Robert, Nikia Smith -- BREAKING THE LAW WHEN THE LAW BREAKS US: A WOMANIST THEO-ETHICAL APPROACH TO PUBLIC POLICY AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE ADVOCACY FOR THE BLACK CHURCH

2020·2.3 MB·English

by  Nikia Smith Robert

BREAKING THE LAW WHEN THE LAW BREAKS US:

A WOMANIST THEO-ETHICAL APPROACH TO
PUBLIC POLICY AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE ADVOCACY
FOR THE BLACK CHURCH

A dissertation
Presented to
The faculty of
Claremont School of Theology

In partial fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Philosophy

by
Nikia Smith Robert
December 2020
Copyright © 2020 by Nikia Smith Robert
NT S C HOOL OF
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This Dissertation completed by

Nikia Smith Robert
has been presented to and accepted by
the Faculty of the Claremont School of Theology
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
of the degree

Doctor of Philosophy

Faculty Committee
Monica A. Coleman, University of Delaware, Chairperson
Grace Y. Kao, Claremont School of Theology
Roberto Sirvent, Hope International University

Dean of the Faculty
Sheryl Kujawa-Holbrook

December 2020
ABSTRACT

BREAKING THE LAW WHEN THE LAW BREAKS US:
A WOMANIST THEO-ETHICICAL APPROACH TO
PUBLIC POLICY AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE ADVOCACY
FOR THE BLACK CHURCH

by

Nikia Smith Robert

There is a peculiar overlap between churches and the carceral state whereby Christianity
generally, and Black churches specifically, have contributed to extreme and unnecessary
suffering by embracing punitive theologies that justify the criminalization of poor Black mothers
who break the law to survive and secure quality of life. A framing question that guides this study
is: How can socially justice-oriented Black churches connect liberatory ecclesial teachings with
transformative justice strategies and public policy designs to undermine the carceral state and
advocate for impoverished Black mothers? Hitherto, there is a lacuna in religious scholarship that
I fill by responding to this inquiry and by according primacy to Black women’s experience with
criminality.
Ergo, the title of this dissertation is, Breaking the Law When the Law Breaks Us: A
Womanist Theo-Ethical Approach to Public Policy and Criminal Justice Advocacy for the Black
Church. This research is located at the intersections of theology, ethics and public policy. I use
critical race theory, constructive religious values and womanist virtue ethics as a methodology to
pursue three essential tasks: 1) to illuminate Black women’s plight with criminality, 2) to
investigate the ways in which Black women suffer from harmful church teachings and practices
that reinforce carceral logic, and 3) to propose a womanist theo-ethical approach that helps
churches use a 2x2 typological assessment tool to identify liberative theologies, transformative
justice strategies and public policies that advocate for Black women’s thriving.
This study engages statistical data, high-profile vignettes and personal experience to
show the integral role poor Black mothers play in their capacity as nurturers and providers to
stabilize households, communities and contribute to society. In comparison to the value that
some poor Black mothers holistically provide, I show the ways in which carcerality is costly,
consequential and causes excessive harm that is wrought with economic inequalities and
interlocking oppressions. In addition, there are harmful church teachings of sin, sacrifice and
respectability that reproduce carceral logic by limiting and foreclosing poor Black mothers
whose agency transgresses the boundaries of acceptable norms. Thus, in view of the
convergences of church and society in relation to the carceral state, I maintain that the
criminalization of poor Black mothers’ agentic survival practices is sine qua non to an exigent
problem of the twenty-first century that requires an urgent response.
The transdisciplinary focus of this dissertation contributes to the study of religion by
constructing a womanist theo-ethical approach that reappraises Black mothers’ extralegal
survival practices as a source of moral integrity, introduces a liberation theology of courageous
change and creates a 2x2 assessment tool for churches to evaluate its teachings and practices. I
also present an aspirational church called “The Abolitionist’s Sanctuary” that uses abolitionist
ideals, liberatory teachings and identifies three public policy areas (education, economy and
criminal justice) that aim to repair, restore and strengthen individuals and communities. The
study implication is for churches to embrace a womanist theo-ethical approach in hopes that their
ecclesial teachings and practices align with liberatory interventions to undermine the carceral
state and promote human flourishing. Hence, this dissertation engages and expands
transdisciplinary discourses of theology, ethics and criminal justice policy by centering the
experiences of poor Black mothers who are besieged for breaking the law when the law breaks
us.

