God Is a Black Woman

by Christena Cleveland

In this timely, much-needed book, theologian, social psychologist, and activist Christena Cleveland recounts her personal journey to dismantle the cultural “whitemalegod” and uncover the Sacred Black Feminine, introducing a Black Female God who imbues us with hope, healing, and liberating presence.

For years, Christena Cleveland spoke about racial reconciliation to congregations, justice organizations, and colleges. But she increasingly felt she could no longer trust in the God she’d been implicitly taught to worship—a white male God who preferentially empowered white men despite his claim to love all people. A God who clearly did not relate to, advocate for, or affirm a Black woman like Christena.

Her crisis of faith sent her on an intellectual and spiritual journey through history and across France, on a 400-mile walking pilgrimage to the ancient shrines of Black Madonnas to find healing in the Sacred Black Feminine. God Is a Black Woman is the chronicle of her liberating transformation and a critique of a society shaped by white patriarchal Christianity and culture. Christena reveals how America’s collective idea of God as a white man has perpetuated hurt, hopelessness, and racial and gender oppression. Integrating her powerful personal story, womanist ideology, as well as theological, historical, and social science research, she invites us to take seriously the truth that God is not white nor male and gives us a new and hopeful path for connecting with the divine and honoring the sacredness of all Black people.

Genres: Nonfiction, Spirituality, Feminism, Memoir, Religion, Theology, Race

272 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 8, 2022

About the author

Christena Cleveland is a social psychologist with a hopeful passion for reconciling across cultural divisions. She is the first Associate Professor of the Practice of Reconciliation at Duke University’s Divinity School where she is also the faculty director of Duke’s Center for Reconciliation. Christena earned a B.A. from Dartmouth College and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Her scholarly work includes integrating social psychological perspectives on intergroup and intercultural processes with current reconciliation dilemmas within the Christian church and the broader society. Her research examines how culture influences theological/ideological approaches to peacemaking and reconciliation; how social processes, such as identity and self-esteem, impede a group’s ability to reconcile with culturally-different groups; and how individual factors (e.g., professed theologies/ideologies) interact with social factors (e.g., the status of one’s social group) to allow certain individuals or groups to dominate others.

Christena has published her work in scholarly journals – such as Small Group Research for which she received a 2011 Best Article award – as well as magazines – such as Christianity Today, which named her as one of 33 millennials leading the next generation of Christian faith.

In her book, Disunity in Christ: Uncovering the Hidden Forces that Keep Us Apart (Intervarsity Press, 2013), she examines and offers research-based strategies to overcome the nonconscious cognitive, emotional, and identity processes that pull Christians into homogeneous groups, fuel inaccurate perceptions of culturally-different others, contribute to an “Us vs. Them” mentality, stimulate intergroup prejudice and hostility, and ultimately inhibit reconciliation. The book received a 2013 Leadership Journal Book Award. Christena is currently researching and writing The Priesthood of the Privileged, which investigates power and inequality in the church, and proposes methods for addressing and reducing this equality as a pathway to reconciliation.

A fifth generation minister, Christena comes from a long tradition of leadership in the Church of God in Christ (COGIC) denomination, ranging from bishops to pastors to laypeople. She currently ministers in various ecumenical settings.

Christena is a lifelong Oakland A’s fan and holds a quality cup of tea in high regard. She lives in Durham, North Carolina.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

When my fire alarm recently began chirping at me, I texted my AirBnB host, who came over to the house. After several minutes of fiddling, she said, “I guess I’ll just buy a new one.” 



“Okay, and I’ll unwire it from the house, to stop the chirping.” 



“You know how to do that?” she asked in surprise.

I said yes, and then these crazy words came out of my mouth, “I have two older brothers.”

Now, I do have brothers. But those boys never taught me a blessed thing about electrical wiring. Still, I felt a strong impulse to explain my gender-typed skill by virtue of the men in my life.


My host left, and I sat with myself a while, feeling shocked by what I'd said. Then, I went and found this book. I wanted something as different as humanly possible from the evangelical, male-headship-as-Divine-Order bullshit I grew up with, and a book entitled God Is a Black Woman seemed to fit the bill.

So, imagine my surprise when I discovered Dr. Christena Cleveland’s upbringing and adult church experience are ridiculously similar to mine! For example, she tells a childhood story about driving past a “hippy yoga studio,” with her mother, who made a disapproving sound and said, “Yoga and meditation are for people who think they can find peace outside of Jesus.”

I relate to that. I also relate to her repression of need, her “fasting and praying” to get a godly spouse, her church’s practice of making women with unwed pregnancies confess from the pulpit, her jumping through hoops of sacrificial service to gain “White Male God’s” approval, and her slow, difficult process of stepping away from her built-in community and ingrained paradigm of faith.

Cleveland also shares details of her life I’ve never had to deal with as a White person, such as:

1. Going to an exclusive New England prep school, where White boys regularly told her, “You’re pretty, for a Black girl” and DL tried to get in her pants but would never deign to publicly date her. 


2. Doing racial reconciliation work, in which a White pastor asked for a POC worship leader recommendation. She referred a Black woman, and the pastor immediately (sight unseen) said, “Oh, no. She’d just sleep with the whole worship team!” This sort of thing happened regularly.

3. Receiving death threats and hate male for publicly questioning the maleness and Whiteness of God.

4. Being unsupported by White feminists when speaking out about racial equity issues.

More than anything, this book hammers on the unavoidable truth that Protestant culture is centered around a toxic “White Male God” construct, which bleeds into church, political, racial, and marital structures of power, basically effing us all up in our heads.

