“Do the work your soul must have.”
Katie Geneva Cannon
I was saddened to learn of the death of Rev. Dr. Katie Geneva Cannon. She died August 8, 2018, she was 68 years old.
Rev. Dr. Cannon was a trailblazing theological leader in what is now known as Womanist Theology. In fact, she is credited with founding womanist theology and ethics as a field. She made an vital distinction between Feminism and Womanism. She helped us see and feel that whiteness feminism cannot speak for the African American woman’s experience, and Womanism was born. She was also the first African American woman to be ordained within the United Presbyterian Church (USA) tradition. She writes:
Womanism requires that we stress the urgency of Black women’s movement from death to life. In order to do this, we recount in a logical manner the historical consequences of what precedes us. We investigate contestable issues according to official records. In other words, womanist religious scholars insist that individuals look back at race, sex, and class constructions before it is too late and put forth critical analysis in such a way that errors of the past will not be repeated.
Katie Cannon, Katie’s Cannon: Womanism and the Soul of the Black Community
Here are a few tribues or places to learn more about Katie Cannon:
- Feminist Studies in Religion (many tributes are linked from this page)
- Amazon Author Page
- Wikipedia
She was a prolific author. And I as I been looking again at her books I’m taken at what appears to be strong desire to partner and collaborate with others. Here are just a few of her many writing projects:
“Each person’s life must be defined, nurtured and transformed, wherein the self is actualized, affirming the inward authority which arouses greater meaning and potential with each mystical experience.”
Katie Geneva Cannon
Rest in Peace, dwight