KEY WORDS
Black church studies; Black women; critical carceral studies; criminality; deviance; law; liberation
theology; mass incarceration; public policy; religion; respectability politics; sacrifice; salvation;
surrogacy; survival; womanist theological ethics.
DEDICATION

To Carol—
Whose survival strategies saved me.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This dissertation project emerged as an inquiry. In 2008, as a Master of Divinity student
in Dr. James H. Cone’s doctoral Christology seminar at Union Theological Seminary in New
York City, we were assigned Crucifixion by Martin Hengel. This text led me to question the
connection between Jesus’ 1st century crucifixion and the scapegoating of Black bodies to the
modern carceral state. Probing the relationship between the cross and carcerality developed into
a seminar paper, a master’s thesis, a publication, and continues to inform my research, including
this dissertation. My scholarly interests interrogate the theological and ethical underpinnings of
punishment in connection to Black women’s experiences with criminalization and mass
incarceration. I am indebted to Dr. Cone for helping me to discover a vocational path that I may
not have otherwise considered. This dissertation is, to an extent, possible because he held space
for my inquiries and encouraged a faith-seeking commitment to wrestle with advancing the
project of liberation.
I want to acknowledge the Forum for Theological Exploration (FTE) for providing
community and generous funding to complete my studies. I am also appreciative of the support
and training of the Wabash community that provided resources for teaching in Academe.
Moreover, I am grateful for the Claremont School of Theology and the Religion, Ethics and
Society program, especially the funding of Bishop Golden and Elaine Walker. I also want to
thank the Fellowship for Protestant Ethics for providing space to think critically about my
dissertation project with the feedback and encouragement from a community of peers. I extend
thanks to the guilds I have served, including the Executive Board of Directors and Student
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Caucus for the Society of Christian Ethics, as well as the Liberation Theologies Steering
Committee of the American Academy of Religion.
The highest honor of my doctoral studies has been studying with respected senior
scholars and having the privilege of working under the supervision of a committee of leading
thinkers in womanism and process theology, Christian ethics, legal studies, public policy and
criminal justice. I want to extend my highest accolade and admiration for my dissertation
committee members and readers: Drs. Grace Y. Kao, Roberto Sirvent, Michelle Alexander and
Heather Campbell. I am also especially grateful for my committee chairperson, Dr. Monica A.
Coleman, who is a constant support, mentor, champion, teacher and friend. Coleman has always
advocated for my whole being as a mother, wife, Chaplain, Itinerant preacher and doctoral
student. Dr. Kao has endlessly devoted a plethora of resources and mentorship to push me as a
scholar and to strive for academic precision as an uncompromising mark of excellence. Dr.
Sirvent has been a consistent presence to help me hone my project and to serve as a bridge to
opportunities in the academy. I am honored to have Dr. Alexander as a reader who has given me
the confidence and support I needed to believe in this project on days that I had lost sight of its
potential value. She has pastored me in ways that have far exceeded the shepherding I received
in formal faith-spaces. I am both inspired and encouraged by her character, care and scholarship.
I am also thankful to Dr. Campbell for her role as a reader and sharing expertise in public policy
to strengthen this project. To all, I extend my deepest gratitude for your tireless efforts in
cultivating me as a scholar and helping me to develop this dissertation as a labor of love.
UBUNTU is an African principle that often translates to “I am because we are.” My
success is inextricably linked to those who have invested in me. I am grateful for the village of
moms and administrators at my children’s schools who encouraged me on the tough days of
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multitasking motherhood with doctoral studies and all of life’s competing demands. I am grateful
for the village of Girl Scout moms who helped to cover me with playdates and drop-offs/pickups
while studying for exams and dissertating. I am thankful for my Huntington Hospital village of
chaplains and colleagues who extended grace and covered weekend shifts, sometimes at a
moment’s notice, so that I could study and meet the necessary deadlines to advance in my
program. I appreciate my Church villages at First AME Church, Pasadena and First AME
Church: Bethel for your prayers and steadfast love. I am especially grateful for the financial
support and encouragement of my home pastor, Rev. Dr. Henry A. Belin, III and his wife, Rita
Sinkfield Belin, ESQ.
To my village of mentors and senior scholar supporters: President Angela Sims, Vice
President Pamela Lightsey and Associate Vice President Karen Jackson-Weaver, thank you for
your wisdom and counsel that sustained me during some of the most critical times. The journey
would certainly not be the same without your encouragement and unwavering support. I also
want to thank Vincent Lloyd for the endless opportunities you have accorded me to develop as a
scholar engaging the intersections of carceral studies and political theology. To my village of
dearest sister-friends: Mieasia Edwards, Amy Parrilla, Angela Polite, Cassie McCarty, Erin
Pullins and Trecia Simmonds, thank you for your selflessness, generosity, presence, grace,
forgiveness, understanding, prayers and constant support along this journey. You helped me to
find joy and laughter while holding space for frustrations and difficulties. Your friendship kept
me sane, connected and encouraged. An unknown author once said, "A good friend knows all
your best stories, but a best friend has lived them with you." Thank you for living the best (and
worst) of stories with me, as well as closing this doctoral chapter.
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