I got a lot from this reading, though I'm taking one star off for unevenness of tone. The narration veers between three “moods” so distinct, I named them:

Peace-lily-sparkle-fairy:

[The sacred Black feminine] is right here: in the lavender aroma, the butterflies, the twinkle of fireflies, and within us. (audiobook, 23%)

Dr. Cleveland: 


One day while preparing for a sermon, I stumbled across an astonishing revelation: In the Judeo-Christian creation story, the serpent is depicted as a cunning force that lures Adam and Eve away from God. The serpent is understood to be the anti-God. The anti-truth. The embodiment of deception. This I knew. What I didn’t know is that the Hebrew people who first heard this story were shaped by the idea that the serpent was the symbol of feminine wisdom. (audiobook, 13%)

Howard Beale:

This much was clear to me: the Black Madonna of Vichy doesn’t give a flying fuck about Thomas Jefferson and his toxic obsession with perfection... I instinctively knew she had nothing but side eye for old T.J. (audiobook, can’t remember/find %)

So different, right? And the lack of a consistent, recognizable authorial voice bugged me, but I’m not taking off more stars because this isn’t fiction, and also because the author vulnerably shared this:

Even after years of trauma therapy and mindfulness meditation, it still often feels like my body, emotions, and heart are miles away from my over-developed, over-educated, over-linear brain. (audiobook, 45%)

I think this genius of a scholar and survivor of religious abuse is still finding the core of her self/voice. And I think she’s clear about that. And I think that’s beautiful.

Book/Song Pairing: Say it Loud- I'm Black and Proud (James Brown)

[Jed Walker · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was difficult to read and review because the author is clearly processing traumatic experiences and emotions. My heart goes out to her. However, the entire book feels extremely reactionary and an exercise in developing a god in your own image through the filter of your personal hurts.

[Andre(Read-A-Lot) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christena Cleveland takes readers on a most interesting journey. Escaping from her childhood rooted in white patriarchal Christianity, she embraces a perception of the Divine as Sacred Black Feminine, and God as a Black woman.

“So, if mothers are really incredible at being present in our pain, illness, weakness, need, and disillusionment, why don’t we typically perceive God as Mother? Why doesn’t our society’s idea of God include mothering and femininity?”

Part of her journey is physical, as she walks hundred of miles over several weeks in France to visit the sites of many sacred Black Madonnas. Her plan is to leave the spiritual plantation of whitemalegod and experience true freedom through a spiritual embrace that is loving and affirming. How devastating has it been for Black people in general and Black females in particular to embrace the whitemalegod conception of God and Christianity? You will learn and gain a deeper understanding of how the whitemalegod alignment leads to shame and often disgust.

Throughout the book Ms. Cleveland patiently details and describes the devastation. And as a social psychologist she is uniquely qualified to examine the effect on the psyche and the spiral of shame that whitemalegod is so adept at forcing adherents to descend.

“Every time we hide our need, we take one step closer to whitemalegod’s contagious shame spiral and one step away from the liberating truth that our need is a luminous marker of our humanity.”

This book is the ultimate expression of embracing a higher power that truly speaks to you and your needs and the embrace is always loving and affirming and fear is completely removed from the equation. Making the move will not be easy and it definitely wasn’t for Christena. Her transformation away from whitemalegod was not without fear, but her pushing through is inspirational and lays the groundwork for others wishing to rework their conception of God.

“I began to understand that in order to truly encounter myself in the Sacred Black Feminine, I would need to fearlessly examine the whitemalegod in me. I would need to uncover and release all the ways in which I have adopted whitemalegod’s ways, such as the obsession with certainty, perfectionism, and outside approval. I would also need to discern how my actions and beliefs have upheld whitemalegod’s violent power structure. In order to believe that the Sacred Black Feminine truly lives within ALL of us, a lot that lived within me would need to die.” Whitemalegod has now become part of my lexicon and speaking/thinking of the perception in that clear eyed manner will aid others in their own escape. Thanks to Edelweiss and HarperOne for an advanced digital copy. Book is due January 12, 2022.

[Drew Heath · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't read this if you are convinced God is a white European male. You would not be thrilled reading this lol

[Chanecka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christena Cleveland used to be a prominent theologian working at Duke's Divinity School and speaking on racial justice within the context of the Christian church. After experiencing various trials in her career and personal life, she goes on a retreat to help her manage...her life. During that time, she is asked to find a higher power to keep her grounded. At this time, she goes through a spirtual awakening. She realizes that what she has been taught will not sustain her and she proceeds to figure out who and what that "deeper power" is.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book. Cleveland references a wide range of people from monks to womanists who have wide range of racial and gender identities. I did find the sequence of the book a bit off putting. I generally don't mind non linear books but there was just too much going on in this book with Cleveland's theory, her history, and the pilgrimage throughout France. I would definitely recommend to anyone who enjoys spirtual books. There is groundwork here for anyone who is exploring spirtuality or faith but this will not convert you (This work is still deeply rooted in Christianity).

[Dee Reading Wallflower · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most impactful books I’ve ever read. I have had complicated feelings towards Christianity for years now but could never get out the words as to why. And she did. Though I’m still unsure on where I stand with my faith I found this book very validating with my experience with the church and Christianity itself!

[LeeTravelGoddess]

WHEW LORD!!!

