What does it cost Black people to stop believing — in a community where faith is woven into identity, family, and belonging?

In this episode of Surviving the Black Church, we sit down with Mandisa Thomas — founder and president of Black Nonbelievers, Inc. and co-recipient of the 2020 Harvard Humanist of the Year award — for a frank conversation about non-belief in the Black community. From the stigma of leaving faith to being shunned by family, Mandisa has spent over a decade creating space for Black people who are done pretending — and building community on the other side of belief.

This one is for the doubters, the done, and everyone quietly asking questions they've been afraid to say out loud.

Surviving the Black Church — because your story doesn't end there.

Some stories need to be told because someone else is living them in silence right now.

In this episode of Surviving the Black Church, Ebony Brice steps forward to share her experience as a Black religious trauma survivor — from growing up in the Black church, to enduring spiritual abuse at the hands of church leadership, to finding her voice on the other side of it all.

No credentials. No platform. Just a survivor telling her truth — and in doing so, giving language to what so many others have been carrying alone.

This one is for everyone who knew something was wrong but was told to pray through it and keep quiet.

Surviving the Black Church — because your story doesn't end there.

What do you do when the family that introduced you to God is the same family that caused your deepest wounds? And what does faith look like when the trauma is that close to home?

In this episode of Surviving the Black Church, we sit down with Carolyn J. Murphy — survivor, Mindshift Coach, and Founder of Firm Foundations Community Outreach, LLC — for an honest conversation about holding onto faith after familial trauma. Carolyn's journey from wounded to whole inspired her book God, Why Did You Save Me? and a mission to help others unshackle from their past and step into freedom.

This one is for anyone still carrying wounds from the family they were born into — and still reaching for faith anyway.

Surviving the Black Church — because your story doesn't end there.