In My Grandmother's House: Black Women, Faith, and the Stories We Inherit

by Yolanda Pierce

Overview

"In a world eager to promote the newest wunderkind, grandmother theology carries us two or more generations back: to the kitchens, hair salons, gardens, and church basements of older Black women who are often invisible in theological discourse but without whom the American Christian church would cease to exist."

The church mothers who raised Yolanda Pierce, dean of Howard University School of Divinity, were busily focused on her survival. In a world hostile to Black women's bodies and spirits, they had to be. Born on a former cotton plantation and having fled the terrors of the South, Pierce's grandmother raised her in the faith inherited from those who were enslaved. Now in paperback, In My Grandmother's House follows Pierce as she reckons with that tradition, building an everyday womanist theology rooted in liberating scriptures, experiences in the Black church, and truths from Black women's lives. Pierce tells stories that center the experiences of those living on the underside of history, teasing out the tensions of race, spirituality, trauma, freedom, resistance, and memory. The paperback features a new readers' guide, written by the author, that is useful for individual reflection and group discussion.

A grandmother's theology carries wisdom strong enough for future generations. The Divine has been showing up at the kitchen tables of Black women for a long time. It's time to get to know that God.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781506484662
Publisher:	1517 Media
Publication date:	02/07/2023
Pages:	196
Sales rank:	288,650
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Yolanda Pierce is professor and dean of Vanderbilt Divinity School. She is a scholar of African American religious history, womanist theology, and religion and literature, as well as a public theologian, columnist, and activist. She is the author of the books Hell Without Fires, In My Grandmother's House, and The Wounds Are the Witness.

Table of Contents

Preface xv

1 There Is a Name 1

2 Just above My Head 15

3 The Work of Her Hands 33

4 Leaving 45

5 Holy Ghost(ly) Silences 61

6 Being Present 75

7 Tender Love 87

8 A Question of Safety 101

9 Valley of the Shadow of Whiteness 113

10 Sacraments 127

11 How Can I Say Thanks? 143

12 Notes on the State of Virginia 155

Afterword by a Daughter 169

Acknowledgments 173

Notes 175

Editorial Reviews

"In this gripping and authentic text, Dr. Yolanda Pierce teaches us to listen with radical attentiveness, uncovering the analytical brilliance, courageous sacrifice, and definitive theology of her grandmother. As she excavates the intergenerational recipes and patterns out of which her own life is created, she gives the reader access to deep wells of faith and wisdom. This text is a love letter to Black grandmothers and a show way quilt for young people. It is essential reading for all who hear the whisper of the still, small voice and feel unsure of how to respond." —Melissa Harris-Perry, journalist, speaker, and professor at Wake Forest University

"Within the pages of In My Grandmother's House, Dr. Yolanda Pierce brings to the forefront the titans of faith formation, the holders of theological wisdom, the guides who rarely receive credit from the academy for having crafted a faith that endures: Black grandmothers. By giving language to the ways Black women have long helped us make sense of the Divine, Dr. Pierce offers us a window into the sacred lives of Black women, at once centering ourselves, our histories, and our God." —Austin Channing Brown, New York Times bestselling author of I'm Still Here

"From the opening sentence to the closing paragraph, Dr. Yolanda Pierce provides a spiritual meal we did not know we desperately needed as a community of joyous believers and wounded family members who occupy the space we call the Black church. Dr. Pierce becomes this generation's spiritual griot; her powerful storytelling challenges, inspires, and demands we hold the brokenness and the blessedness of the space we call the Black church in both hands. She pushes us to refuse to release the sweet and sour flavors mixed in the beautiful pot of our Black spirituality framed by the womanist power of our grandmothers. Thank you, Dr. Pierce, for being a brilliant, radical, and loving truth-teller." —Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III, author, activist, and senior pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ

"I used to think talking about Black life, or even Black faith, was about convincing white people to be better. But that's far too limiting. It is about giving us words, setting our bodies free, living in ways that allow us to feel seen, inspired, protected. It is about deep love, a deep faith in the possibility of better for ourselves and our country. Dr. Yolanda Pierce does just that: she welcomes us into the sacred space between Black bodies, God, kitchens, living rooms, sanctuaries, cities, and classrooms. . . . This is a book that is both brilliantly told and beautifully written—a book you will want to read, read again, talk about, sing about, cry with, hold onto, and be held by." —Danté Stewart, writer, speaker, and activist

"Dr. Yolanda Pierce gives us the gift of inviting us into the faith of her grandmother, and so many others who have gone before. For those of us born entrenched in white patriarchal Christianity, this gift is profound. In her poetic, theologically rich reflections on growing up in the Black church, Dr. Pierce invites our gaze to honor the women who have upheld a profound yet overlooked aspect of American Christianity. This is a wonderful introduction to womanist theology that is life-giving and nurturing even as it invites constant reflection on the part of the reader." —D. L. Mayfield, author of The Myth of the American Dream and Assimilate or Go Home

From the Publisher