[Avory Faucette · Rating 5 out of 5]

In God Is a Black Woman academic and activist Christena Cleveland uses her 2017 walking pilgrimage to the Black Madonnas of Auvergne to frame her experiences of abuse and exhaustion under “whitemalegod.” Her writing is relatable, unapologetic, and notably trans-inclusive. I found it extremely relevant to my interests working at the intersection of healing and justice.

Whitemalegod is patriarchal racist capitalism personified and upheld through the cultural imagination. Cleveland explores how whitemalegod, white Christ, and (weak) white Mary have been shaped to uphold whiteness and toxic masculinity, in contrast to Christian aspects of the Sacred Black Feminine. Her experiences with the memorably named Black Madonnas illuminate misogynoir and uncover a spirituality centering Black women. Tales from Cleveland’s youth in a repressive church and family environment are juxtaposed with more recent examples from her tenure at Duke Divinity school and her own healing journey.

Whitemalegod is a separating force, a fragile masculine perfectionist authority demanding absolute obedience. He uses purity standards to justify exclusion and violence, delegates to priests and fathers using fear and shame, and prefers a needless subject who transcends earthly issues. By contrast, the Sacred Black Feminine is highly personal, embodied, resilient, accessible, and empathetic to human needs. She honors your sacred knowing, wants you to meet her experientially, and gets down in the mud with you. She centers Black women because she IS a Black woman. She embraces mysticism and magic in and outside of Christian forms. She is embodiment over argument and convincing. She is a womanist, because she too has been called Mammy and Jezebel.

From Our Lady of the Good Death helping false selves identified with whitemalegod die, to Our Lady of the Sick’s messy spirituality, to the Mother of All Bling’s “reparations entourage” of white cherubs, Cleveland uses her experiences with these diverse Madonnas to encourage all readers, but most especially Black women, to explore spiritual homecoming.

(ARC provided by NetGalley.)

[Adam Shields · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: A memoir of the ways that beliefs about God impact our social reality and the ways that we can heal. 

There are books that I know will be misread or not picked up because they are judged without being read. I am never sure if the misreading or the prejudicial lack of reading is the bigger problem. I recieved an advance copy of God is a Black Woman from Netgalley. I glanced at reviews on Netgalley when I downloaded it, and sure enough, the standard (my paraphrase), "well, God may not be a white man, but he sure isn't a Black woman," was in one of the early reviews. And in response to a tweet, I posted a quote from God is a Black woman, and a person I do not follow argued with me over several tweets, assuring me that Christena Cleveland was publicly no longer a Christian and now advocated Goddess worship. That person had not read God is a Black woman but assured me that their view was accurate based on their reading of social media. I countered that I had read the book written to address these issues and that Cleveland had neither publicly repudiated Christianity nor advocated Goddess worship. But those two interactions, I think, will characterize a lot of potential readers, vague impressions that inaccurately keep them from picking the book up, and a misunderstanding of the book based on a lack of familiarity with the realities of race, gender, and history. As part of the Twitter conversation, the person suggested that no one believes that God is a white male. However, Color of Christ and many other studies show many people believe that God is a white male either explicitly or implicitly. (Four studies on perceptions of God and Race, older study on the importance of images of Black Christ to counter white supremacy)

I am not a close follower of Christena Cleveland, but I have been aware of her work for a while. I read Disunity in Christ, Cleveland's first book. I was aware that she was a professor at Duke and led the reconciliation study center started initially by Chris Rice. And that she left the school because of her frustrations with racism around the school. I read her essay about leaving, White Devil in Blue, although the article is now behind a paywall.  And I knew that she had gone to France on pilgrimage to visit a number of the Black Madonnas common in France. Knowing those parts of the story meant that I was not walking into the book blind, but I was not familiar with her broader story.

God is a Black Woman is framed as a memoir of that pilgrimage. Like many memoirs, that framing is an organizing structure more than a foundation. The book primarily looks at what she calls 'whitemalegod' and 'fatherskygod' and how she personally, and our society more generally, has been shaped by the cultural understanding of God as a white male. There are many ways to misunderstand this book if you have not previously grappled with Black or Womanist theology. Angela Parker's book If God Still Breathes, Why Can't I, which I have read, but I am going to reread before I post on, has an excellent explanation of what Womanist Theology or biblical studies are and why all Christians, not just Black women must grapple with the questions that are raised by Womanist readings of the Bible or Womanist theological reflections.

In some ways, God is a Black Woman is part of a long tradition of grappling with our misperceptions of God, for example, Imaginary Jesus, Good and Beautiful God, part of Twelve Lies, and the already mentioned Color of Christ. But without a liberation focus, those books on misperceiving God can stop at individual analysis and miss the ways that society acts to disempower. And as I already mentioned above, the familiar tropes against Feminist, Womanist, Black theology, etc., as simply replacing the White male God with different similar identity are projecting what has happened in the past with the explicit ideals of these theological critiques. When James Cone says Jesus is Black, he is both saying God is not White in a biological sense (similar to saying Jesus is Lord is saying Ceasar is not) but also saying that Jesus fundamentally identifies with the marginalized and dispossessed against the powerful. Whiteness, the cultural belief in white racial superiority, altered Christianity to require a hierarchical system. Womanist Theology believes that the hierarchy violates our understanding of Christianity and is a form of heresy. So the projection of simple replacement is a fundamental misreading of this book and liberation theologies as a whole. The simple message of the book God is a Black Woman is that we have to counter the distortions to bring about healing. Simple balance would be a distortion itself, but Cleveland does say, "When masculinity rejects feminine wisdom, it becomes a toxic caricature of itself."

