A Response from the LAB

Abstract

A Response from the LAB Monique Moultrie (bio) and Sarah Emanuel (bio) The CoLaboratory (LAB) branch of Feminist Studies in Religion (FSR) was established in June 2020 to create space for exploratory projects within the FSR organization. As shared on the FSR website, the LAB facilitates in-person and online public engagement to help share and develop ideas, resources, and tools that advance inclusiveness and feminist imagination. Through these initiatives, the LAB links feminist scholarship and activism to strengthen the collaborative opportunities among academics, activists, religious leaders, and grassroots organizers.1 The broader FSR organization created a list of action items to combat anti-Black racism at the same time the LAB was announced as FSR’s fourth unit, which now exists alongside the journal, blog, and books. This timeline, although a coincidence, is interesting. While the FSR action items (see below) were created in response to the George Floyd protests, members of the LAB—formerly known as the Forum2—had been raising concerns within subcommittee meetings about the racialized structures of FSR. By the time the action items were crafted, many LAB members were already of the perspective that organizational change and truth-telling needed to occur. Projects within the LAB are continually rotating, but current works include the Feminists Talk Religion podcast, a self-reflective survey on FSR’s history, and a syllabus project where teaching resources will be housed on the LAB’s website. Needless to say, each project brings with it the following helpful organizational commitments: • Recognize the work of Black feminist and womanist scholars • Invite more women of color to FSR’s boards and leadership [End Page 75] • Facilitate intentional conversations of anti-Black racism and white supremacy • Expand our community • Self-reflect on FSR’s history and current practices • Host combined AAR/SBL panel(s) on anti-Black racism, white supremacy, and feminist religious studies • Gather resources • Foster syllabi collaboration3 Below are snapshots of the LAB’s current projects and how they engage FSR’s commitments to combat white supremacy and anti-Black racism. Podcast The Feminists Talk Religion (FTR) podcast launched in February 2020. Episodes range from fifteen-minute minisodes to hour-long conversations and include feminist discussions about religion-related topics. The podcast subcommittee has included within its bylaws the intent to always have at least one woman of color showcased on each episode. Episodes do not shy away from the hard conversations. As cofounder and cohost, Oluwatomisin Oredein states in the introductory episode, “We’re taking seriously diversity. . . . If [this podcast] feels too perfect, if it feels too clean, if it feels too white, too Christian, too something, that’s a fear.” That means we’re not doing it right.4 Some recent episode titles and descriptions include: “Racing the Pandemic: Anti-Asian Sentiment in the COVID-19 ERA,” April 2020, with Peace Lee and Lisa Beyeler-Yvarra, hosted by Oluwatomisin Oredein This week’s bonus episode interrogates the social effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially toward the Asian and Asian American population in the United States. Within the United States, the coronavirus disease has not only uncovered how human systems and treatment of the world have historically caused earthly harm but also how social strain exposes cultural brokenness, agitates interpersonal animosity, and incites racist violence. ________ “White Institutional Fragility: A Raw Protest!,” June 2020, with Sharon Jacob, Angela N, Parker, and Karri L. Whipple Three New Testament scholars, a womanist, a white feminist, and an Indian postcolonial feminist discuss the issues of our time and what it means to build [End Page 76] a multiracial coalition within the academy to begin to dismantle the whiteness within our institutions, our scholarship, and the world. ________ “Immigration, Work, and Faith in the Midwest,” November 2020, with Kristy Nabhan-Warren, hosted by Naira Leão Working at a meatpacking plant can be dangerous and exhausting. That is the reality of Latino and refugee workers in this industry, who turn to their faith to cope with the difficulties of the workplace. In this episode, Kristy Nabhan-Warren discusses her research with a community of mostly immigrant workers in the Midwest. We also talk about the surprises, messiness, and nuances that emerge...