Too Heavy a Yoke: Black Women and the Burden of Strength

by Chanequa Walker-Barnes

Overview

Black women are strong. At least that's what everyone says and how they are constantly depicted. But what, exactly, does this strength entail? And what price do Black women pay for it? In this book, the author, a psychologist and pastoral theologian, examines the burdensome yoke that the ideology of the Strong Black Woman places upon African American women. She demonstrates how the three core features of the ideology--emotional strength, caregiving, and independence--constrain the lives of African American women and predispose them to physical and emotional health problems, including obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and anxiety. She traces the historical, social, and theological influences that resulted in the evolution and maintenance of the Strong Black Woman, including the Christian church, R & B and hip-hop artists, and popular television and film. Drawing upon womanist pastoral theology and twelve-step philosophy, she calls upon pastoral caregivers to aid in the healing of African American women's identities and crafts a twelve-step program for Strong Black Women in recovery.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781630871925
Publisher:	Wipf & Stock Publishers
Publication date:	06/19/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	232
Sales rank:	128,511
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Chanequa Walker-Barnes is Assistant Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling at McAfee School of Theology, Mercer University, Atlanta, Georgia. She is a licensed psychologist and a candidate for ordination in the United Methodist Church. Her articles have been published in a wide range of scholarly journals, including Journal of Pastoral Theology, Child Development, and American Journal of Community Psychology.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction: The Personal Is Pastoral 1

1 This Thing Called Strength: A Portrait of the StrongBlack Woman 14

2 Too Heavy a Yoke: The Pain of the StrongBlackWoman 41

3 "To Carry Your Burden in the Heat of the Day": Racism, Sexism, and the Making of the StrongBlackWoman 80

4 Pride and Prejudice: Societal Reactions to the StrongBlackWoman 109

5 Must Black Women Bear the Yoke Alone? The Church and the StrongBlackWoman 130

6 "For My Yoke Is Easy": liberating Black Women from the Burden of Strength 160

Appendix: The StrongBlackWoman's Twelve-Step Recovery Program 197

Bibliography 199

Scripture Index 209

Subject Index 210