ABSTRACT
In their 1830s conversion narratives, Jarena Lee and Maria Stewart ground their authority to pursue public vocations in their conversion experiences. Jarena Lee was the first Black woman in America to publish a spiritual autobiography. Maria Stewart was the first American woman, Black or white, to publish pamphlets and deliver political speeches before a mixed audience of men and women. Both women defy the racism that would denigrate their identities and the sexism that would restrict their vocations. Their narratives resist this dual oppression by crafting a theologically nuanced justification for their public vocations. As followers of Christ, granted new identities that are subject only to the authority of Christ, Lee and Stewart are empowered to proclaim their experiences for the good of their communities. Both women draw on the biblical precedent of Mary Magdalene, who was ordained by Christ to proclaim the resurrection.
This chapter argues that Jarena Lee and Maria Stewart’s 1830s conversion narratives draw on the biblical example of Mary Magdalene to assert their authority, challenge patriarchal hierarchies, and create precedent for subsequent generations of Black women to pursue their vocations. By treating the Bible as a site of counter-memory to be excavated, Lee and Stewart unearth the biblical example of Mary Magdalene’s witness and create theological precedent for their own vocations and those of subsequent generations of women.