I could easily make this into a post of quotes. I have twelves pages of highlights and notes you can look at (my notes). But I want to highlight a couple of more extended quotes that matter.

According to Douglas, the white christ essentially made slavery A-okay because, if Christ was white, then it was cool for white people to enslave non-white people and benefit from the enslavement of non-white people. But the whitechrist didn’t simply justify slavery; it also made a statement about who God is and what God cares about. Since the whitechrist more closely resembled whites than Blacks, God was obviously more concerned with the experiences and troubles of white people than the experiences and troubles of Blacks. Further, since the whitechrist identified with whites, God obviously preferred whites over Blacks. The whitechrist offered proof that God wasn’t concerned with the plight of the oppressed. In other words, God was just fine with slavery and other forms of oppression. In this way, God was not only associated with whiteness, but specifically with white supremacy. In the whitechrist, God specifically chose white people over Black people.

I am pretty sure that there are potential readers of God is a Black Woman who will suggest that Cleveland is exaggerating here, but as The Problem of Slavery in Christian America and The Bible Told Them So illustrate with Christian defenses of slavery and segregation, this is the type of arguments that were made to defend slavery and segregation.

Similarly, Angela Parker in If God Still Breathes and Willie James Jennings in After Whiteness speak about how theological education is oriented toward autonomous mastery and creating White Male theologians. Cleveland says, "whitemalegod teaches us that we should be ashamed of our need because our need erodes all that is right and good in the world." That grappling with human limitation and the false narrative that makes white maleness the normative expression of humanity ignores how our different human expressions show us different aspects of what it means to be human. As Cleveland discusses briefly in one section, humanity that bleeds regularly will have a different understanding of what it means to be human than one that does not. A disabled person has a different understanding of what it means to be human than a person that has not grappled with the limitations that society puts in the way for disabled people. Instead:

In whitemalegod’s world, to be human is to be needless. So, of course, white patriarchy does not permit a definition of femininity that challenges the status quo. This is one way in which whitemalegod weaponizes femininity—by defining it as always silent and submissive to white patriarchy. In other words, if one has a need, one better keep it to oneself or only express it in ways that will not offend white patriarchy’s fragile ego. This is a heavy burden for all women, but the weight is crushing little Black girls who, due to societal anti-Blackness and misogyny, carry great need in their bodies. Their societally inflicted need is LOUD and yet they are supposed to keep quiet.

and

More than any other human characteristic, need seems to trigger whitemalegod’s gag reflex.

This is already too long, but it matters that God is a Black Woman deals with Christena Cleveland's personal story of child abuse and control, eating disorders, sexuality and the purity culture, the tokenism of so much of the Evangelical world's concept of racial reconciliation, the silencing disagreement for the comfort of white Christians and the broader discussion of experience regarding theology.

Experience does not trump all other concerns, but what is common is that when others have an experience that we have not had, there is a disbelief in that experience, or at least a minimizing of the salience of the experience. The importance of God is a Black Woman as a memoir, and a piece of theology is that Christena Cleveland is centering the importance of her experience as an act of Christian theology.

The problem is that many people will either refuse to engage with it because of preconceptions or will engage it badly with the only purpose to argue. And that will be a loss of the gift that has been given to us.

[Stephanie Ridiculous · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5ish rounded up.

In terms of reflecting on, critiquing, and giving voice to the issues within western Christianity this book is excellent. Cleveland's framing and exploration of the ways whitemalegod oppresses and holds us back was a breath of fresh air for me; her willingness to be vulnerable regarding her childhood and ongoing struggles is deeply appreciated. My heart hurts for her & the ways the toxicity of White Christianity showed up in her family structure and experiences. And, I rejoiced as she shared breaking free of those paradigms.

As a memoir of personal discovery this book also shines. Her journey through France was so inviting and interesting; it's left me with a deep curiosity about the Black Madonna's in France, and beyond. I was not overly familiar with them to begin with, and am excited to learn more at some point.

There were so many things that deeply resonated with me, like exploring how being in need is not acceptable in Christian spaces; we so thoroughly revere having overcome that there is little to no space for people to be in the valley of the shadow of death and speak their needs. And, there were plenty of things that I could not relate/agree with - and I deeply appreciate the full scope, the finding where we can agree and echo each other and also discover where I can understand but not identify. And there is plenty of room in the narrative for both, and that is also a relief from the whitemalegod methodology of forcing you to comply, too.

This is a great book if you're looking to explore and ask questions (but not if you are look for tidy answers!) It likely will make you uncomfortable, especially if you are white andor male, but it's a worthy journey to explore your own relationship to the Divine, however you define that.

[Rev Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was difficult to review. I agree with everything Christena Cleveland explores, names and calls out. Christian white supremacy has influenced everything including the church and her family upbringing. I honor her spiritual journey to the Black Sacred Feminine. AND yet, the story here for me that isn't fully fleshed out seems to be about the trauma of her flesh and blood parents in relation to white supremacy. Though they acted out dominance and perfection of the whitemalegod, the deflection of hurt, feels awkward at times. When all of the hurt is put under the whitemalegod. A counselor would ask, who hurt you? In your own life, who hurt you. I think the most unique part of her story is the physical violence, spiritual abuse and emotional neglect from her Black parents as it conflates with white supremacy, since they were perpetrators of abuse. And how difficult that must be to name the various level of hurts. My heart goes out to her, it feels like a coming out and unraveling in multiple layers of trauma.

