Tamura Lomax

lomaxtam@msu.edu
517-353-2721

FacultyReligious Studies

Associate Professor
Histories and Critical Theories in the Study of Black Religion; Black Religious History and Black Diaspora Studies; Black Religion and Social Movements; Black Religion, Gender, and Sexualities; Black Religion and Black Cultural Studies

Biography

Tamura Lomax is an Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Michigan State University. She received her Ph.D. in 2011 from Vanderbilt University in Religion, where she specialized in Black Religious History and Black Diaspora Studies. She also developed expertise in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Black British and U.S. Black Cultural Studies. In 2018, Dr. Lomax published Jezebel Unhinged: Loosing the Black Female Body in Religion and Culture with Duke University Press. In addition, she organized and guest edited “Black Bodies in Ecstasy: Black Women, the Black Church, and the Politics of Pleasure,” a special issue published with Black Theology: An International Journal. In 2014, she published Womanist and Black Feminist Responses to Tyler Perry’s Cultural Productions with Palgrave Macmillan, a co-authored edited volume with Rhon S. Manigault-Bryant and Carol B. Duncan. And she is currently at work on a new book, Parenting Against the Patriarchy: Raising Non-Toxic Sons in White Supremacist America with Duke University Press. However, Dr. Lomax isn’t solely a writer and researcher. She’s a scholar-activist. In 2017, she co-organized “Our History, Our Future: A Multigenerational Human Rights Conference” at Boston University, which brought together 1960s Civil Rights and Black Panther Party activists with Black Lives Matter activists. And in 2011, Dr. Lomax co-founded The Feminist Wire (TFW), an online publication committed to feminist, anti-racist, and anti-imperialist socio-political critique. Her vision is to create space for justice work through critical conversation, exchange, mass-mediation, and dynamic accessible education. Her hope is to bring academic expertise to the streets and vice versa. Since its founding, TFW has published close to 3,000 intersectional and justice centered scholarly essays, including the original Black Lives Matter herstory by Alicia Garza in 2014; organized the very first university conference on Black Lives Matter at the University of Arizona; and coordinated various forums on topics such as Black (Academic) Women’s Health; Assata Shakur; Trayvon Martin; Disabilities; Race, Racism, and Anti-Racism within Feminism; and Mumia Abu-Jamal, Race, Gender, and the Carceral State. In addition to online publishing, TFW has a book series with the University of Arizona Press: The Feminist Wire Books: Connecting Feminisms, Race, and Social Justice.

Dr. Lomax is represented by CCMNT Speakers. For booking, please contact CCMNT

Media Mentions

Publications

Tamura Lomax (2018) Black Bodies in Ecstasy: Black Women, the Black Church, and the Politics of Pleasure: An Introduction, Black Theology, 16:3, 189-194, DOI: 10.1080/14769948.2018.1492298

Tamura Lomax(2018) Theorizing the Distance Between Erotophobia, Hyper-moralism, and Eroticism: Toward a Black Feminist Theology of Pleasure, Black Theology, 16:3,263-279, DOI: 10.1080/14769948.2018.1492305

“‘Technology of Living’: Toward a Black Feminist Religious Thought,” The Black Scholar: Journal of Black Studies and Research: Special Edition: New Directions and Possibilities for Black feminist Theory and Practice, Spring 2016. DOI: 10.1080/00064246.2016.1147993

