Financial Freedom for Black Women Scholars: Sistah Scholars Program
The Sistah Scholars Pilot Program, launching February 12th, addresses the exploitation of Black women’s labor in religious scholarship. It does this by providing access to academic grants, stipendiary work, and financial literacy resources. This initiative empowers Black women to reclaim their time and talents while promoting financial independence. Through paid fellowships and speaking engagements, Sistah Scholars disrupts systemic inequities and supports Black women scholars in thriving professionally.
Undervalued and Overworked Black Women Scholars
Black women’s labor in religious scholarship has long been undervalued and exploited under the guise of service, visibility, and future opportunity. From uncompensated speaking engagements to uncredited research contributions, Black women are too often expected to work for free—despite the essential expertise they bring to the academic and faith communities.
The time has come for change. The Sistah Scholars Pilot Program is a bold, solution-driven initiative designed to disrupt this cycle by valuing Black women’s religious epistemologies, supporting their scholarship, and fostering financial independence. This program recognizes that justice begins with compensation and that empowering Black women scholars benefits entire institutions and faith communities.
Why the Sistah Scholars Pilot Program Matters
The exploitation of Black women’s labor is not just an individual issue—it’s systemic. Academia thrives on the unpaid work of underrepresented groups, and religious institutions mirror these practices, often framing unpaid labor as a spiritual “love offering.” But this pattern is not sustainable, and its consequences are far-reaching.
Consider this: African-descended women are the fastest-growing Christian demographic in the world. Their scholarship, leadership, and theological insights are essential to theological scholarship and the study of religion. Yet, when institutions refuse to compensate them or deny access to basic academic resources, they contribute to the ongoing closure of religion departments, seminaries, and theological schools.
The Sistah Scholars Pilot Program is designed to interrupt this cycle by ensuring that Black women are supported, nurtured, and fairly compensated for their intellectual contributions.
What Is the Sistah Scholars Pilot Program?
The Sistah Scholars Pilot Program, launching on February 12th, is a transformative initiative created to directly address the issue of unpaid labor in academia and religious scholarship. By providing both financial support and professional development, this program aims to:
Sistah Scholars Pilot Program: Mastering Fellowships for Academic Success
A core feature of the Sistah Scholars Pilot Program is an 8-week Fellowship Preparation Intensive designed to give Black women scholars a powerful start in securing academic fellowships. This transformative series will meet once a week for one hour and provide targeted mentorship on understanding, locating, and successfully applying for fellowships that align with participants' expertise in the social sciences, humanities, and study of theology and religion.
Participants will gain:
A Clear Understanding of Fellowships: What they are, how they advance your career, and the types of support they offer (including housing, food, stipends, and family accommodations).
Research Tools to Find Opportunities: Guidance on how to identify prestigious fellowships relevant to their fields.
A Proven Proposal Framework: Hands-on coaching to craft compelling applications, including articulating personal value, research milestones, and mutual benefits for both the scholar and the host institution.
Practical Application: Each participant will complete a personalized fellowship proposal template and apply to at least one competitive fellowship by the program’s conclusion.
This structured, results-driven program will give participants their first major win in their journey toward financial independence and academic recognition, providing both immediate tools for success and long-term strategies for thriving in their careers.
Applications will open this weekend! Don’t miss this opportunity to reclaim your time, your labor, and your financial independence.
Dr. Nash, The Misogynoir to Mishpat (M2M) Research Network © 2025