Is there a connection between “Colored” and “A.D.”?

“Colored” was an exploration of blackness and its spectrum, and one of the final sections of is a section that we call “Gospel,” which kind of references black church culture. I started to think a bit more about my own experience of growing up in a black church. I became curious about how I related to this thing as I was getting older.

What are your questions?

I’m looking at how I was influenced by those experiences, both positively and negatively. What are the ways that Christianity shaped my morality?

You’ve talked about how in religious imagery angels are depicted as white and demons are black. Do you relate that to the way the black body is viewed in society?

If we want to undo some of the white supremacy that’s within religion, we have to shift how we understand some of those images.

There are all these stereotypes that people associate with this body. Especially in America, we see the black body as something that feels almost superhuman in strength or agility and is hypersexual. Those things are idolized — people want to do all those things that people assume black bodies can do — and seen as negative.

Has “A.D.” affected your view of Christianity?

It’s reminded me that religion is not just ideology; it’s culture. So when I visit my grandparents in Jamaica, I could say, “I’m not going to go to church with you on Sunday,” but that feels like it’s against the culture. It’s definitely made me see the importance of spiritual thinking.