National Black Sisters’ Conference: A Legacy of Faith, Leadership, and Justice

Introduction

The National Black Sisters’ Conference (NBSC)—lovingly referred to by its members as "Our Beloved Community"—has been a powerful force of faith, advocacy, and sisterhood since its founding in 1968. Born out of a critical moment in American history following the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the NBSC emerged as a response to the urgent need for Black Catholic women religious to not only serve their communities but also stand together in solidarity.

Gathering for the first time at Carlow College in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, under the leadership of Sister Martin DePorres Grey, RSM (now Dr. Patricia Grey, PhD), Black sisters from across the country met to discern their collective role in the Black freedom struggle. Many of these women came from predominantly white congregations, where they often found themselves among the only Black religious in their orders. For many, it was the first time they had been in a room full of women who looked like them and who shared their struggle, triumphs, and their faith journey. It was a revelation: their service was needed not only in schools, hospitals, and parishes but also in supporting one another as Black Catholic women living out their vocations.

Nearly sixty years later, the NBSC remains committed to that founding vision—offering unwavering support to its members while continuing its prophetic witness to the Black community. As this brief reintroduces the NBSC, it will highlight its history, mission, and membership, celebrate its impact, and outline a vision for the future that invites new members, donors, and partners into this vital work.

The Organization

The National Black Sisters’ Conference is a 501(c)(3) organization, legally incorporated in the state of Pennsylvania, with its national office headquartered at McCormick Pavilion at Theological College, Washington, D.C. A ten-member elected board of directors governs the organization, with each member serving a three-year term. The current leadership (2024–2027) includes:

President: Sister Barbara Spears, SNJM
Vice President: Sister Josita Colbert, SNDdeN
Secretary: Sister LaKesha Church, CPPS
Treasurer: Sister Chala Marie Hill, FHM
President Emeritus: Sister Addie L. Walker, SSND
Board Members:
- Sister Jacqueline Nedd, RSM
- Sister Callista Robinson, OSF
- Sister Jannette Pruitt, OSF
- Sister Patricia Ralph, SSJ
- Sister Odessa Stanford, SFCC

Executive Director Sandra Coles-Bell, whose role focuses on operations, membership relations, outreach, and development, supports the board in leading the organization's mission.

Over its history, 20 presidents have courageously led NBSC:

Sr. Martin de Porres Grey, RSM 1968 - 1973
Sr. Helen Marie Christian, RSM 1973 - 1975
Sr. Cora Marie Billings, RSM 1975 - 1977
Sr. Josita Colbert, SNDdeN 1977 - 1979
Sr. Antona Ebo, FSM 1979 - 1981
Sr. Elizabeth Harris, HVM 1981 - 1985
Sr. Loretta T. Richards, FHM 1985 - 1989
Sr. Barbara Spears, SNJM 1989 - 1993
Sr. Marie de Porres Taylor 1993 - 1995
Sr. Patricia Chappell, SNDdeN 1995 - 2001
Sr. Anita Baird, DHM 2001 - 2003
Sr. Donna Banfield, SBS 2003 - 2005
Sr. Patricia Haley, SCN 2005 - 2007
Sr. Barbara Spears, SNJM 2007 - 2009
Sr. Roberta Fulton, SSMN 2009 - 2013
Sr. Callista Robinson, OSF 2013 - 2017
Sr. Roberta Fulton, SSMN 2017 - 2019
Sr. Josita Colbert, SNDdeN 2019 - 2022
Sr. Addie Lorraine Walker, SSND 2022 - 2024
Sr. Barbara Spears, SNJM 2024 - present

NBSC’s Past Executive Directors include:

Sr. M. Shawn Copeland, OP 1970 - 1976
Sr. Martin de Porres Grey, RSM 1972 - 1973
Sr. Cora M. Billings, RSM 1977 - 1979
Sr. Gwynette Proctor, SNDdeN 1990

Membership and Community

The NBSC is home to Black Catholic religious women who have committed their lives to service in the Church. Membership includes two categories:

Members – Black religious women in vowed life.
Associates – Laywomen who have been welcomed into the NBSC community since (year) and share its mission and vision.

