Publishers Weekly
★ 02/07/2022
Williams, a history professor at the University of Dayton, brings to light in her ambitious debut the overlooked contributions of American Black Catholic nuns to the fight for civil rights. Williams provides a crucial amendment to standard histories of U.S. Catholicism and Black religion generally by focusing on the “voices of a group of Black American churchwomen whose lives, labors, and struggles have been systematically ignored,” while convincingly arguing that their activism led the Church to liberalize its position on racial issues. Williams provides fascinating detail on the establishment of the influential National Black Sisters’ Conference in 1968, Black nuns’ victories in desegregating Catholic universities and all-white sisterhoods, and the efforts of civil rights activist Sister Mary Antona Ebo, who protested for racial justice from Selma, Ala., to Ferguson, Mo. Informative and often surprising, this should be required reading for scholars of Catholic and African American religious history and will undoubtedly become the standard text on its subject. (May)
The Tablet - Kathleen Finley
"In Subversive Habits, historian Williams has given us a remarkable work of scholarship, one that may be distressing for many readers because she clears away any shred of doubt about the U.S. Catholic Church being racist from its very beginnings."
U.S. Catholic - Kathleen Manning
"The 'uncommon faithfulness' of the nuns in Subversive Habits—taking the church at its word when it teaches that we are all one body—is a model of discipleship from which all Catholics can learn."
The AFRO - Ralph E. Moore
"Shannen Williams's book chronicles the bold steps and persistence African-American sisters took to debunk their rejection by white orders that insisted Black women lacked souls and/or virtue suitable to be admitted to them. . . . This outstanding book, Subversive Habits, is well-researched, quite revealing and a set of history and reality lessons of how Black sisters kept the faith and made the Catholic Church change."
Journal of Southern History - Ahmad Greene-Hayes
"Williams's book is the go-to work on Black women religious in the United States during and in the afterlife of slavery. Future scholars, practitioners, and interlocutors are indebted to this brilliant author for the treasure trove she has gifted us."
Politico - Keisha Blain
"This eye-opening, inspiring and thoroughly researched book unearths a history that few Americans know: the challenges and triumphs of Black Catholic nuns in the United States. It’s one of the most exciting new books in Black women’s history and powerfully captures the interconnections between race, religion and politics."
Jesus, Jobs, and Justice: African American Women and Religion - Bettye Collier-Thomas
Sweeping in its scope, exhaustively researched, and balanced in presentation,Subversive Habits is a seminal history of Black Catholic Nuns and their struggle for equality and justice in the Catholic Church.
Foreword - Melissa Wuske
"An awe-inspiring history book about Black nuns who fought for freedom and equality. . . . Subversive Habits is a stirring history text about the remarkable faith and conviction of Black nuns in America."
Chronicle of Higher Education - Marcia Chatelain
"I have never read a more thoughtful account of the Black Catholic experience than Shannen Dee Williams’ Subversive Habits. Williams’ book is a revelatory history of the experiences of Black religious women in understanding race, faith, and change in the Catholic church from the antebellum period through the various waves of civil-rights struggle to the contemporary era."
Magistra - Laura Swan
"Subversive Habits brings a very necessary balance to histories published in recent decades that focus on civil rights work by Catholics. It seems these historians were writing about the exception and not the norm. This is the story of courageous nuns, including those who felt they couldn't remain any longer, who are the true gems of American Catholic history. Every woman religious must read this book."
Kevin Spinale
"Subversive Habits demands a committed reader. However, it will reward the resilient and open-minded reader with apokalupsis—tremendous learning about the scope of racism throughout the American Catholic Church as well as the witness of these Black Catholic women and their contributions to the church and the world. Please take up the reading and stick with it. Draw some perseverance from the women the book depicts and take heart in their commitment to justice."
Choice - L. H. Hoyle
"Williams seeks to tell the story of these women and of the Black and majority white sisterhoods in which they participated. The account is well documented, and Williams includes a look at the current departures of Black sisters from religious life and considers the likely future of Black female religious communities. Recommended. Graduate students, researchers, faculty, and professionals."
Your Spirits Walk beside Us: The Politics of Black Religion - Barbara D. Savage
Deeply researched, elegantly written, and boldly argued, Subversive Habits is a brilliant excavation of the long political history of Black nuns. This is extraordinary scholarship that is as accessible as it is groundbreaking and illuminating. This timely and essential book widens the frames of Black women’s history, of religion and activism, and of Black Catholicism.
