The Black Christian Womanhood of Virginia W. Broughton

Broughton’s life took a turn in 1886 when she met American Baptist Joanna P. Moore (1832–1916). Moore encouraged Broughton to join a local Bible band in Memphis, which sparked her missionary work. In 1887, Broughton decided to leave the Memphis city schools to dedicate herself to this work. She attributed this decision to two intertwined experiences of sanctification and divine healing: although she had accepted Jesus as her personal Savior at the age of ten, she later experienced a deeper sanctification during a severe illness, surrendering all earthly attachments, and subsequently experiencing physical healing. Her confession parallels the testimonies of sanctification and healing used by Holiness Baptists, including Moore, to express their identity, emphasizing the sanctification of both soul and body.

In 1892, the Women’s Baptist Home Mission Society (WBHMS) appointed Broughton as a missionary. In this role, Broughton interacted with other American Baptist women, traversing the South and North to attend meetings. She spoke alongside white speakers at the northern meetings and was notably the only Black woman speaker at the Northern Baptist Anniversary meeting held in Saratoga, New York around 1895. Moreover, through her speeches and publications, she persuaded both Black and white audiences that Black women should be able to participate in the church and education.

One of those contributions was a speech entitled “Woman’s Work” that she gave at the National Baptist Educational and Foreign Mission Convention in Washington D.C. on September 14, 1893. This speech was published in the National Baptist Magazine in January 1894. In 1903, she expanded on those ideas by in the booklet, Woman’s Work: As Gleaned from the Women of the Bible, and the Bible Women of Modern Times. From 1902 to 1903, she also authored columns titled “Christian Culture Courses”—later referred to as “Christian and Educational Training Courses”—in the National Baptist Union, the official publication of the predominantly Black National Baptist Convention (NBC). The 1902 issue of The Union reveals that the Women’s Auxiliary Convention of the NBC appointed Broughton to this role to promote “The Highest Development of Christian Womanhood.”

In these writings, Broughton justified women’s roles in home, church, and education through her spiritual language and analysis. When exploring women’s roles in the home, such as housekeeping, and wifely and maternal duties—she highlighted three fundamental principles her denomination believed Black women should exemplify: 1) simplicity and cleanliness in dress and home; 2) a wholesome diet; and 3) moderation and abstinence. This emphasis appears to have been influenced by Joanna Moore’s Fireside School and by other individual Holiness advocates who believed that holiness—the fullness of the Holy Spirit—was expressed by both body and soul. Such Holiness exemplars taught women the importance of maintaining clean and orderly households to cultivate holy living. Because they understood their bodies as temples indwelled by the Holy Spirit, they likewise encouraged moderation in eating, abstinence from alcohol, cleanliness and simplicity in attire, and sexual purity.

 

It is noteworthy that Virginia Broughton referenced biblical figures like Eve, Jezebel, and an unnamed woman accused of adultery to discuss the concept of wifehood. She did not address how men had used these figures to impose negative images on women, but instead contributed to reshaping Black womanhood by reinterpreting these figures within the context of nineteenth-century traits of true womanhood such as submissiveness and domesticity. Many Christians who believed that Eve influenced her husband and brought sin into the world (thereby making women’s guilt greater) argued that women should now assume the role of passive subordinates within the patriarchal family structure. However, like most Holiness advocates, Moore regarded marriage as a partnership. Broughton likewise argued that women were created as trustworthy companions, helpers, and friends to men, citing the biblical example in Genesis 2:21–2 of the creation of Eve, the first woman, from the side or rib of the first man, Adam, and not from coarse clay.

Broughton also addressed the Jezebel stereotype, a damaging trope that depicted Black women as sexually promiscuous and unworthy of the protections afforded to white women. White men used this stereotype to justify their enslavement and sexual exploitation of Black women. Broughton acknowledged Jezebel’s persistence in doing evil, but also highlighted that a wife could be equally persistent in doing good. She did this by placing the story of Ruth—who remained devoted to her husband’s family even after his death—before the account of Jezebel. Furthermore, Broughton pointed out that Jesus, when confronted with the accusers of a woman caught in adultery, focused on the sins of the men rather than condemning the woman herself, as illustrated in John 8:4–11.

Similarly, Broughton sought to redefine motherhood. The primary duty of the ideal mother assigned to white women at the time was to raise her children to be exemplary Christians and citizens. Broughton, while embracing this idea, expanded the role of the mother beyond the household to encompass the community and humanity at large. She argued that women possessed the power to save humanity, citing Genesis 3:15, which foretells Eve’s offspring defeating Satan. She also noted that Moses—who led the enslaved Israelites out of Egypt—had two mothers who risked their lives for him. Broughton thus positioned Black women as central in nurturing leaders who advance the Black community, challenging the stereotype of Black women as merely a caring Mammy serving white masters.

