For his book “100 Greatest African Americans,” Dr. Molefi Asante used five factors for his selection criteria:

1. “significance in the general progress of African Americans toward full equality in the American social and political system”
2. “self-sacrifice and a willingness to take great risks for the collective good”
3. “unusual will and determination in the face of great danger and against the most stubborn odds”
4. “a consistent posture toward raising the social, cultural and economic status of African Americans”
5. “personal achievement that reveals the best qualities of the African American people”

As Christian women who are black, how can we develop criteria for a Christian womanhood that includes the racial part of us without compromising biblical mandates? I would love your feedback to help me solidify a new theory, one that I have been developing for years.

Copyright 2009 by Rhonda J. Smith