[Steve Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Cleveland's work is a blistering critique of what she calls whitemalegod - the image of God shaped by (and in the image of) white, colonizing men. This God is not only centers white experience and male experience but is to all of us aloof, angry, shaming, and disgusted with human need and mess. Instead, Dr. Cleveland advocates for God as a Black Woman - liberative, nurturing in our mess, and affirming of all humanity and creation, starting with those who have been most oppressed and exploited, Black women.

This theological critique and exploration is delivered within a pilgrimage memoir, a pilgrimage to Black Madonna statues throughout France which was part of a longer pilgrimage into Black life-affirming liberation.

As with all Dr. Cleveland's work, I think and experience a lot as I read it. Sometimes I'm just illumined. Other times I wrestle with what I read, noting my defenses rising or struggle to understand, and interrogating what I can learn and how I can grow from those experiences. Dr. Cleveland's work continues to be helpful in my own liberation from whitemalegod, as a human and disciple of Jesus, and as a pastor and teacher about God. I don't always land in the same conclusions she reaches, but I'm always better off for engaging.

This is a smart, personal, heartfelt, mind aflame, devout, impassioned book worth multiple reads by anyone interested in the intersections of race, God, gender, Christianity, and spiritual liberation.

[Corey Burton · Rating 4 out of 5]

And my first read for Women’s HERstory Month, “God is a Black Woman!” Another difficult read because of its challenging the institutions and ways of thinking that have been taught since my childhood…. White superiority, God being white, People of Color being bad, God being a man, sexism existing in the Bible, so much!

It isn't often that these narratives are challenged, and even a conversation around these challenging contradictions allowed because of what it can mean for religion and faith. Sure, it's difficult to ponder, but does that mean it's not worth thinking about? Nonetheless, after this read, and especially as I am finishing up the old Testament, I am curious how the Bible and other religious texts address new realities we find ourselves needing to understand as we grow as humans in our experience. Women are powerful, and have amazing stories and we know that a Patriarchal structure existed during biblical times, so we shouldn't be surprised that women were/are excluded from many religions. What happens if a religion is constructed in a manner that sections of humanity are excluded? Is that what God would want?

There were a number of quotes that I enjoyed, but here is one that I will share: "As long as we think whitemalegod only exists out there, we will remain unaware of the ways in which he inhabits our emotions and behaviors. As long as we think that whitemalegod only exists in the most explicitly white supremacist and patriarchal spaces, we will never see that he is hiding in plain sight in institutions, spiritualities, neoliberalism, and, perhaps most covertly, in white women."

Another was: "once I specified my own Higher Power, I realized I could choose anything because I don't need other people to validate my choices. I could validate my own choices, just like I validated my description of the Sacred Black Feminine. I could choose what I believe rather than simply accepting what I had been taught."

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

“…our idea of God determines who is sacred and who is profane, whose life matters and whose does not...”
 
“Imagination is theology; we can only believe what we can imagine. And our cultural landscape hasn’t given us many tools to imagine a non-white, non-male God.”
 
“But by affirming the dignity and sacredness of Black women who are among the most marginalized in society, She also affirms the dignity and sacredness of all people.”
 
Within the first pages of this book, I was completely engrossed. Cleveland shares about her 400-mile walking pilgrimage to visit Black Madonnas in France in her search for the Sacred Black Feminine after her disillusionment with what she refers to as “whitemalegod.” Her crisis of faith after years of working as a theologian, social psychologist, and activist in U.S. American Christian spaces led her on a powerful, healing journey of discovery. She contrasts the cultural Christian faith that she inherited with a new way of relating to the divine that is less shaming, punitive, and exclusive and more expansive, loving, and non-dualistic. The Sacred Black Feminine invites us to embrace our neediness instead of striving for perfection and to experience the divine in a wholistic, embodied way.
 
Through the sharing of Cleveland’s personal stories, she invites us to examine the larger stories we have collectively absorbed and perpetuated about God, as well as the ways those stories have harmed the most marginalized among us. Her writing is engaging in the way she weaves insightful personal narratives with deep reflection as well exposition on broader applications. She combines uncomfortable truth-telling with loving, inclusive invitation for all of us to join on the journey of collective healing. I absolutely loved reading this breathtaking story and know that it will stay with me for a long time.

[Holly Canfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a well written book. The ideas within are very thought provoking indeed. That God is a Black Woman is evident in Dr Cleveland’s words. As a white woman, she gives me much to reflect on and process about how I benefit from whitemalegod and how I can go forward unlearning white supremacy and how to be antiracist.

[abbey · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was somewhere between 3 and 4 stars for me—the writing style was a bit hard for me to engage with, but i liked the ideas presented by Dr. Cleveland. i think it’s important to think about the impact of whitemalegod, who reflects the image of the most privileged parts of society. when those who face systemic oppression are looking to God for guidance, for justice, for love, they are faced with a god that looks like the oppressor. the idea of the Sacred Black Feminine, who stands for everyone but especially black women, who have faced the worst societal oppression at the hands of white men (especially in the name of whitemalegod). i also loved how the Sacred Black Feminine is specifically accessible and close to our hearts, unlike so many ideas of a faraway god that we cant talk to.

i just love people being able to experience the divine in individual ways and finding the voice of God in their own day to day. everyone should be able to turn to God and know that they are seen, cared for, and loved, instead of being faced with someone whose image they cannot find themself in. I love Dr. Cleveland’s assertion that if we are made in God’s image, because of his love for us, then that image cannot be that of the white male oppressor.

so much is unpacked in this book and while i wasnt always feeling fully engaged with the writing, it was very thought-provoking and had me thinking a lot about my own experiences—and she did get me nodding along with her at many points. all in all, very interesting!

