Candice Marie Benbow situates her work at the intersections of beauty, baking, faith, feminism and culture.
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Candice Benbow
Theologian, Essayist & Social Media Influencer
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Candice Marie Benbow situates her work at the intersections of beauty, baking, faith, feminism and culture, giving voice to Black women’s shared experiences of healing and journeying toward wholeness.
She has written for various outlets including ESSENCE Magazine, Glamour Magazine, The Root, VICE, Shondaland, MadameNoire and the Me Too Movement. She was named by Sojourners as one of “10 Christian Women Shaping the Church in 2020”.
In 2015, Candice created Red Lip Theology to encourage women to embrace themselves as good creation. Through Red Lip Theology, she merges theological ideals with beauty industry participation to celebrate Black women’s creativity and spirituality. Candice annually hosts a “Red Lip Revival”, using the hashtag #redliptheology, where women are encouraged to pair a red lip selfie with inspirational words. Her new book, Red Lip Theology: For Church Girls Who’ve Considered Tithing to the Beauty Supply Store When Sunday Morning Isn’t Enough, is a moving essay collection promoting freedom, self-love, and divine wholeness for Black women and opening new levels of understanding and ideological transformation for non-Black women and allies.
At a difficult time in her life, Candice found healing through baking and can be found most days of the week in her kitchen. Recognizing baking as a spiritual practice and strategy for optimal mental health, Candice chronicles her journey through “Prayers&Pound Cakes. Bundts&Blessings”, a monthly baking ritual, and “Healing at 325º” holiday baking bundles.
In May 2016, following the release of Beyoncé’s visual album Lemonade, Candice created the #LemonadeSyllabus hashtag and social media campaign. With contributions from over 70 Black women, Candice released the syllabus as a free downloadable resource of over 250 works centered around the lives of Black women. Within the first week, it was downloaded over 40,000 times and has reached over 600,000 downloads. National and international libraries created “Lemonade Stands” to highlight the books from the Syllabus that were available. Universities in the United States and the UK have used the Lemonade Syllabus to design new Black feminist and womanist thought courses and many women formed book clubs to journey through the Syllabus together.
Some of Candice’s most important work has been partnering with religious institutions, faith leaders and communities to reimagine how faith can be a tool of liberation and transformation for women and girls. Through critical reflection of theological positions, communal practices and long held ideologies, Candice challenges these sacred spaces of influence to think critically about how they see God and the world.
Candice is also the Founder of Zion Hill Media Group, a media boutique that produces messages of hope and healing across various platforms. In memory of her mother, Candice established The LouiseMarie Foundation to support HBCU nursing students and provide micro grants for community mental health projects.
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Topics
Topics
Lil Sis is Watching: Creating a Safe & Just World for Black Girls
No More Emotional Terrorists: What Accountability in Love Looks Like
There Are No White Women in Wakanda: Toward an Intersectional Feminism
Videos
Videos
Therapy for Black Girls - Session 268: Red Lip Theology with Candice Benbow
How Do We Heal? - Candice Benbow
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