Since its inception, the NBSC has had a steady interest from Black religious sisters across the United States. Laywomen have also supported NBSC consistently since it opened associate membership to its ranks.

Today, NBSC’s membership total is 92 vowed religious women and 30 associates. Several congregations (35), many of which have been committed partners in NBSC’s mission since its founding, are represented in NBSC’s membership. The gifts of NBSC women are many and are used in many roles such as theologians, preachers, teachers, social workers, healthcare providers, social justice advocates, and prayer warriors to "eradicate the sin of racism" in our country and church.

Engagement in strategic partnerships with key Catholic organizations further strengthens NBSC’s work. Through these partnerships, the NBSC expands its influence, builds allyship, and leverages the power of the broader Church to advocate for policies that uplift Black communities and align with Catholic social teaching.

NBSC partners include the following:

National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus
Xavier University of Louisiana Institute for Black Catholic Studies
National Black Catholic Congress
Knights of Peter Claver
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
National Association of Black Catholic Administrators
NETWORK Advocates for Justice
Leadership Conference of Women Religious

A Legacy of Leadership and Achievement

NBSC members are trailblazers. Whether leading religious congregations, preaching in public forums, or serving as policy advocates, they have left an indelible mark on the Church and society. Among the notable achievements of NBSC members are:

Candidate for Sainthood – Servant of God, Sister Thea Bowman, FSPA
Civil Rights Activists and “Firsts”
- Sister Antonia Ebo, FSM Leader in March in Selma with Rev. Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. and First African American woman to head a Catholic hospital
- Sister Cora Marie Billings, RSM - first African American sister to teach in a Catholic high school in Philadelphia, the first Black sister to work as a campus minister at Virginia State University, and the first African American sister to lead a U.S. Catholic parish, working as a pastoral coordinator
- Sister Martin DePorres Grey, RSM (now Patricia Grey, PhD) - Lead Organizer and Founding Sister of the National Black Sisters Conference

- Congregation Leaders & Mothers Superior –
- Sister Anita Baird, DHM
- Sister Stephanie Henry, SBS
- Sister Anita Costa, SSF

- Leadership in the Church –
- Sister Jane Nesmith, SBS (Cleveland, Ohio)
- Sister Gwynette Proctor (Baltimore Archdiocese)

- Featured Preachers & Theologians – Many NBSC members have been featured in Catholic Women Preach and other national platforms
- Sr. Chioma Chuma, CSJP
- Sr. Anita Baird, DHM
- Sr. Jamie Phelps, OP
- Sr. Cora Marie Billings, RSM
- M. Shawn Copeland
- Diana Hayes
- Sr. Jane Nesmith, SBS
- Sr. Melinda Pellerin, SSJ

- Speakers, Retreat Leaders & Facilitators – Offering spiritual guidance and leadership nationwide.
- Sister Addie L. Walker, SSND

- Executive Leadership in Catholic Social Justice Organizations –
- Sister Patricia Chappell, SNDdeN – Past Executive Director, Pax Christi USA
- Sister Josita Colbert, SNDdeN – Board Member, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
- Associate Joan Neal, MAPS, D.Min (h.c.) – Interim Executive Director, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice

Beyond these individual accomplishments, NBSC members continue to serve in parishes, schools, and hospitals as Directors of Religious Education, teachers, social workers, professors, healthcare professionals, and archdiocesan executives working tirelessly to uplift their communities.

NBSC on a Mission

Much like the sisters who responded to Sister Martin DePorres Grey’s clarion call in 1968, today’s NBSC members remain steadfast in their commitment to the Black Catholic community. They embodied Nina Simone’s “Young, Gifted, and Black” refrain and, in their vowed presence, are witnesses to the church's mission to be truly catholic, embracing and sharing the love of Christ to all.

