About Dr. Catherine Meeks
Dr. Catherine Meeks blends scholarly excellence with heartfelt activism, shaping her as a distinguished voice in socio-cultural studies and a beacon for community transformation. She spent 25 impactful years at Mercer University chairing the African American Studies Program and 9 years at Wesleyan College as the Clara Carter Acree Distinguished Professor of Socio-Cultural Studies. She is celebrated in both of these institutions for fostering a deep understanding of race, gender, and class among her students.
Dr. Meeks' educational journey, enriched by degrees from Pepperdine University, Atlanta University, and Emory University, reflects her dedication to the life of the mind through the intertwining of her scholarship with Jungian psychology, African and African American Women's Literature.
In her past role as the Founding Executive Director of the Absalom Jones Episcopal Center for Racial Healing, Dr. Meeks orchestrated spiritual retreats and workshops, engaging communities in the vital work of addressing oppression. Her literary contributions, include the reflective "The Night is Long but Light Comes in the Morning," and her memoir, "The Quilted Life, Reflections of A Sharecropper’s Daughter" which further underscore her commitment to racial healing and personal growth.
Dr. Meeks' profound community impact is recognized by the President Joseph R. Biden Lifetime Achievement and Service Award and her distinction as one of Georgia Trend Magazine's notable women. Her engaging blogs and podcasts extend her influence, providing ongoing wisdom and inspiration. With honorary doctorates Virginia Theological Seminary, the Seminary of the Southwest, and Berkeley Divinity School at Yale University, Dr. Meeks continues to illuminate paths toward understanding and collective wellness.
Dr. Meeks’ expression of her commitment to wellness and freedom is captured in her current work as Founding Executive Director and Chief Midwife of the Turquoise and Lavender Institute for Transformation and Healing.
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Download Dr. Meeks' Curriculum Vitae Here
The Board of Support is composed of a selected group of my female pilgrim companions who are committed to helping me to thrive in my work and life. They stand in solidarity with me as I continue to listen to my heart and head as I pursue the ways that I am called to work toward leaving the world a bit better than I found it.
They are my sisters, and they represent an experiment in leadership in having such a support system as this instead of the traditional governance structure that often hinders the possibilities for organic life to emerge as an organization moves along its path.
Zora Neale Hurston Fellows are young people in the age range of 25-40 who bring their enthusiasm for the life of the mind and passion for justice to the project of transformation and healing. Their primary responsibility is to use their knowledge in their particular disciplines to assist in the process of interrogating oppressive systems as they seek the best way to engage in creating new structures that support individual and collective wellness.
Transform and Heal with These Offerings
Work with Dr. Meeks
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This is a partial listing of the work that Dr. Meeks enjoys, but she is not limited to this list and looks forward to creative brainstorming with potential program designers for religious, civic and educational organizations.
1. Opportunities for individual midwifery (known in some circles as
coaching) and racial healing work.
2. Continued work with racial healing and justice issues at the diocesan,
parish and small group level.
3. Consultation on the formation of social justice, racial healing centers
or any other type of configuration that groups wish to explore in order to
enhance their work.
4. Leading quiet days, retreats, conversations, book studies and classes
on racial healing which are spiritually grounded in the paradigm of
doing inner and outer work to achieve healing.
5. Leading any effort to design curricular materials for long-term racial
healing work.
Begin the ConversationBookings & Consultations
Are you looking to inspire transformation and healing within your group or organization? Secure Dr. Meeks as the speaker for your upcoming event and take the first step towards meaningful change.
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