THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA Ella Mitchell: A Forerunner of Liberation Spirituality among African American Women A DISSERTATION Submitted to the Faculty of the School of Theology and Religious Studies Of The Catholic University of America In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree Doctor of Philosophy © Copyright All Rights Reserved By Kanika A.M. Magee Washington, D.C. 2012 Ella Mitchell: A Forerunner of Liberation Spirituality among African American Women Kanika A.M. Magee, Ph.D. Director: Raymond Studzinski, O.S.B., Ph.D. Ella Mitchell (1917-2008) reflects an emphasis on liberation that is inspired and empowered by the influence of God. Though a small body of literature exists by and about women of African American descent, few texts explore their lives and contributions to culture and none have noted the contributions of Mitchell’s life and work as a model of lived liberation spirituality. This dissertation explores the life experience and achievements of Mitchell, who was the first female dean of Spelman College’s Sisters Chapel, the first African American woman to become president and serve on the Board of Educational Ministries of the American Baptist Church, and the first female to preach at the historic Hampton Ministers’ Conference. Mitchell was the first to pull together the voices of African American women preachers for publication and did so through a series of five ground- breaking books entitled Those Preachin’ Women (1985, 1988, 1996, 2004, and 2008). Segundo Galilea’s concept of liberation spirituality and its dimensions provides a framework for analysis of Mitchell’s life and contributions. Information was collected through published works by Mitchell, available recordings of interviews with Mitchell, unpublished manuscripts provided by Mitchell’s family, and information provided by family members and friends of Mitchell. The dissertation correlates Mitchell’s life to those of other women in the Christian tradition who demonstrated a commitment to aspects of Mitchell’s experience. It overlays the simultaneous development in the Civil Rights Movement, African American culture, and African American Christianity that are relevant to Mitchell’s experience. Through life experience and preaching, Mitchell demonstrates Galilea’s three key components of liberation spirituality: a personal identification with the suffering of Christ, unity of faith and action through service and love, and a call to conversion for others due to a shared responsibility. These are each evident throughout Mitchell’s life and manuscripts. Mitchell was born into a segregated state when women were not allowed to vote, chose to give freely to others and love them even as a child, and charged others to live with a sense of purpose and accountability. These characteristics are in clear alignment with the traits expressed by Galilea and provide a basis for viewing Mitchell’s life as a lived expression of liberation spirituality. This dissertation by Kanika A.M. Magee fulfills the dissertation requirement for the doctoral degree in Spirituality approved by Raymond Studzinski, O.S.B., Ph.D., as Director, and by William Dinges, Ph.D.; Joseph White, Ph.D.; Teresa Fry-Brown, Ph.D. as Readers. ___________________________________ Raymond Studzinski, O.S.B., Ph.D., Director ___________________________________ William Dinges, Ph.D., Reader ___________________________________ Joseph White, Ph.D., Reader ___________________________________ Teresa Fry-Brown, Ph.D., Reader ii Table of Contents Chapter One Introduction .....................................................................................5 Chapter Two Perspectives on Liberation Spirituality ..........................................14 A. Defining Christian Spirituality ..........................................................................14 B. Understanding Liberation Spirituality ...............................................................17 C. Comprehensive Scope of Liberation Spirituality ..............................................23 D. Jesus’ Lived Example in Spirituality ................................................................25 E. Paradigmatic Suffering of Jesus ........................................................................31 F. Emotion in Spiritual Experience ........................................................................33 G. Personal Conversion Experience ......................................................................37 H. Community Orientation in Spirituality .............................................................42 I. An Expression of Fraternal Love ........................................................................49 Chapter Three Knowing Ella Mitchell: A Lived Liberation Spirituality ................60 A. Introduction .......................................................................................................61 B. Background .......................................................................................................63 C. The Preaching Life ............................................................................................66 D. Family and the Segregated South......................................................................76 E. Seminary and Self..............................................................................................79 F. Marriage and Adult Life ....................................................................................96 G. Christian Education and Higher Education .....................................................101 H. Struggle in the Pulpit.......................................................................................104 I. Pioneering Achievements .................................................................................108 Chapter Four A Liberating Journey ....................................................................113 A. Personal Experience of Christ: The Word in Life ...........................................113 iii The Oppressed .............................................................................................. 115 The Poor .........................................................................................................132 The Rejected ................................................................................................. 136 The Bereaved ................................................................................................ 145 The Suffering ................................................................................................ 146 B. Faith in Action: The Word in Works ...............................................................169 Chosen People ............................................................................................... 187 Conversion .................................................................................................... 190 God is Trustworthy ....................................................................................... 195 God is Awesome ........................................................................................... 196 God of the Oppressed .................................................................................... 198 Lived Faith Community .................................................................................200 C. Call to Conversion: The Word Proclaimed .................................................... 201 i. Personal Liberation .................................................................................... 202 Self ..........................................................................................................203 Biblical Examples ....................................................................................217 African American Women ...................................................................... 231 Jesus as Model ........................................................................................ 237 ii. Action Oriented—Toward Helping and Motivating Others ..................... 243 Love ....................................................................................................... 245 Service..................................................................................................... 249 Activism ..................................................................................................258 iii. Faith-Based—The Courage to Stand on Belief in God ........................... 261 Chapter Five Conclusion .......................................................................................266 Primary Sources .........................................................................................................278 Secondary Sources .....................................................................................................280 iv Chapter One Introduction Ella Mitchell (1917-2008) stands as one of the influential twentieth century contemporary female preachers in the African American Christian tradition. Mitchell was a trailblazer, becoming the first female dean of Spelman College’s Sisters Chapel in Atlanta, Georgia; teaching homiletics at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta and Virginia Union University in Richmond, Virginia; becoming the first female to preach at the Hampton Ministers’ Conference; and gaining the title “Dean of Women Preachers” and being referred to as a “Mother of the Womanist Preaching Movement” as reported by the African American Lectionary.1 While Mitchell never labeled