Letty M. Russell: A Feminist Liberation Approach to Educating for Justice

Abstract

This article examines the Rev. Dr. Letty M. Russell's feminist liberation approach to educating for justice by reviewing the major themes in her writings. Educating for justice was rooted in Russell's life and ministry, namely, a sense of God's mission to reconcile and mend the world; partnership as sharing in God's mission to effect justice; and hospitality as a means of welcoming all to the table of fellowship and of life. Russell used an action/reflection model that is based in experience, draws on Scripture and theology, and works toward transformation. Her experience of being marginalized—as a Christian educator and then as a woman pastor in East Harlem where she learned firsthand how injustice and oppression marginalized her parishioners—developed into a concern for and solidarity with those on the margins of society. Letty Russell dedicated her life to achieving justice and celebrating the reign of God in our midst. In effect, educating for justice was at the core of Letty Russell's life and work.

Notes

¹Henri J. M. Nouwen, Creative ministry (New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1971): 2–14.

²For a description of applying this process to educating college students for justice on the problems of underdevelopment and world hunger see Suzanne C. Toton, “Theory and practice of educating for justice,” World hunger: The responsibility of Christian education (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1982): 153–168.

³Letty M. Russell, The future of partnership (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1979):145–146 quoting Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the oppressed (New York: Herder & Herder, Inc., 1970): 19, 66.

⁴When asked about educating for justice in a recent interview by the author, Letty Russell stated that, “Paulo Freire is the most important educator.” February 3, 2005 at Yale Divinity School, New Haven, CT.

⁵Lawrence Kohlberg believed that “exposure to the next stage” of moral reasoning by a peer would lead to growth. Ibid., 54.

⁶Ibid., 95. See also Russell 1967, Christian education in mission, 83–88.

⁷Ibid., 142–143 quoting Johannes Metz, Theology of the world (New York: Herder & Herder, 1969): 102–104.

⁸Quoting Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and papers from prison, edited by Eberhard Bethge (New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1972): 17.

⁹Ibid., quoting Gustavo Gutierrez, The power of the poor in history: Selected writings, trans. Robert R. Barr (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1983): 178, 193.

¹⁰Russell explained the theological spiral as, “a continuing spiral of engagement and reflection (that) begins with commitment to the task of raising up signs of God's new household with those who are struggling for justice and full humanity. It continues by sharing experiences of commitment and struggle … leads to a critical analysis of the context of the experiences … questions about biblical and church tradition that help us gain new insight into the meaning of the gospel as good news for the oppressed and marginalized. This new understanding of tradition flows from and leads to action, celebration, and further reflection in the continuing theological spiral.” Letty M. Russell, Church in the round: Feminist interpretation of the church (Louisville, KY: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1993): 30–31.