‘Reclaiming the Narrative:’ Reflections from the 2023 Black Religion, Spirituality, and Culture Conference

March 29, 2023

Melissa Wood Bartholomew, Associate Dean for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging

From the Think Tank Session “Repairing the Souls of Black Folx: The Internal Work of Preparing for Reparations,” featuring Melissa Wood Bartholomew, MDiv '15, Associate Dean for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging at HDS, and Lecturer on Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging. / Photo credit: Kristie Welsh

2023 Black Religion, Spirituality, and Culture Conference focused on storytelling as a vehicle for racial collective healing and restorative justice.

This past February marked the seventh annual Harvard Divinity School Black Religion, Spirituality, and Culture Conference. Spanning two days, the conference was led by HDS Harambee: Students of African descent.

HDS students and faculty joined with people from across the University and broader Boston community to interrogate the question of what it means “to be faithful, hopeful, prophetic, and undaunted in sustaining, and drawing from, our ancestral legacies and deep wells of transnational Black liberation struggles.”

This year, the BRSCC team focused on creating a conversational format that allowed speakers to engage more openly and intimately with attendees.

BRSCC co-chair Kenashia Thompson, Harambee president Byron Jones II, and Harambee treasurer Tracey Robertson Carter sat down with HDS student Cecily Powell Tolleson to discuss this year’s conference. Responses have been edited and condensed for length and clarity.

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Aliyah Collins, Kenashia Thompson, Byron Jones II, John P. Brown, Tracey Robertson Carter, and Ahmaad Edmund — Aliyah Collins, MDiv ‘23, Social Engagement Chair, Harambee; Kenashia Thompson, MDiv ‘23, Co-chair, BRSCC; Byron Jones II, MDiv ‘23, President, Harambee; John P. Brown, 2023 SANKOFA Award Recipient and Practitioner in Residence in Religion, Business Ethics, and the Economic Order at HDS; Tracey Robertson Carter, special student, Treasurer, Harambee; and Ahmaad Edmund, MDiv ‘24, Vice President, Harambee. / Photo credit: Kristie Welsh

Cecily Powell Tolleson: What motivated you in selecting this year’s theme, and what did you want to accomplish through it?

Kenashia Thompson: We wanted to tackle the question: What does spirituality and religious life look like in various professions? That’s why we had an economist as the keynote speaker, as opposed to a traditional religious scholar. We also explored spirituality through public leadership and through the lens of Black creatives, so we had various art professionals and leaders in that realm. Finally, we explored spirituality through the Black church, because we know the Black church has been a driving vehicle for storytelling in the Black community since its inception, especially during the Civil Rights movement.

Two persons from last year’s committee were also on this year’s committee—myself and Aliyah Collins. She’s also a third-year MDiv student here. We were sitting with the group and talking about all the issues that we had with last year’s planning and the culture that was exuded in last year’s conference. Last year, there was a lot of passive listening. We wanted to switch it up this year with the framework of the conference, having a keynote presentation the first day and the think tank presentations the second day. This way, there can be a more engaging, interactive atmosphere.

Tracey Robertson: We worked on this for months with this incredible team. It’s definitely based in love and a lot of faith in the process with the goal of uplifting the Black voice.

We’re in different times, and people come to the work of reparative justice in many ways—whether it be activism or sharing knowledge or engaging in deep conversation. We thought that sitting in a circle—our panelists engaged in the circle—harkens back to African rituals around meeting and connecting. It becomes more of a community and truly a think tank in a way that we come out together a little bit different than when we entered.

Opening Keynote by Dr. Darrick Hamilton, university professor, Henry Cohen Professor of Economics and Urban Policy, and the founding director of the Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy at The New School. / Photo credit: Kristie Welsh

Powell Tolleson: I know it was important for you to make the conference very flexible so that people can apply the takeaways to different professions. But since it was at HDS, what do you hope will be the impact of this conference to the field of religious studies specifically?

Jones: For so long, our narrative has been told by other people, and we wanted to reclaim that narrative. We want to make sure that HDS and the broader Harvard ecosystem hear and validate our stories. Everybody comes from a different background, different cultures, different ethnic groups. We need to have a space that tells the story of how we got here through some struggle, the adversity we had to face, as well as how we’ve overcome them. It’s important that HDS provides a space to let each person tell their narrative before we assume and give stereotypes to people.

