The Journal of the Baptist Peacemaker October-December 2016 - 23

sTorIes oF Peacemakers
women of African descent has had on African-American
people. What is also important to remember is the valued and
healing partnerships that Native American tribes made with
many enslaved Africans throughout the south-throughout
the country, really-in order to survive the violence of white
supremacy.
It's a history that many African-Americans share, and
it gives us a different perspective on what democracy is. It
gives us a different perspective on how important it is to be
community and what healthy community looks like.
Because of the religious and spiritual cosmology of
both of those peoples (African and Native American), this
embodiment of borders also presents a different way of
thinking about religion and being religious-particularly
when it comes to ethics, moral behavior and the Earth. The
Earth is sacred in many African cosmologies, and the Earth is
sacred in many Native cosmologies.
I think, in terms of our holistic understanding of
ourselves in community with the planet, we need to look at
the concept of borders. Who created the term "border"?
Why is it so important to draw lines between people, when
in fact, in one's own embodiment, one could be living in a
number of different spaces without considering them to be
different or disjointed?
Peacemaker:	Can	you	think	of 	other	borders	you	cross	regularly?
HARRIS: I think the "borders" question is very important
for women. This is particularly true when women think about
their own spiritual or faith practice and whether or not their
own spirituality fits within a dominant religious paradigm-
whether that's an institution like a church or a denomination.
It is true that many women practice the faith that is
modeled to them by other women. In my observation as
a teacher of students who reflect on their own religious
and ethical principles in class, I find that it is also true that
if a woman (or a man) is empowered by their religion, or
spirituality, they are more likely to engage the church or faith
community. If there is a disconnect, then the person is more
likely to find a spiritual or religious path that helps them feel
a sense of belonging and connection.
I have found that this is an important border to at least
name, because it gives women agency and opportunity to
name the fact that their spirituality and the way they embody
their spirituality may be different, but it's okay, and it should
be affirmed. For example, it is okay for women to ask questions
of a doctrine that appears to limit women's voices and agency
in a violent relationship.
There is a lot of patriarchy woven into the establishment
of the church and the history of Christianity. Women's voices
have not always been valued, nor even considered worthy
to be acknowledged. At times in Christian history, that has
been carried out in the silencing of women's voices, women's
authority and women's wisdom.

This is not to say there have not been strong women
in the history of the Church-there have been people like
Sojourner Truth. Also, in the African-American churches,
particularly the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) church,
which is the tradition that I am ordained in, we have many
foremothers. Jarena Lee, Sarah Allen, Rosa Parks-these are all
women who were influenced by the life and call of Jesus Christ.

"A lot of my sensitivity as a scholar of color,
working with white students, is that I'm
asking them to do something that they've
probably never been asked to do before."
They are examples of strong, black, faith-inspired women
who faced all kinds of racial hatred, who faced questions
regarding their ability to be spirit-inspired, intelligent human
beings because of their race and their gender. I come from a
tradition where women not only beat insurmountable odds,
but blaze a path for others to do the same. This is more than
crossing boundaries. This is changing the course of history.
So, because of the injustice in the society, and because of
the strength that is necessary to combat injustice, this kind of
boundary-crossing is expected from someone like me. Until allies
can be trained and people educated to accept the humanity and
innate dignity of all persons, the work must be done.
Peacemaker:	Have	you	seen	any	recent	changes	in	the	student	
population	at	TCU?
HARRIS: We are beginning to see TCU students organizing
protests about what is happening in Baltimore and Ferguson
and elsewhere in the last couple of years. TCU now needs
to provide information for a skilled conversation on racial
justice. It's a matter of changing our identity enough to have
the courage for that conversation. And it will take courage.
Fort Worth is still very racially segregated.
A lot of my sensitivity as a scholar of color, working with
white students, is that I'm asking them to do something that
they've probably never been asked to do before. I'm asking
them to ask themselves questions about their own racial and
ethnic identity. Most children of color and students of color
have been asked to do that since they were born-to articulate
who they are-but students who are not of color have not.
Where does the racial category of "white" come from? Is
it also a social construction? For what purpose? What does it
mean to be white in this community, at this time? I believe it is
imperative to ask these questions, to invite people to respond,
in order to move the race conversation forward.
Please see "Melanie Harris" on page 24.

Baptist Peacemaker

OCT-DEC 2016 23



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Journal of the Baptist Peacemaker October-December 2016

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