Dr. Chanequa Walker-Barnes is a clinical psychologist, public theologian, and ecumenical minister whose work focuses upon healing the legacies of racial and gender oppression. A professor of practical theology and pastoral care at Columbia Theological Seminary, Dr. Chanequa is the author of I Bring the Voices of My People: A Womanist Vision for Racial Reconciliation, Too Heavy a Yoke: Black Women and the Burden of Strength, as well as nearly two dozen journal articles and book chapters in theology and psychology.
Dr. Chanequa began her career as a clinical psychologist, earning degrees from Emory University (B.A., Psychology and African-American/African Studies) and the University of Miami (M.S. and Ph.D., Clinical Child/Family Psychology). She began her career as a research psychologist who focused on ethnic minority families, African American adolescent development, and health disparities.
Upon being called to ministry, she left her tenure-track faculty position to attend seminary, earning her M.Div. from Duke University, and broadening her focus to racial and gender justice issues. She blends her unique background in behavioral health, theology, and race/gender studies to advocate for the healing and justice in and beyond the Christian church.
Beyond the classroom, Dr. Chanequa spends most of her professional energy writing and ministering to clergy and faith-based activists, and generally caping for women of color engaged in Christian social justice activism. Her faith has been shaped by Methodist, Baptist, and evangelical social justice communities as well as by Buddhism and Islam. She was ordained by an independent fellowship that holds incarnational theology, community engagement, social justice, and prophetic witness as its core values.