Thompson: To add on to that, even though HDS professes to be a pluralistic community, there’s still very much a culture of white, eurocentric, heteronormative, Protestant Christianity prevalent at the Divinity School. That’s what we wanted to bring: All of these different stories matter, and they’re valid, so we just wanted to uplift.

From “The Black Gaze: Arts, Environment and Technology,” Arsimmer McCoy, a Mother, a griot, creative, and writer for the award-winning film, “You Can Always Come Home." / Photo credit: Danielle Daphne Ang

Powell Tolleson: Outside of funding for conferences, what other roles can institutions like HDS play in addressing challenges facing the Black church and Black spirituality?

Jones: It’s complicated for HDS because we are a pluralistic, non-sectarian community, but it’s hard to find courses that we can take around Black churches in the history and social movements as it relates to institutions for the Black community (“institution” referring to the organizational makeup of the church). I would love to see maybe a program or course guide of Black church studies and seeing how they operate across African-American religious experiences. The Black church can be incumbent of many different faiths.

Thompson: I would also say, as Byron alluded to, making sure there are courses in Africana studies, not just Black church studies, and then making sure there are Black professors who are teaching these courses. HDS needs to have more Black professors who are experts in these fields to help continue developing the students who come through.

Erica Williams and Phillip Agnew — *From “The Spiritual Lives of Public Leaders: Going Back to Our Roots,” featuring the Rev. Erica Williams, MRPL ‘22, and Phillip Agnew, Co-Director, Black Men Build. / Photo credit: Kristie Welsh*

Powell Tolleson: And now that the conference is over, how is the mission of the conference going to find new life going forward, or how do you all hope? And what key points do you hope that attendees took away?

Jones: We hope to have it continue to be a recurring event that happens in the life of HDS. I want to give honor and thanks to Dean Hempton for the conference and the funding, and I hope that the budget is a recurring event despite transition. Additionally, we were intentional in bringing on people who will be here next year and continue this legacy, even after people like myself graduate, so that this conference will be a staple in the life of HDS.

We hope the participants left with a new zeal to tell their story, even if it might go against the traditional narrative we grew up hearing in the media. In this day in age, you have misinformation. How can our stories speak to those things and center ourselves in this culture that tries to write about the Black voice while silencing the Black voice? Whether it be through art, the church, activism, public leadership, or whatever it may be, you have a story to tell, and you should tell your story in that area to connect with people.

Robertson: Throughout the conference, we intentionally had moments of Black joy, which for us is around being radical and revolutionary and celebrating in uplifting our voice. We will publish our conference videos from the day-one keynote with Professor Darrick Hamilton and highlights from the many incredible think tank speakers, including: HDS student and Womanist Club Fellow Suzannah Omonuk, Professor Melissa Wood Bartholomew, Artist/Activist Arsimmer McCoy, Knight Foundation Executive Roshell Rinkins, HDS alum Rev. Erica Williams, Professor Teddy Hickman-Maynard, and many more from day two. There should be opportunities of sharing this beyond just posting it on YouTube.

I want to second what our Harambee president, Byron, shared and on behalf of all of us. Dean Hempton shared significant and heart-centered words at the end of his speech to us on the closing day. Dean Hempton brought home how important it is that we get into these conversations. And he didn’t use the word uncomfortable; I believe he said deep. He was critical to the beginning of the Black Religion, Spirituality, and Culture Conference. He will now, in perpetuity, be someone who has laid the groundwork for the future of where students can go and explore with themes of this conference.

Thompson: Another thing we were trying to be intentional about is that inward call, inward challenge, to action. Dean Melissa Bartholomew’s presentation was at the beginning on Friday, and she called for participants to do an emotional excavation.

Robertson: It was about releasing any of those fears that would hinder us from moving forward, and doing what she calls the "heart" work that undergirds the Harvard Legacy of Slavery report and healing work. It was an emotional excavation—putting it on paper and letting it go away.

Thompson: Each think tank, when we were talking with the presenters, we made a big push for that aspect of what participants are walking away with.

—by Cecily Powell Tolleson