Although their ranks have progressed in age, they continue to embody the spirit of what it means to be young, gifted, Black, and Catholic—serving as prophetic witnesses within the Church and beyond. For nearly six decades, the NBSC has been:

A vital source of sisterhood, ensuring Black women religious have a community of support beyond their respective religious orders.
A leader in faith formation and mentorship, equipping younger members to live their vocations fully and encouraging associate members in their walk of faith.
A bold advocate for racial justice, confronting systemic racism in the Church and society.
A hub for Black Catholic women’s empowerment, strengthening the voices of those historically marginalized.

NBSC founding sisters came together to address the racism affecting the communities in which they served. Forming was a radical act when women, particularly sisters, were viewed as supporters and in subservient roles. Their love for their people compelled them to do what some describe as “radical.” Instead, they were embodying catholic social teachings, a core component of faith that focuses on the dignity of every human being. And this is only radical in the context of a racist infrastructure of our church and state.

NBSC has used its powerful voice to address many issues affecting the African American community. Their activism through innovative programming, public policy advocacy, and church reform is a bridge connecting the church to the community, in effect, becoming genuinely catholic. Here are a few examples of some of the topics or issues addressed throughout its history.

In the early 70s, NBSC led efforts to help Black people gain community control in parochial schools as part of a Development Of Educational Services In A Growing Nation (DESIGN) program. Its core elements included “confidence and self-discipline among the children as well as a sense of community shared by their parents.” DESIGN programs were in Brooklyn, NY; Roxbury, MA; and Manchester, PA. They built the infrastructure for parent boards to make decisions about, their children's education, including curriculum and staffing. In addition to a core academic program, a values curriculum was part of the sisters’ liberation-first mindset.

NBSC’s other liberatory efforts include making public statements about protecting voting rights, affirming Black Lives Matter, and calling for an end to gun violence through the passage of sensible gun-control policy. NBSC has also been a leader in helping the church truly live its universality and embrace all of its members by including an African-centered culture of worship in mass and speaking truth to power about racism within U.S. Catholic institutions , including schools, churches, hospitals, and religious orders. NBSC’s influence was highlighted when Servant of God, Sister Thea Bowman, FSPA, addressed the 1989 USCCB assembly, noting the “changing complexion” of the church and how they could walk together and not be divided.

Over thirty years later, NBSC president, Sister Josita Colbert, SNDdeN also addressed USCCB on its role as leaders of the faithful. This time it was via a public letter to its president, Diocese of Los Angeles Archbishop José Gómez, following what has become known as his anti-social justice movement speech. In his speech, among other statements, he maligned Black Lives Matter activism. Sister Josita”s letter poignantly expressed NBSC’s disappointment in the bishops’ resistance to “lift up and support Black life as a precious gift from God” and further asked him to “rethink your ill-advised remarks and rescind them”.

NBSC advocacy has had impact in several areas and is recorded in public record in many areas including the following: providing quality education, fighting for voting rights, protecting the gift of Black life and activism, and exposing Church institutional racism. The sisters are motivated by and have engaged in their activism to help the church become truly catholic, that is, universal where all of its members are part of what Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. called a beloved community.

Inasmuch as the broader Black and church communities needed NBSC, the sisters also found they needed each other. As vowed women in a white-male hierarchical church and often the only Black women in their congregations, they valued the sisterhood of each other to stay encouraged and to continue the fight for justice close to home and in the world. As one sister notes, “We were sisters to Sisters.” These words reflect the essence of what the NBSC has always been: a beloved community bound by faith, driven by justice, and committed to uplifting one another.

A Call to Action: Join Us in This Mission

The NBSC’s legacy is not just one of the past—it is an urgent mission for today. The organization continues to make public statements on critical issues, including:

The Sacred Right to Vote (Joint support for John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Action Day)
Condemning Racism and Violence (Buffalo Shooting Statement)
Advocating for Justice at the Supreme Court (Celebrating a Black Woman Justice)

Now, the NBSC calls upon new members, supporters, and donors to invest in its future. Whether through membership, financial contributions, or strategic partnerships, there are many ways to support this vital work.

The NBSC is on a mission—and the work is far from over.