Marcia Y. Riggs facts for kids

Marcia Y. Riggs is an American author and a professor. She teaches Christian Ethics at Columbia Theological Seminary. She is also the Director of the ThM Program there.

Professor Riggs is known as a womanist theologian. This means she studies religion and ethics from the viewpoint of Black women. She is also an expert on the black woman's club movement from the 1800s. This movement involved Black women creating groups to help their communities.

In 2017–2018, she was chosen as a Henry Luce III Fellow in Theology. This is a special award given to scholars who make important contributions to religious studies.

Education and Early Life

Marcia Riggs has a strong educational background. She graduated with high honors from Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg, Virginia, in 1980. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Religion.

She continued her studies at Yale Divinity School in New Haven, Connecticut. There, she earned a Master of Divinity degree in 1983. In 1991, she received her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in Religion from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. Her PhD focused on ethics.

Teaching and Leadership

Marcia Riggs began her teaching career at Vanderbilt University in 1985. She worked as a teaching assistant and then a teaching fellow. Later, she moved to Drew University Theological School in New Jersey. There, she taught about religion and society.

She has also taught at other schools. These include the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California, in 1995. She also taught at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago from 2005 to 2006. At Columbia Theological Seminary, she is the J. Erskine Love Professor of Christian Ethics. She also leads the ThM Program.

Beyond her academic work, Professor Riggs is an ordained minister. She serves as an Associate Minister at Hemphill African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in Summerville, Georgia.

Community Work

Marcia Riggs is the founder and president of Still Waters: A Center for Ethical Formation and Practices, Inc. This is a non-profit educational group in Stone Mountain, Georgia. She also leads the North American Doctoral Fellows Selection Committee for the Fund for Theological Education. She previously chaired the Womanist Approaches to Religion and Society Group for the American Academy of Religion.

Professor Riggs has developed a special way of thinking about ethics called "religious ethical mediation." This method helps leaders understand and deal with conflicts related to religion. It aims to find peaceful and positive solutions.

Publications and Recognition

Marcia Riggs has written several important books. One of her well-known books is Plenty Good Room: Women Versus Male Power in the Black Church. This book was published in 2003. It is considered one of the key books for understanding the Black Church. She has also written many scholarly articles and given lectures.

She has served on the editorial boards for several publications. These include the Encyclopedia on Women and Religion in North America and the Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics.

Awards and Honors

Marcia Riggs has received several awards for her work:

• 2006: Alumnae Achievement Award from Randolph College.
• 2012: Distinction in Theological Education Award from Yale Divinity School.
• 2017–2018: Luce Fellow, awarded by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada.

Books by Marcia Y. Riggs

• Awake, Arise, & Act: A Womanist Call for Black Liberation (1994)
• Can I Get a Witness? Prophetic Religious Voices of African American Women, An Anthology (1997), where she was the editor
• Plenty Good Room: Women Versus Male Power in the Black Church (2003)
• Ethics That Matters: African, Caribbean, and African American Sources (2011), co-edited with James Logan