Georgia State University has received a $50,000 grant from the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation to fund additional research for and production of The Garden Initiative for Black Women’s Religious Activism, a first-of-its-kind digital and physical repository of historical and contemporary knowledge about Black women’s religious leadership in America.

“We are always grateful for Georgia State’s philanthropic partners and appreciate the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation’s support of this vital effort to elevate underreported, marginalized or forgotten women of importance in religious and social justice movements,” said Telly McGaha, interim president of the Georgia State University Foundation. “The Carpenter Foundation’s generosity will allow seldom shared histories to be uncovered, recorded and spotlighted, while advancing Georgia State’s mission of continuing to grow the scope and impact of its innovative research.”

Launched in 2021, The Garden Initiative project is co-led by Dr. Monique Moultrie, Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Georgia State, and Dr. Rosetta Ross, Professor of Religion at Spelman College. The website seeks to document and archive Black women’s religious leadership, create a hub for mentoring leaders through meaningful, intergenerational conversations, expand scholarship on Black women leaders in religions beyond Christianity and advance public knowledge of the gendered role of Black religious participation in social justice movements.

The Carpenter Foundation’s gift will fund one postdoctoral research associate and four graduate student assistant positions over the next year, through November 2024. This funding will allow The Garden Initiative to conduct additional research and craft additional biographies to depict a richer, more complex and nuanced history of Black women’s religious leadership. It will also provide the project with the capacity to broaden The Garden Initiative’s audience through creating videos, webinars and social media engagement.

“The Carpenter Foundation’s support moves forward the momentum of The Garden Initiative by helping us expand our gathering of oral histories, increase our focus on Black women’s religious diversity and solicit archival content that reflect Black women’s religious activism within social justice movements,” said Moultrie. “We are excited to have resources to work with some of GSU’s most talented students in our project.”

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