or Civil Rights Movement. But I was not focusing on how their story (the women mentioned in the primer) was my story.

It was not until I reread the primer, and put myself and my experiences inside the text that I was able to “Remember What I Never Knew.” It was not until I spoke to my aunt, the author of this primer, that I discovered that her interpretation (and various others) of womanism is one that needs to be shared with an entire generation of African-American women and girls. In this 90-minute conversation there was so much information given to me that I could probably write my own primer. 

What is your definition of womanism?

In Katie G. Cannon’s primer, she expands on the term womanist (that was coined by Alice Walker in 1983). Cannon tells the reader that “womanist theology is a distinctive understanding of Christianity based on the religious experiences of African-American women.” She first started by telling me that womanism can only be told from an African-American woman’s point of view. Then she gave me some background about the theology.  She said that years ago at the American Academy of Religion white women began talking about gender equality, which is supported by feminism. This cause, though it would seem that it would stand for all women, was typically only for white women who wanted equal opportunities with white men. This left women of color without the full benefits and privilege of feminism. 

Black seminarians wanted a group that would focus on their realities so they adopted the concept. African-American women needed to belong to a group that was specifically for them and they wanted to use terminology and language that communicate their ideas and experiences.  Later Hispanic women adopted what they call the mujerista theology that tells their story and experiences.  And Asian-American women are creating and defining their own theology. Considering the direction of each group, there are some white feminists who do not support womanist theology nor mujerista theology simply because they can not co-opt these identities and automatically become members of either racial-ethnic women’s groups.  There are feminists who do not want to be just supporters, they want to insert themselves into the heart of identity politics of the womanist and mujerista movements, which would completely undermine and eventually defeat the purpose and work of womanists and mujeristas.  There are also women who overtly oppose white feminists, black womanists and Latina mujeristas, and they are known as anti-feminist feminists, denying the existence of sexism. 

In essence, a woman can only self-identify as a womanist if she is willing to live, move and make decisions in solidarity with African-American women who are forced to live on the lowest rungs of society. There are a few Arab women who consider themselves womanist because they have indeed struggled through poverty, injustice and racism at the very lowest point and use womanist theology to tell their story. 

Why did you write this primer?

When I asked my aunt about why she’d written the primer, she told me that when Isabel Rogers wrote her primer about feminism, the African-American women in PC(USA) voiced a concern. Rogers’ primer did not include their point of view, and they wanted their voices to be among those being heard around the women’s table. They called on Katie G. Cannon to be their correspondent. When I asked about why the language was not reader friendly, the author informed me that as a seminary professor, the primer is written primarily for the academy of religion.  Seminarians are her target audience, and with designated time and proper interpretative tools they should be able to understand the primer.

“It is a privilege to dream.” It was that phrase that my aunt told me that will forever be at the forefront of my mind. Never had I realized the incredible power in that statement. I then asked how she planned to spread the word about womanism to young African American women and girls today. I got an answer that I was not expecting. She told me that she’d already told the story of her generation.  She is passing the baton to the next generation. The age difference between my aunt and me is 30 years, and I contemplated the difficulty in trying to spread the word about our history to my generation. In a time where the media portrays African American women as whores, illiterates, situated at the bottom of the totem pole, there does not appear to be space to provide a new perspective. Even if I start with members of my family and my circle of friends, there is a challenge of carving out time so that we can stop and think about our obstacles and struggles of being an African-American in these so-called United States of America. 

I know people who live in constant poverty and are content in continuing the cycle from generation to generation. It is a sad reality that a variety of circumstances prevent large numbers of young African Americans from realizing their true potential and the numerous opportunities of being an American citizen. The inability to dream, to envision a worthwhile future, devalues so much what womanists fought for decades ago. It is a reminder to my generation of sisters that unless we come together and realize our strength then we, as African American women, will not be able to see above water.

How would you tell this story to someone that has not benefited from higher learning and/or is living in 2007?

At this point, my aunt and I moved the conversation to discussing issues that relate to young African Americans regard the work of womanism. She mentioned that one of today’s issues is the war. At first, I couldn’t understand how the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan connect to womanism. But she explained to me that during the Vietnam War 30-plus years ago women were not in combat. But now there are women combat soldiers. Women are not casualties of war, but women are raped, tortured and seriously wounded, and they are coming back to an insensitive America where they constantly have to prove something to someone. There are only a few people ministering to these victims, these African-American women veterans of war, and that is an unspoken problem. 

She stated that when she was my age, HIV/AIDS did not exist. But now African-American women must know their health status and the status of anyone with whom they are intimate because Black women are contracting and being affected by HIV/AIDS more than anyone else in United States society. Other topics/issues of today are the technological divide, healthcare issues, prisons, global warming and the continuing fallout from living day by day below the poverty line.

I told her that prior to this project I was not aware of womanism and wanted to know about methods of communication to others who have not benefited from higher learning. We discussed cultural education as an interpretative process wherein womanism can be shared creatively via hip-hop music, slam poetry, reality skits and plays in various churches, colleges and universities. Womanist work is intergenerational and needs to be communicated to those that can continue to uphold the visions and realities of African-American women.

Finally, I read my interpretation of womanism to my aunt. My working definition of womanism is that it is a platform for African-American women to embrace, reflect and realize where we have been, where we are currently and the place where we are going.  It is an opportunity to tell the story, to get emotionally honest and really understand our place in history, in church and in society. Womanism requires that we make and take time to accept the things that we cannot change, while at the same time striving to make a better path for those that will later come down that same road. Womanism is a sad, and at the same time triumphant, way of telling, critiquing and attempting to live the “American Dream.”

I encourage not just African-American women to learn about one another’s experiences, but all other people so that they can obtain a glimpse of the lives of African-American women.