Next, Broughton defended women’s roles in the church and in education, challenging male opposition to women’s right to prophesy. She reinterpreted 1 Corinthians 14:34, a verse often used to silence women in the church, by comparing it with other Pauline passages like 1 Corinthians 11:5, which directs woman how to prophesy, and Romans 7:25, which addresses the dual nature of flesh and spirit, to argue that while women in the flesh were made for man’s glory, those reborn in the Spirit could perform spiritual service with discernment. She also spoke of the Spirit being poured out on women as much as men, citing Joel 2:28 (New Revised Standard Version)—“I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.” This Spirit-centered language and integrative biblical hermeneutic is a feature of the Holiness tradition’s advocacy for women’s right to prophesy.

From her first year in missionary work, she consistently devoted herself to promoting women’s Bible study in various ways. For instance, she participated in a local Bible Band, helping to improve both the biblical study and literacy of women. She also contributed as the assistant editor of Hope—Joanna Moore’s paper that women generally used for Bible study—specifically by developing study materials. She also taught Bible study at Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical College in Normal, Alabama.

As might be expected, Virginia Broughton’s prophesying, Bible study, and biblical interpretation provoked considerable male opposition, driven by the prevailing biases and men’s underlying of women’s religious authority of the time. Broughton was threatened with molestation, assault, and even murder. The intersectional discrimination prevalent in the late nineteenth century—rooted in the biases that women were inherently emotional while men were rational, and that Black people were naturally emotional and childlike—led to widespread doubt about Black women’s intellectual capabilities. Yet, Broughton challenged those biases. In her first autobiography, A Brief Sketch of the Life and Labors (1895), she noted that “so much has been done in Tenn. through the power of the Holy Spirit, working in woman, to overcome the opposition against her, that came from ministers and laymen who at first looked suspiciously upon our work, fearing we would trespass upon their territory, and thus disobey Paul’s instruction to women.” In her 1893 speech “Woman’s Work,” she further challenged this exclusion, declaring, “Isn’t it strange, men will suffer women to do all the drudgery; but when it comes to mental or spiritual work, men wish to exclude women; as if they thought women had all the muscular strength and they had the brains and thinking powers.”

Broughton demonstrated that men did not have a monopoly on theological interpretation by citing Hulda, a biblical woman who interpreted Scriptures for kings and priests. Broughton’s own exceptional intellectual abilities bolstered those claims. And indeed, Dr. S. G. Miller, the representative of The John C. Martin Educational Fund, was so impressed by her report on sermon outlines and responses to questions on biblical studies that he gave her a personal reference, leading to her appointment as a lecturer for the women’s department of the same Fund in May 1905.

Broughton also advocated for women’s mission work, emphasizing the importance of educating the heart, head, and hand. She asserted that the right of women to participate in organized mission work, a new field at the time, was granted through their baptism in the Holy Spirit and by the power of the Holy Spirit—in short, not from the male leaders of the church. She cited the example of Esther, who risked death to save her people by approaching the king unsolicited, applying this to the mission work of Black women. She argued that like Esther, through Black women’s mission work, God would save the Black race.

To this end, she enlarged and strengthened women’s mission work by challenging the biases that white people imposed on Black people. For example, she mentioned William P. Calhoun’s argument, in his book, The Caucasian and the Negro in the United States, that Black people would be eradicated and not saved. Countering this, she urged readers to uphold God’s commandments and abandon their ignorance and immorality. In particular, she encouraged women to focus on educating themselves and their descendants. She helped women and young adults to develop both their religious and as well as their intellectual, industrial natures by emphasizing not only Bible study but also industrial education.

Broughton demonstrated the agency and independence of Black people, while collaborating amicably with white individuals including Dr. Malcolm McVicar, superintendent of education for the American Baptist Home Mission Society. He realized from hearing the success stories of Broughton and her fellow women that Black people’s salvation and education ultimately depended on themselves. McVicar seemed to understand that he needed to support Black women as well as men as leaders in all religious, educational, and industrial activities. Broughton reported that under Dr. McVicar’s counsel and influence, women’s mission departments were established at several universities—Spelman Seminary in Atlanta, Ga.; Bible and Normal Institute in Memphis, Tenn.; Shaw University in Raleigh, N.C.; and Bishop College in Texas.

Broughton used oppositional rhetoric to highlight her defiance and explain how resistance to women’s efforts in the Holiness movement only intensified their cause. For example, she stated that a cruel warfare followed in the aftermath of the Durhamville meeting, one of the women’s district association meetings in West Tennessee. Detractors had a “cruel hatred for no other cause than her contention for holiness of heart and uprightness of daily deportment.” Broughton reported that this meeting had more intense spiritual manifestations, such as women’s revelations, visions, prophecies, spiritual testimonies, and Bible teachings, compared to earlier annual meetings. She likewise used the metaphor of artillery fire to describe persecutors’ fierce opposition to women’s activities, and the image of a red badge to illustrate the intensity of the trials endured by her and her fellow believers. Nevertheless, the women responded to the fiery trials by deepening their commitment to Bible study and holy living. Eventually, she reported that they triumphed and were able to grow their work. Consequently, Black women came to play a significant role in advancing every just cause that promotes human peace, uplift, and the glory of God.