[Charles Francis · Rating 4 out of 5]

First, thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this most interesting book.

The book is more of a story around self-discovery than about religion. This is clearly a catharsis of the mind, body and soul for her as she describes in frank and candid (and sometimes colorful) language her childhood, navigating through the corridors of academia and religious institutions and how racism played and still plays a major part in each, wrapped in the cloak of region.

She makes strong arguments of how Christianity has been tailored to meet and further the needs of the "tailor" often times with horrible consequences. As someone who was raised a christian (Catholic) and indoctrinated in the beliefs surrounding christianity whether it be Catholic, Protestant, Methodist, Evangelical in makeup, through much of my life, it dawned on me that when you do a deep dive into any religion you will see what Dr. Cleveland discovered, manipulation, racism, sexism, politics, and so much more. An example front and center that she and others have poignantly pointed out, is how religion was used to justify slavery, bending it to facilitate and support this most despicable crime against humanity.

Dr. Cleveland's writing is crisp, well researched, structured and gives a perspective that makes you think. While the story is on her search for the Black Madonna, don't let this stop you. Look beyond to see the true story that lurks. It will be well worth your time, especially if you are willing to be open about God in all of Her/His forms.

[Karen Shillings · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bookclub choice, this will make an interesting meeting. Being an old white lady, and not religious, I will be intimidated. Interesting read, a difficult childhood, a woman questioning her beliefs, and coming to her own acceptance.

[John Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an old white guy, I feel a little funny writing a review of this book, as if my opinion of a book written primarily for black women matters. So let's say this review is intended for other old white guys.

This book might stir up a few feelings. You might feel judged. You might get defensive. You might feel left out. I felt all those things. Acknowledge those feelings, but keep going. There is far too much treasure in this book to let those feelings keep you from pressing on.

Dr. Cleveland is pretty ruthless in her critique of what she labels "whitemalegod". But the critique is important, as she explains, "In order to encounter the Divine truth that lies beyond what we think we know, we have to excavate our cultural landscape to uncover the hidden work of this white male God and forge a new path." And the path she forged is beautiful. And her difficult journey to forge this path is an example to us all.

If you've been aching for the freedom to forge your own spiritual path, this book will be both your guide and your inspiration. You will wonder what you ever saw in whitemalegod that was worthy of worship. You will be invited into the freedom, power, dignity, and wholeness of the Sacred Black Feminine. Yes, old white guy, you read that right. You are invited. Yeah, it took me awhile to get my head around it too.

If you are like me, you won't be able to put it down. But then when you are done, you will feel like you read it too fast and will want to read it again, slower. On the second pass, I listened to the audio. There will likely be an unprecedented third pass soon.

[Jalen · Rating 1 out of 5]

While this book minutely addresses the overarching challenges black women face regarding perception, stereotypes, unrecognized self hatred and the impacts of European imperialism, the story is sexist, focuses on the religious zealousness of the author’s life, yet blames everyone else around her for her own self-continued miseducation in adulthood, while also touting the very same achievements gained during the lifestyle she created. The author uses prominent black spiritual and religious figureheads as a new source for uplifting herself but simultaneously disgraces the same figures with idiotic descriptions and phrases throughout the book to try and be quirky and grab the reader’s attention with buzz words or new age “politically correct” statements. The book is overly repetitive and lacks substance.

[Madena Burman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so thankful for this timely book. I have had a similar journey as the author and I am thankful for this beacon of hope, that I can also find life off the plantation. I was so thankful to read about another Black women’s exile while I am living my own. Thank you so much for putting your “sound of the genuine” in this book that spoke to my “sound of the genuine.” I am excited for the realities that we are co-creating and I am certain that many will be inspired and healed through this sacred text. May abundant blessings continue to flow.

[Farrin · Rating 5 out of 5]

“ I like my heroes as I like my identities intersectional. “

[JC]

I liked the premise of this book, and started it with a lot of anticipation, but it did not quite live up to my expectations. It read very much like a memoir, which is a genre that is very hit or miss for me. My ability to appreciate memoirs really depends a lot on the style. I think this book ended up being a very solitary sort of narrative, absorbed in the preoccupations very much of a post-evangelical navigating an elite academic institution like Duke and moderate conservative faith publications like Christianity Today. It at times felt a bit self-congratulatory or self-important, which is not necessarily something I mind, I just think it’s hard to write like that in a way that is engaging, and in this case Cleveland often fell short. She expressed ambiguous admiration for John Bunyan, and I could see that influence in her writing. Even though Bunyan is admired by Marxist historians I hold in high esteem, like Christopher Hill, I find Bunyan’s writing very... embarrassing(?) and I think my inability to fully enjoy this book has a lot more to do with its aesthetic influences than its content per se. I think liberation was so frequently discussed in individualistic terms that so mirror both the Puritan and evangelical background of Cleveland that I found it difficult to relate to this book also. I would have loved to read more about Cleveland’s research on Black Madonnas, which do feature quite a bit in this book, but mostly in the form of travelogue and less in the mode of an academic scholar:

“In my research, I learned that there are over 450 Black Madonnas around the world, most of whom are over a thousand years old, with names as illustrious as Our Lady of the Good Death, Slave Mama, and Dear Dark One. I also found my own story in the divine stories of the Black Madonnas who, as fellow Black women, could intimately relate to my experiences. I wanted to learn more—to experience more—about these Black Madonnas who were cracking me open and meeting me where I was. But I needed a final push from Old Katerin.

