A Tribute to Rev. Dr. Katie Geneva Cannon

Where do I begin and where do I end? Upon which of the beautiful memories and stories do I base a tribute to a colleague, friend, mentor, teacher, and twin sister? Katie and I called each other Twin since 1983 and we strongly believed that the Atlantic Ocean tried to separate such un-identical twins but it failed to do so. We explained our physical differences with a joke that the tall one slept on the short one while we were in our mother's womb.

Katie and I first met during summer 1983 when Dr. Diana Eck and her colleagues organized a conference at the Harvard Divinity School. That conference brought together women scholars from diverse contexts and religious traditions. After the conference, we entertained ourselves with dancing and sharing jokes. There was much laughter, especially when some of us tried the belly dance; such memories! On that occasion, I learned from Katie and others that one could be a clergywoman, dance (even if desperately trying to do the belly dance), have fun, and tell jokes. Right from the beginning of meeting each other, I learned from Rev. Dr. Katie Cannon that whether in the academia, church life, or wherever one may be, one must be oneself and stick to what makes one happy and human. She consistently and firmly held to her convictions and lifestyle shaped by her African American heritage, family history, and Christian faith.

My African spirituality convinces me that though the body of my twin sister has been buried, Rev. Katie Geneva Cannon is not dead. As we say in my tradition—a tradition she very much cherished—my twin sister Katie has just "turned her face to the wall," "is sleeping on her left side," and "gone to the village to join the ancestors," who have taught us that Katie's "tongue will never rot." This conviction brings me back to another memory of Katie standing at one of the gates of the Cape Coast Castle with the inscription "Gate of no return,'' saying "I have returned." Katie reconnected with the African continent and traveled several times to eastern, northern, southern, and western parts of Africa to rediscover her African heritage. One day, I received a letter from Katie that for her sabbatical leave that year she was coming to Ghana. "Twin take some time off you are going to be my teacher and research guide," Katie wrote in that letter. I was honored and humbled to have such a renowned teacher educator and womanist ethicist ask me to be her teacher. That was Katie—a womanist who encouraged and instilled confidence in others. Katie and her best friend Angie came, and that sabbatical leave was a learning and teaching experience for the three of us, the triplets. Any time Angie, Katie, and I were together, we strangely became triplets. It is very difficult for me to believe that Angie and Katie are sleeping peacefully on the left sides because I can still hear the jokes, the laughter, and the wise teaching.

Indeed, Katie's tongue continues to be loudly heard and visibly seen in her doodling, jokes, humor, laughter, lectures, speeches, and writings. From a variety of her works, Katie demonstrated the skills of an academic. She was bold, courageous, honest, and thoughtful in her scholarship. These attributes are clearly demonstrated in her lecturers, speeches, writings, and especially, her seminal work, Katie's Canon, a book my Ghanaian students love to read in our course Contemporary Women Theologians.

Rev. Dr. Katie Cannon was not only a scholar but also a creative artist. Even during her busy academic schedule, she found time to doodle at conferences and meetings. When Katie was quiet, she was doodling, reading, or playing games, if not sleeping. One saw Katie's artistic talents in her choice of colorful African clothes and beads, which she very much loved to wear, especially when she was on the African continent. Katie loved photography and making photo albums for friends.

When Katie was in the company of those she loved and felt comfortable with, she was full of funny...