University News

New Black Religion Courses Enhance Religious Studies Curriculum
Published November 13, 2023 in College of Arts & Letters
From the days of slavery to the Black Lives Matter movement, religion has played an essential role in the lives of Black Americans. However, that role is often misunderstood or viewed through…Read now »
Professor Brings Black Religion and Spirituality Expertise to Religious Studies Department
Published October 10, 2022 in College of Arts & Letters
Headshot of Tamura Lomax wearing a blue shirt and sitting on a white couch..
Associate Professor Tamura Lomax is going back to her roots to the discipline that first inspired her scholarly work. In January 2023, she will begin teaching classes as a faculty member of Michigan…Read now »
Ph.D. Student Honored with Community Engagement Scholarship Award
Published March 18, 2022 in College of Arts & Letters
Committed to raising awareness about critical issues and the academic or community-based work being done to solve them, Sharieka Shontae Botex, a third-year Ph.D. student in MSU’s Writing and…Read now »
Exploring Cultural Identity Through AAAS Department Courses
Published January 17, 2022 in College of Arts & Letters
Deon Bennett came to Michigan State University intent on becoming more independent and open to new opportunities. He achieved that and more through academic and leadership activities that have…Read now »
AAAS Department to Offer Several New Classes in Spring 2022
Published December 1, 2021 in College of Arts & Letters
Six portraits of AAAS faculty members.
The Department of African American and African Studies (AAAS) is offering several new or revised undergraduate courses during the Spring 2022 semester that each, in their own way, highlight and…Read now »
MSU Scholars Examine Sustained Significance and Impact of Juneteenth
Published June 14, 2021 in College of Arts & Letters
On Saturday, June 19, Michigan State University will host a  university-wide and in-person celebration of Juneteenth to commemorate the freeing of African American slaves in…Read now »
A Visionary New Build: The Department of African American and African Studies
Published March 1, 2021 in College of Arts & Letters
Images of Dr. Brown and Dr. Lomax on a green background
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puv4CL70jBo Initially started as a Ph.D. granting program in 2002, with an undergraduate minor created in 2014, the Department of African American and African…Read now »
New AAAS Department to Focus on Black Feminisms, Black Genders, and Black Sexualities
Published February 17, 2021 in College of Arts & Letters
image with 4 different women in each quadrant
Being built to blaze a trail in higher education with its focus on Black Feminisms, Black Genders Studies, and Black Sexualities Studies, the architects of the Department of African American and…Read now »
Working Toward a Philosophy for All of Us
Published February 12, 2021 in College of Arts & Letters
a woman with dark hair wearing glasses and a black button down
“Why philosophy?” That’s a question MSU Philosophy Professor Kristie Dotson, formal advisor to the new Department of African American and African Studies (AAAS), has fielded many times before….Read now »
Taking Up Space as a Scholar, Activist, and Visionary Co-Builder of the New AAAS Department
Published November 18, 2020 in College of Arts & Letters
Scholar, author, activist, and visionary builder, these are just a few words to describe Tamura Lomax, Foundational Associate Professor, who came to Michigan State University to work alongside…Read now »
MSU African American and African Studies Seeks ‘Technologies of Living for Survival Into Wellness’
Published November 13, 2020 in College of Arts & Letters
image with four portraits of women
The latest segment of MSU Today explored the vision, mission, and values of Michigan State University’s Department of African American and African Studies with Ruth Nicole Brown,…Read now »
Collectively Building Anew: the Department of African American and African Studies
Published October 5, 2020 in College of Arts & Letters
two women standing on a bridge wearing masks
As we distance ourselves to help stop the spread of a deadly virus, a new department is being built within Michigan State University’s College of Arts & Letters — the Department of…Read now »
Welcome AAAS Minors
Published September 2, 2020 in College of Arts & Letters
two photos of women side-by-side. on the left, the woman has short hair, a black turtleneck, and dangly earrings. on the right, the woman has shorter hair, and a grid-patterned top
Dear AAAS Minors,Welcome to the new Department of African American and African Studies (AAAS) at Michigan State University! We are Dr. Ruth Nicole Brown, the Inaugural…Read now »
College Welcomes New Faculty and Staff
Published September 1, 2020 in College of Arts & Letters
graphic that reads "welcome our new faculty & staff college of arts and letters"
This semester, the College of Arts & Letters is pleased to welcome 22 new faculty and staff members. Please join us in welcoming the following people to Michigan State University and the…Read now »