Furthermore, she combined this oppositional rhetoric with Spirit-centered language and biblical typologies and noted that the new anointing and fullness of the Holy Spirit enabled her to endure the persecution resulting from the doctrine of sanctification. She similarly referred to Deborah, the ruler of Israel, as an example of a woman who used the gifts of God wisely, resulting in God using Deborah to lead Israel to victory over its enemies. Broughton noted that the reluctance of Barak (the male military commander) to go into battle without Deborah demonstrated his reliance on her for success.

Broughton depicted women and men as fellow soldiers, urging men to collaborate with women. She claimed that as good soldiers of Jesus Christ, male soldiers must labor together with female soldiers to win the battle against Satan. To support this, she quoted 1 Corinthians 11:11 (King James Version)—“Neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man in the Lord,” and provided other Scriptural and historical examples, such as Esther and Joan of Arc respectively.

On one hand, Broughton maintained that women are fellows rather than usurpers of male authority; on the other hand, she urged men to cooperate by asserting that disobedience to God, especially obstructing the work which God accomplishes through women, would result in their death. She recounted an anecdote about a husband who, after threatening to kill his wife to prevent her from attending women’s Bible Band meetings, died shortly thereafter for reasons that were not recorded. According to Broughton, his contemporaries widely interpreted this man’s death as divine punishment for treating his wife this way, while also instilling fear even among his opponents.

 

Virginia Broughton, a Black intellectual Holiness Baptist, presented and exemplified an empowered and independent Black Christian womanhood while forming sisterhood with white women beyond the accommodation versus protest dichotomy. This contributed to the maturation of self-awareness among Black women and men and provided guidance for their advancement. This foundational work paved the way for the subsequent Black intellectual and cultural revival movements and the establishment of civil rights legislation, such as Title IV and VI, which ban sex discrimination in education. Despite these advancements, the intersectional discrimination experienced by Black women in church and educational settings persists. Though the symphony of Broughton’s legacy continues to resonate, her example surely invites us to compose and play the final harmonious chord of gender equality through our collective efforts.

 

Further Reading:

Braude, Ann. “Women’s History Is American Religious History.” Retelling U.S. Religious History, 1st ed., Oakland: University of California Press, 2023, pp. 87–107.

Broughton, Virginia W., and Carter Tomeiko Ashford. Virginia Broughton: The Life and Writings of a National Baptist Missionary. 1st ed. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2010.

———. Twenty Years’ Experience of a Missionary. Chicago: The Pony Press, 1907.

Butler, Anthea D. “Unrespectable Saints: Women of the Church of God in Christ.” In The Religious History of American Women: Reimagining the Past, edited by Catherine A. Brekus, 161–83. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2007. https://doi.org/10.5149/9780807867990_brekus.9.

Butler, Anthea D., et al. Women in the Church of God in Christ Making a Sanctified World. University of North Carolina Press, 2007.

Douglass-Chin, Richard. Preacher Woman Sings the Blues: The Autobiographies of Nineteenth-Century African American Evangelists. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2001.

Higginbotham, Evelyn Brooks. Righteous Discontent: The Women’s Movement in the Black Baptist Church, 1880–1920. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1993.

Johnson, Sarah. “Gender,” in The Blackwell Companion to Religion in America. Newark, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2010. Accessed May 6, 2024. ProQuest Ebook Central.

Lovett, Bobby L. The African-American History of Nashville, Tennessee, 1780–1930: Elites and Dilemmas. 1st ed. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 1999.

Moore, Christopher. Apostle of the Lost Cause: J. William Jones, Baptists, and the Development of Confederate Memory. Knoxville: The University of Tennessee Press, 2019.

Moore, Joanna P. “In Christ’s Stead.” Autobiographical Sketches. Women’s Baptist Home Mission Society, 1902.

Popkin, Jeremy D.. Facing Racial Revolution: Eyewitness Accounts of the Haitian Insurrection. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/bayloru/detail.action?docID=485983.

Smith, Jessie Carney. “Virginia E. Walker Broughton (c. 1856–1934): Feminist, Missionary, Educator, Lecturer, Writer.” In Notable Black American Women, Book II, edited by Jessie Carney Smith, 57–60. Detroit: Gale Research, 1996.

Weaver, C. Douglas. Baptists and the Holy Spirit: The Contested History with Holiness-Pentecostal-Charismatic Movements. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2019.

Welter, Barbara. “The Cult of True Womanhood: 1820-1860.” American Quarterly 18, no. 2 (1966): 151–174, https://doi.org/10.2307/2711179.

White, Deborah. Ar’n’t I a Woman? Female Slaves in the Plantation South. New York: Norton, 1985.

 

This article originally appeared in March 2025. 

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Ranmi Bae is a PhD student in religion at Baylor University. Her area of focus is the History of Christianity, in particular, the study of women, Spirit-led movements, and the interaction of Korean and American religious experience.