Though Reverend Darla Broden doesn’t view herself as such, she truly is a modern-day Renaissance woman; a sister of incredible accomplishment and impact in multiple areas.
This Detroit native serves on the ministry team of the esteemed Wesley Chapel AME Church. She’s also a longtime healthcare facility chaplain, counselor, and creative artist, producing paintings, short stories, poetry, and religious devotions.
The Defender spoke to Broden about the life challenges she’s faced and overcoming she’s experienced that helped make her a powerful agent of healing and change.
Defender: What life experience lead you down this path of service and advocacy?
Broden: My experience in church has had a great impact of my concept of service. I grew up in Quinn Chapel A.M.E. Church. Some of my earliest memories of service came from watching my mother and other adults serve not only in the church but in the community. There was a strong emphasis on social justice and education in Black history. Several of the pioneers for change in Flint, where I was raised, came out of the church. I still remember members who went to the March on Washington; members who ran for office to make a difference for the present and the future. The other major influence was the service projects that I was a part of through Jack and Jill. As a teen I worked on the phone banks, and passed out campaign information for the first Black mayor, first Black female on the board of education, and the first Black female county commissioner. I was able to see people I knew making a difference and it stuck with me.
Defender: How was your experience in divinity school; a traditionally white male-dominated space?
Broden: My earlier career as an attorney was in white-dominated spaces, so I had plenty of experience navigating those types of environments. My hope that seminary would be different may have been unrealistic. Candler School of Theology at Emory University would be classed as a more liberal or progressive school. In some ways, I think it blinded them to the prejudices they still held. I recall a forum where a social justice issue was being discussed and the question being raised about Black anger. There were comments that went unchallenged by professors. I left feeling angry that the white speakers were protected. I also recall a couple of white professors whose academic study of minorities lead them to believe that they had a greater understanding than my lived experience. It was a painful reminder of my lived experience being discounted in white spaces. The Black faculty and staff provided an oasis to counterbalance the microaggressions experienced as a Black Woman. They were always available to listen and encourage.
Defender: You shared that you were adopted. How did that experience shape the person you are today?
Broden: My being adopted was never kept from me. I knew that I was adopted from a very early age. Although my adoptive parents were loving and provided me with a multitude of opportunities for growth, I always had a sense that something was missing. There was an almost irrational belief that I was not enough or my birth parents or their families would have found a way to keep me. That feeling of inadequacy, along with some serious trust and abandonment issues, has been a challenge that I have handled better at some times than others. My desire to find ways of being whole, and of dealing with loss and grief grew out of my adoption experience. As I look back over my career choices there was always a curiosity about how people could become whole. As an attorney I often advocated for mental health issues of those accused of crimes and was a part of a pilot program for victims of domestic violence. In many ways in seeking to help others find their own healing I was seeking ways to heal myself. When I met by biological brother and sister four year ago their love and sharing of my mother’s and birth family’s story filled a void that I had been attempting to fill most of my life, sometimes in dangerous ways. Since then, I have been more determined to assist others in finding their way to healing and wholeness.
Defender: What advice do you have for young sisters who would want to pursue one or more of your paths to service?
Broden: First, spend some time with themselves to see what they are being called to do. Second, sit with elders and find someone who is willing to pour into you. Third, develop a curiosity about life and how you can incorporate your unique gifts into whatever path of service you are called into. Fourth, if it is not where you fit at a particular time, don’t be afraid to change directions. Fifth, read, ask questions, volunteer. The experience is often more valuable than compensation early on. And last, and most importantly, allow yourself to love humanity especially when it is hard.
MORE ABOUT REV. DARLA BRODEN
- Place of Birth: Detroit, Michigan; raised in Flint, Michigan
- Education: BS in Criminal Justice (Michigan State University); JD (Thurgood School of Law, Texas Southern University); M.Div (Candler School of Theology, Emory University); multiple certificates of competition re: clinical pastoral care
- What brought you to Houston: A desire to be closer to family.
- Favorite thing about Houston: The ability to be involved with different communities of color and art communities.
- What are you reading these days: The Garden Within by Dr. Anita Phillips; Compendium of the Emerald Tablets: A Beginners Guide by Billy Carson; The Spirituality of African Peoples by Peter J. Paris; Soul Retrieval by Sandra Ingerman; and I always have a time for rereading Walter Mosley.
- Mantra: I am Enough
