On Tuesday, December 5, 2023, Rev. Dr. Hanna Broome (Twitter) was elected as President of the North Carolina Council of Churches during a meeting of the Council’s Governing Board in Greensboro, North Carolina at the Trinity African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. Dr. Broome’s election is a historic one – in the 88 year existence of the Council, she is the first Black woman to serve in the role of president.
History of North Carolina Council of Churches
According to the official website, the North Carolina Council of Churches was, “…founded in 1935 to address racial inequality.” Its mission statement reads, “We enable denominations, congregations, and people of faith to impact our state on issues such as economic justice and development, human well-being, equality, and compassion and peace, following the example and mission of Jesus Christ.” This organization is noted as being one of the earliest places in which Black and White leaders were able to hold space together and share honest conversation about challenges plaguing the greater community. The website for the North Carolina Council of Churches states, “The Council has often acted courageously in the face of hostility and always spoken prophetically in the face of injustice.” The Council focuses heavily on:
The council is made up of “…26 judicatories, 18 denominations, and seven individual congregations.” The North Carolina Council of Churches is progressive in nature while using a faith lens as a point of reference.
Pathway to Leadership
When asked about how she came to be integrated with the work of social justice, Dr. Broome stated, “I initially did not know it as social justice – it was just me surviving.” Dr. Broome’s lived experience(s) of societal ills heaped upon her as a Black woman and people that she has encountered through the years sparked in her the inclination to use her voice to speak truth to power in places where silence and mistreatment had long been normalized. As Dr. Broome encountered housing inequities, navigated school systems as a parent of color, and became continually attuned to the pervasive reality of systemic injustices, she rose to the occasion of standing in the gap spiritually, relationally, and politically. Dr. Broome vocalized her turning point - “…and then realizing that these voices – nobody heard because we were in a certain socio-economic space or we were statistics and our voices did not matter. Our children’s voices did not matter. I have been fighting for that ever since.”
Though Broome is new to this position, she is no stranger to the work of social justice, having served as a long-time endorser of and advocate for equity. In addition to her new role, Dr. Broome presently serves as the Director of Religious Affairs for Repairers of the Breach and has a strong track record of serving and leading the community through various organizations such as the North Carolina Poor People’s Campaign – Moral Movement, the National Council of Negro Women, the Board for a Racially Equitable and Transformed Harnett County (BREATHE), and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
Dr. Broome believes wholeheartedly in the ministry of mentorship and community. A native South Carolinian, she grew up at the feet of her grandmother feeding people in the community and her father taking in young boys and helping them to turn their lives around. At a young age, Dr. Broome took to heart her grandmother’s quote, “If nobody cares for you, I care for you.” Standing on the shoulders of early childhood giants and able to empathize with the unseen and unheard, Dr. Broome has made it her life’s mission to hear, see, and advocate for those who need a champion. Dr. Broome attributes more of her growth and development to her sons, her father, the late Robert Lee Broome, the late Joyce Davis, Bishop George Crenshaw & Mrs. Laurenna Crenshaw, Bishop Kenneth Monroe, Fannie Lou Hamer, Rev. Dr. Evalina Huggins, Rev. Dr. Sondra Coleman, Dr. Jermaine Armour, and Bishop William Barber.
Intersectionality of Faith, Education, & Justice
Interfaced with her zeal for speaking to and acting on matters of injustice, Dr. Broome is a woman of faith and an ordained elder within the ranks of The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, having served as both a pastor and presiding elder.
On the role that faith plays in the work she does, Dr. Broome expressed,
“Where there’s breath, there is hope. With all of the darkness that we see in this world, if I did not have my faith that it could be better or faith in standing strong and being resilient, I might have let the darkness have its way. I know that there is hope and that there can be change – I have seen it and taken part in it. I serve a God of the Resurrection – there is always going to be life after death, hope in hopeless situations, and light. We are supposed to shine it into the darkness; I stand on my faith.”
Isaiah 61 is a centralizing scripture for Dr. Broome as she carries the mantle before her. She is often reminded of these words,
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; 3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.”
A member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, a graduate of the University of South Carolina – Upstate with a BA, Columbia International Seminary with a Master of Divinity, and most recently, Drew University with a Doctor of Ministry in Courageous Leadership in a Changing Culture, Dr. Broome utilizes both practice and education as she continues to shatter glass ceilings both within Zion and the ecumenical community beyond.
Looking Ahead
President Broome’s election is a hallmark of transformation. Her tenure promises to follow in this same vein as she focuses on the continued and increased leadership of the Council to over 30,000 churches in the state of North Carolina. A woman of action, she is serious about the North Carolina Council of Churches being steadfast in not just organizing and meeting but also in doing the work so as to make a difference.
With respect to her outlook on things to come, Dr. Broome’s overarching goal has a focal point of inclusivity – to have an inclusive Governing Board that represents all voices of Christianity and crosses the lines of race, gender, sexual orientation, culture, and socio-economic status. Dr. Broome is adamant about going deeper in relation to what it authentically means to embrace others in a way that is illustrative of the Kingdom and believes that everyone can take part. She states, “It does not matter what you have encountered in your past; you can still be an agent of change.”
Broome will serve a two-year term.
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