Theologian Clarissa Pinkola Estés tells a story about her grandmother Old Katerin, a socioeconomically oppressed, rural, immigrant woman of color who maintained several fires in order to cook her food, heat water for bathing, and keep the house warm. A devout Catholic and lover of the Black Madonna, Old Katerin ritually sifted through the ashes of the fires each night looking for any remnant of burnt wood that resembled the feminine form. Every once in a while, she would find one and would exclaim: “She came to us! She’s here with us!””

Quite interesting, though I should note that Estés is a Jungian, which again I think the major influences Cleveland draws from speaks to my inability to fully enjoy to this book. It is situated within an individualistic discourse that is obviously important but that I struggle to relate to. I will conclude with one excerpt that I think speaks to the tensions I felt reading this book. The writing is highly stylized in a way that I don’t particularly enjoy, but it engages with interesting figures like the Black socialist poet Ntozake Shange:

“I instinctively knew I was safe in the presence of the Black Madonna of Vichy, who beckons us to visit Her in all of our glorious human need. Unlike whitemalegod, no need disgusts Her. For centuries, the people most ostracized and hated by society—the people stricken with the plague, the genderqueer, the Black people, the serfs, the assaulted women, the people with grave physical and mental disabilities—all hovered at the open but unbroken circle at Her feet. She is the divine Black queen of the Island of Misfit Toys who declares that everyone belongs, especially the people that whitemalegod has cast aside for having the audacity to show their need.

Immanence is Her jam. She loves to get down into the thick of the human experience. Nothing makes Her gag or prevents Her from drawing near to us when we need Her most because, as a woman, She knows how society punishes women for having different physical needs than men. The late Black poet Ntozake Shange recognized how much whitemalegod determines whose needs are sacred and whose needs are profane when she wrote, “We need a god who bleeds, [who] spreads her lunar vulva & showers us in shades of scarlet thick & warm like the breath of her.”1 Though not all women menstruate and not all people who menstruate are women, Our Lady of the Sick offers us a powerful image of the Sacred Black Feminine who can relate to all of the human experience, even the parts that toxic masculinity shuns. She draws near to our human experience because it is Her experience too. She is a God who bleeds. Like a mother who stays up all night at the bedside of her sick child, Our Lady of the Sick is most present when our need is loud and messy.”

[Naomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

(let me just slide in here to say that this book is exceptional, but didn't quite reach 5 stars for me. on a personal level, I adored how Dr. Cleveland approached her meaning-making determined to get a sense of "what makes you feel hopeful?" and that's refreshing as hell. I simply hold to the approach that things like scripture, tradition, & reason should add to that experiential vibe, with the four vetting and bolstering one another. also the book was pretty repetitive for my attention-challenged brain atm.)

"At [the Black Madonna's] altar, everything belongs, but our need is our special offering to Her."

"However, the Black Madonna's. . . female body makes a bold statement about God's social location, declaring that she is with Black women and relates to Black women. . . But by affirming the dignity and sacredness of Black women who are among the most marginalized in society, She also affirms the dignity and sacredness of all people. For if society's least sacred are made sacred by Her identification with them, then truly all are sacred. Unlike whitemalegod, the Sacred Black Feminine doesn't exclude anyone from her holy huddle. Though She specifically declares Black women to be sacred, She affirms the sacredness of all."

"The beautiful thing is that I began to experience the magic of the forest as soon as I began to release whitemalegod's idols of reason and tradition and moved toward Her guiding light. I didn't have to reach the light or prove the light's legitimacy before I experienced its magic; I simply had to begin to move toward it. . . . I trusted that by taking just one experimental step toward Her, I would being to see Her sacred beauty within myself, others, and the world around me. In doing so, I quickly learned that each step empowered the next."

"I desperately wanted to be a womanist. As I continued on my spiritual path toward the Sacred Black Feminine, I wanted to stop asking, 'What can I prove? What is orthodox? What can be substantiated by history or scripture?' Instead, I wanted to begin asking, 'What nurtures hope in my Black female embodied soul? What gives life to my Black female embodied soul? What heals my Black female embodied soul? What liberates my Black female embodied soul? What helps my Black female embodied soul love itself and others well?'"

[Elle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Christina Cleveland postulates that a Black Woman being God separates the spiritual experience from the tenets of patriarchy and racism that the [evangelical] church has upheld. I thought her decision to undertake that journey under the care of the “Sacred Black Feminine” was interesting and actually enjoyed the fact that Cleveland approached spirituality with so little formality. She nicknames the Black Madonnas that she visits: She whose thick thighs saves life, She who cherishes our hot mess. And as a black woman, I could relate. I also knew very little about the Black Madonnas prior to reading this book and was happy to learn about the various ones scattered throughout central France.

Cleveland’s is a spiritual journey but the kind of personal decolonization that readers are called to do can be done and perhaps should be done separately from religion/spiritual belief. For me the takeaway was clear: “We must search high and low for the internalized anti-Blackness and patriarchy we uphold in our minds, hearts and bodies. We must decenter, protest and dismantle cisgender white male power. We must center wisdom, needs, and healing of the especially marginalized Black women..”