From the Publisher
"Williams's book is the go-to work on Black women religious in the United States during and in the afterlife of slavery. Future scholars, practitioners, and interlocutors are indebted to this brilliant author for the treasure trove she has gifted us."--Ahmad Greene-Hayes "Journal of Southern History" (8/3/2023 12:00:00 AM)
"Williams seeks to tell the story of these women and of the Black and majority white sisterhoods in which they participated. The account is well documented, and Williams includes a look at the current departures of Black sisters from religious life and considers the likely future of Black female religious communities. Recommended. Graduate students, researchers, faculty, and professionals."
--L. H. Hoyle "Choice" (5/1/2023 12:00:00 AM)
"I have never read a more thoughtful account of the Black Catholic experience than Shannen Dee Williams' Subversive Habits. Williams' book is a revelatory history of the experiences of Black religious women in understanding race, faith, and change in the Catholic church from the antebellum period through the various waves of civil-rights struggle to the contemporary era."--Marcia Chatelain "Chronicle of Higher Education" (12/21/2022 12:00:00 AM)
"In Subversive Habits, historian Williams has given us a remarkable work of scholarship, one that may be distressing for many readers because she clears away any shred of doubt about the U.S. Catholic Church being racist from its very beginnings."--Kathleen Finley "The Tablet" (9/23/2022 12:00:00 AM)
"Subversive Habits brings a very necessary balance to histories published in recent decades that focus on civil rights work by Catholics. It seems these historians were writing about the exception and not the norm. This is the story of courageous nuns, including those who felt they couldn't remain any longer, who are the true gems of American Catholic history. Every woman religious must read this book."--Laura Swan "Magistra" (7/1/2022 12:00:00 AM)
"Subversive Habits demands a committed reader. However, it will reward the resilient and open-minded reader with apokalupsis--tremendous learning about the scope of racism throughout the American Catholic Church as well as the witness of these Black Catholic women and their contributions to the church and the world. Please take up the reading and stick with it. Draw some perseverance from the women the book depicts and take heart in their commitment to justice."--Kevin Spinale "America" (9/16/2022 12:00:00 AM)
"This eye-opening, inspiring and thoroughly researched book unearths a history that few Americans know: the challenges and triumphs of Black Catholic nuns in the United States. It's one of the most exciting new books in Black women's history and powerfully captures the interconnections between race, religion and politics."--Keisha Blain "Politico" (7/1/2022 12:00:00 AM)
"Shannen Williams's book chronicles the bold steps and persistence African-American sisters took to debunk their rejection by white orders that insisted Black women lacked souls and/or virtue suitable to be admitted to them. . . . This outstanding book, Subversive Habits, is well-researched, quite revealing and a set of history and reality lessons of how Black sisters kept the faith and made the Catholic Church change."--Ralph E. Moore, Jr. "The AFRO" (6/4/2022 12:00:00 AM)
"The 'uncommon faithfulness' of the nuns in Subversive Habits--taking the church at its word when it teaches that we are all one body--is a model of discipleship from which all Catholics can learn."--Kathleen Manning "U.S. Catholic" (5/6/2022 12:00:00 AM)
(Starred Review) "Informative and often surprising, this should be required reading for scholars of Catholic and African American religious history and will undoubtedly become the standard text on its subject."-- "Publishers Weekly" (2/4/2022 12:00:00 AM)
"An awe-inspiring history book about Black nuns who fought for freedom and equality. . . . Subversive Habits is a stirring history text about the remarkable faith and conviction of Black nuns in America."--Melissa Wuske "Foreword" (5/1/2022 12:00:00 AM)
"Deeply researched, elegantly written, and boldly argued, Subversive Habits is a brilliant excavation of the long political history of Black nuns. This is extraordinary scholarship that is as accessible as it is groundbreaking and illuminating. This timely and essential book widens the frames of Black women's history, of religion and activism, and of Black Catholicism."--Barbara D. Savage, author of "Your Spirits Walk beside Us: The Politics of Black Religion"
"Sweeping in its scope, exhaustively researched, and balanced in presentation, Subversive Habits is a seminal history of Black Catholic Nuns and their struggle for equality and justice in the Catholic Church."--Bettye Collier-Thomas, author of "Jesus, Jobs, and Justice: African American Women and Religion"
