"In this groundbreaking study, Shannen Dee Williams offers the first full historical treatment of Black Catholic sisters in the United States. Drawing upon a host of untapped sources, including previously sealed church records and oral histories, Subversive Habits recovers Black sisters' lives and labors as pioneering Black religious leaders, educators, healthcare professionals, desegregation foot soldiers, Black power activists, and womanist theologians....

"The author goes on a pilgrimage of her family's history in Catholic parishes throughout one of the largest dioceses in the country to excavate the legacy of American Catholic anti-blackness she has inherited and discover spiritual resources for resisting it." --