By J. Shannon Clarkson.
My earliest interactions with the Rev. Dr. Katie Geneva Cannon began at Stony Point Conference Center in New York, where she organized annual weekend events for women of color in the early eighties. These were very important gatherings, as women sought to establish themselves as women of color in denominations that were not always welcoming of their leadership participation. Katie had invited my partner Letty Russell and I to participate, and as white women, we were happy to partner. This would be the first of many gatherings where we educated each other and built relationships to resist oppression in church and academy. At that time, Letty and I were beginning to engage with Asian women, hoping to organize a group for women from Asia who were studying in the United States. We asked Kate if we could all meet one weekend, and she graciously agreed. A follow-meeting was held in our home in Guilford, Connecticut, where the first “official” gathering of AWT (Asian Women in Theology, later Pacific, Asian, and North American Asian Women in Theology and Ministry [PANAAWTM]) convened. Unfortunately, Kate did not attend that meeting—she eschewed cats, and we always had two.
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Want to read more? Click here for full (free) access to Clarkson’s reflection at JSTOR: https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2979/jfemistudreli.35.1.10.
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This piece originally appeared in the Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion Issue 35.1, Spring 2019.