That struggle has included finding, acknowledging and eventually rejoicing in my very own voice, a voice unlike anyone else's because it arises out of the very depths of my being. Hayes recalled America's brave and creative black women throughout history who endured an oppressive society through the spirit of survival found within themselves which they passed on to future generations. She told how the illiterate Rebecca Jackson was guided from within as she taught herself both to read and write. Hayes also recounted the ways black slave women survived oppression by creating rituals, including spirituals, blues and sorrow songs. These women survived, Hayes said, because they drew upon and reformed African spirituality, which is more holistic and conjoins the human and divine in contrast to Western society, which separates the sacred and the secular.
Black women are the mothers, the bearers of the African American culture.
They must speak for themselves because no one else is able or willing to speak for them. Hayes told attendees that black children today don't know their heritage or the meaning of respect and are in danger of losing their spirituality. The church, she said, should be restored as the source of community, but where the talents of all types of people may be developed. The theologian added that the womanist theology of liberation is intended to bring wholeness to African-American men as well as women and those of other races and classes. She noted that more black women today hold bachelor's and master's degrees than do their black male counterparts.