Her pilgrimage to visit the Black Madonnas in central France is woven into this book, along with personal anecdotes of which I wish there had been more. I really wanted to see how much more similar my knowledge of the evangelical space could be to her upbringing: the True Love Waits/purity programing, praying for a future spouse, the intertwining of physical attributes (especially weight) and morality. It was all so familiar to me and a good reminder of the things that I personally have to continually unlearn and relearn.

Overall, I think it was a thought-provoking book.

[Peacejanz · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book. An educational book. Especially in today's world with nut-jobs like desantis running around. I am an old woman and I learned so much from this book, especially about the common mind-set that white is right, black is not. Cleveland, a very educated adult black woman realized that she was living in a world with a "whitemalegod;" white men made the rules and, like so many of us, she resented that. She thought she could do better. She had heard of a Black Madonna in France and decided to go searching for her after her last insult from a white man who knew far less than she did. She quotes Audre Lorde at the beginning, "The white fathers told us: I think, therefore I am. The Black Mother within each of us - the poet - whispers in our dreams: I feel, therefore I can be free." And free she is. She goes to France on a walking pilgramage and finds many carved Black Madonnas in churches and sacred places. She even finds her own Black Madonna. You have to read the book to find out about her special Black Madonna.
The book is one of inspiring courage in black women and showing ways to gather strength. It was eye-opening to me, an old white woman,to see all the ways we live in a racist, misogynistic world. As I read her book, I saw myself with all the insulting comments to and about me because I am female. [This is partially my fault - I choose a career that is male dominated but I did not realize that I was doing it when I made my early choices.]
The book forced me to look at some of the insults I tolerated and to realize how my life might have been different if I had been in another career or chose other actions or words. All in all, a great book. Educational for those of us who do not always look carefully and deeply at out environments.

[NaKisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be honest, I judged the book, God is a Black Woman by Dr. Christena Cleveland, by the cover and title alone. I found the artistry gorgeous and the title intriguing so I went in blind. I was not expecting this to be a book of finding Black Woman God out of the author’s personal trauma caused by White Male God.
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I found truth in her descriptions of White Male God (patriarchal, racist, capitalist, abusive and upheld through the collective cultural imagination and deeds) and how he and his followers wreak havoc everywhere they go but I struggled with her leaning into Black Woman God or the Sacred Black Feminine (personable, empathetic, nurturing, liberating, resilient, accessible) out of the destruction left behind by White Male God. To me, both ideas feel limiting, reactionary and not expansive enough for the fullness of God.
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I appreciate Dr. Cleveland’s vulnerability in sharing her journey and am fascinated by her connection with all of the black Madonna’s she connected with on her pilgrimage in France. I felt like I connected with her lived experience as a black woman living in a white-washed world. But we differ as my journey with God did not lead me to finding my peace or meaning in God as being a Black Woman. In fact, my sense of God is more fluid, but definitely not White Male God😉 because let’s be real, White Male God ain’t out here giving life to nobody. So, I felt a bit conflicted with the high meaning and value Dr. Cleveland placed in the Black Madonnas. I also found the antagonistic and reactionary undertones to this book to be unsettling.
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Overall, this was a very interesting read and if you enjoy reading memoirs and autobiographies, especially about the faith journey of others, you may love this book. It was a good 3.5/5 ⭐️ read for me.

[Shoshi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really interesting book about the current state of religion in western culture and racism. Dr. Cleveland takes us along on her journey to discovering 'the divine black feminine' in opposition to what she terms 'father sky god'. There was a lot of interesting concepts explored through the book. One of the ones that stood out to me most came early in the book where Dr. Cleveland shows how ideas bleed into each other. The example given in the book was 'time flies' in relation to the fast pace American life. The point here was that even the smallest things can affect cultural attitude, so something like the skin tone of G-d could have a big effect. The most pressing (for me, as a white person with feminine socialization and upbringing) chapter was "The God of White Women" which critically looks at white women. In this chapter Dr. Cleveland uses the term 'white-sprawl' to refer to a white tendency to mindlessly move into any space (cultural, religious, physical) where they think they should be welcome. I'm struggling to give 'white-sprawl' an appropriate and concise summary, so instead I'll invite any person reading this to give the book a read.

[Erica Amad · Rating 5 out of 5]

throughout the book, she accomplished two main tasks: first, describing why the whitemalegod is an inaccurate depiction of god that is harmful in many ways and stems from oppression and slave trade. second she describes how she learned about the Sacred Black Feminine and how it healed her. as a non religious person, the first part intrigued me the most as i’m not interested in a god of any kind, however the good that a Sacred Black Feminine can do is so clear and so worthy- it does good not only for Black Women. as she said herself, the whitemalegod deems Black women as the lowest tier of human. the Sacred black feminine deems Black women as sacred. therefore, if ‘even’ Black women are sacred in Her eyes, everyone must be sacred in Her eyes as well. She describes how to worship and believe in the Sacred Black Feminine is to dismantle both the patriarchy AND white supremacy as “white feminism is whitemalegod in a pink pussy hat” and we can’t forget that

[kenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Through “God is a Black Woman”, Cleveland shares her personal journey breaking free from her “whitemalegod” indoctrination & awakening her relationship with what she calls the Black Divine Feminine. She reflects on the devastating effects white evangelical Christianity had on her childhood, family, and self-worth, and how the view of God that most white Christians uphold & identify with is one of oppression and white supremacy. There was much for me to take in & reflect on as she expressed the details of her beliefs, frustrations, and experiences, which I always appreciate.

I found this very interesting as someone who’s also deconstructed from mainstream religion, but also an undetermined/blurred/grey relationship with spirituality currently. Much to chew on.