African American Women Tapping Power and Spiritual Wellness Book

For African American women, tapping is an apt image for experiences relating to power. Tapping can be a gentle, but persistent way of garnering attention. Tapping can be soothing, but can also become an annoyance. African American women learn early in life what it means to tap for attention by observing the behavior of women in our communities. Tapping can also refer to tapping into some other source of authority or power. —from the Preface Mitchem explores African American women's religious practices and spirituality from the perspective of healing. She asserts that the embedded practices and functions of health can indicate black women's value and meaning, and such understanding becomes a rich ground for womanist theologians.Mitchem uses and affirms the vision statement of the National Black Women's Health Project (NBWHP) throughout her resource, and insists this wholistic approach is impossible without both individual and group empowerment. She offers a bird's eye view into the historical issues related to African American women's health and its relationship to spirituality, and connects it to the wider American structure. She further strengthens her work by including the voices of the women she has interviewed.