Christena Cleveland, Ph.D.

Christena Cleveland is a social psychologist, public theologian, mystic-activist, and author whose work explores the intersection of Black liberation, the divine feminine, and social science. Cleveland holds a doctorate in social psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, a bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College with double majors in sociology and psychological and brain sciences, and an honorary doctorate from Virginia Theological Seminary. As a Ford Foundation Fellow and award-winning researcher, she has held faculty positions at several higher education institutions, including serving as the first African American and first female director of the Duke Center for Reconciliation at Duke University Divinity School.

Cleveland gained recognition with her debut book, "Disunity in Christ: Uncovering the Hidden Forces that Keep Us Apart," which applies social psychology to the issue of division within the Christian church. The book received a Leadership Journal Book Award and a Readers' Choice Awards Honorable Mention. Her research has appeared in scholarly journals such as Small Group Research, where she received a Best Article award, and in magazines such as Christianity Today, which named her among 33 millennials shaping the next generation of Christian faith. Cleveland is known for translating complex social science research for broad audiences.

Cleveland's work has evolved to address race, gender, and spirituality. She has spoken to congregations, justice organizations, and colleges about racial reconciliation, and her personal journey led her on a 400-mile pilgrimage to the shrines of Black Madonnas in France. This experience became the foundation for her book "God Is a Black Woman," which examines how the depiction of God as a white man has contributed to racial and gender oppression, and integrates womanist ideology, theology, history, and social science research. Her book "The Black Madonna: Icon of Resistance and Nourisher of Souls" offers a vision of the Black Madonna as a figure of refuge, resistance, and renewal.

Cleveland is the founder of the Black Madonna Freedom School, which supports individuals and communities in challenging white patriarchal religious conditioning and cultivating intersectional divine feminine wisdom. As a speaker and facilitator, she integrates psychology, theology, storytelling, and somatics to guide people toward justice, wholeness, and embodied liberation. Her work has been featured in media outlets including History Channel, PBS, Essence Magazine, Washington Post, NPR, and BBC Radio.