Too Heavy a Yoke: Black Women and the Burden of Strength
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.
"Too Heavy a Yoke is a much-needed, thoughtful, and
nuanced examination of the 'Strong Black Woman' stereotype--a
significant new contribution to multiple disciplines of pastoral
care and counseling, psychology, sociology, African American and
womanist-feminist studies, and constructive theology. Walker Barnes
draws on both womanist and Trinitarian theologies to examine how
the church can play a part in healing and liberating black women
from 'the burden of strength.' Meticulously researched and
beautifully written, this book belongs on the shelf of every
minister and pastoral counselor, and indeed every woman who knows
in her soul the burdens of being a 'StrongBlackWoman.'"
--Pamela Cooper-White, Ben G. and Nancye Clapp Gautier Professor of
Pastoral Theology, Care, and Counseling, Columbia Theological
Seminary
"Well done! This book is a much-needed gift to the field of
pastoral theology. It is a well nuanced and explicated research
volume and a practical guide for caregivers, pastors, those who
love women struggling with the ideology of the 'StrongBlackWoman,'
as well as those in recovery."
--Marsha Foster Boyd, President Emerita, Ecumenical Theological
Seminary
"A prayerful, prophetic, poetic, pastoral, powerful womanist
analysis of the StrongBlackWoman, from an interdisciplinary,
experiential perspective names the context, content, complexities,
and pathology of many Black women's embodied archetypal, systemic
oppression and posits hopeful options for a paradigmatic shift of
recovery. Woven with artistry and passion, Too Heavy a Yoke
is a must-read for clergy, therapists, caregivers, and any persons
or groups committed to the liberation of black women, ultimately
the liberation of all society."
--Cheryl A. Kirk-Duggan, Professor of Religion, Shaw University
Divinity School
"Too Heavy a Yoke is a much-needed, thoughtful, and
nuanced examination of the 'Strong Black Woman' stereotype--a
significant new contribution to multiple disciplines of pastoral
care and counseling, psychology, sociology, African American and
womanist-feminist studies, and constructive theology. Walker Barnes
draws on both womanist and Trinitarian theologies to examine how
the church can play a part in healing and liberating black women
from 'the burden of strength.' Meticulously researched and
beautifully written, this book belongs on the shelf of every
minister and pastoral counselor, and indeed every woman who knows
in her soul the burdens of being a 'StrongBlackWoman.'"
--Pamela Cooper-White, Ben G. and Nancye Clapp Gautier Professor of
Pastoral Theology, Care, and Counseling, Columbia Theological
Seminary
"Well done! This book is a much-needed gift to the field of
pastoral theology. It is a well nuanced and explicated research
volume and a practical guide for caregivers, pastors, those who
love women struggling with the ideology of the 'StrongBlackWoman,'
as well as those in recovery."
--Marsha Foster Boyd, President Emerita, Ecumenical Theological
Seminary
"A prayerful, prophetic, poetic, pastoral, powerful womanist
analysis of the StrongBlackWoman, from an interdisciplinary,
experiential perspective names the context, content, complexities,
and pathology of many Black women's embodied archetypal, systemic
oppression and posits hopeful options for a paradigmatic shift of
recovery. Woven with artistry and passion, Too Heavy a Yoke
is a must-read for clergy, therapists, caregivers, and any persons
or groups committed to the liberation of black women, ultimately
the liberation of all society."
--Cheryl A. Kirk-Duggan, Professor of Religion, Shaw University
Divinity School
Product Details
- Title : Too Heavy a Yoke: Black Women and the Burden of Strength
- Author: Walker-Barnes, Chanequa
- Publisher: Cascade Books
- Publication Date: 2014
- ISBN: 9781630871925
Chanequa Walker-Barnes is a theologian and psychologist whose mission is to serve as a catalyst for healing, justice, and reconciliation in the Christian church and beyond. She is Assistant Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling in the McAfee School of Theology at Mercer University.