“The tyranny of hegemonic truth will have to be abandoned by those who treasure it and are privileged by it.”-Alicia Vargas
Everyone walks through the doors of the church with a cultural agenda believed to be
normative. Often the basis of that framework begins with one’s assigned gender roles
and, in America, expands to include class and race. For many people within the dominant group, other aspects of the paradigm will diminish, but that, unfortunately, is not the case for individuals without a dominant identity. Dual identity is the lens through which a woman of color sees the church. This duality structures her interactions within the ecclesiastical system, choosing neither gender nor race as the dominant framework. The duality of her presence in leadership can confuse people who may not fully accept her leadership in a cross-cultural context or who struggle with a non-male leader. Read more