Lynne Washington is an alumna of Antioch University’s PhD in Leadership and Change program. She has spent years researching the leadership and authority of Black women in the Yoruba tradition. Washington is based in Atlanta, Georgia. She has experience as a lay minister in both Christian and Ifa/Yoruba spiritual communities. In 2024, she completed her dissertation titled ‘Chieftaincy in a Lappa: Portraiture Leadership of Black Women.’ Her research examines the connections between personal experience, ancestral heritage, and academic study. Washington studies how Black women take on leadership roles in both West African and diasporic settings.
In a recent interview, Washington spoke about the difficulties of cross-cultural research. She stressed the need for empathy when understanding different viewpoints. She also discussed the impact of colonialism and slavery, which disrupted community ties among people of African descent. Washington’s work is influenced by the growing interest in Yoruba traditions in the United States. She also looks at how the experiences of Black women and women of color in the diaspora differ from those in West Africa.
Dr. Greer Stanford Randall, an African American woman who became a chief in the Yoruba tradition, was an important influence on Washington’s research. Dr. Randall’s leadership faced both support and opposition, showing the complex gender roles in Yoruba communities. Washington observed that women’s leadership was sometimes limited in West Africa but more accepted in the American diaspora. This difference, along with Dr. Randall’s perspective, led Washington to study these issues further…