Former Pastor Eboni Turman Files Lawsuit Against Harlem Megachurch, Alleging Gender Discrimination

Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York City is facing a gender discrimination lawsuit after rejecting Eboni Marshall Turman for the role of senior pastor, according to AP News. 

Renowned for its prominent leadership and rich history — former Congressman Rev. Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. served as pastor between 1937 and 1972 — Abyssinian Baptist has been a staple in the Black Harlem community since its inception in 1808. In its 216-year history, the megachurch has never had a woman senior pastor, and Marshall Turman, who currently resides as a professor at the Yale Divinity School and formerly served as a pastor at the Church, believed that she would be the first following the death of Rev. Calvin O. Butts III in 2022. However, she did not make it to the final round, a decision that she claims is due to her gender.  

On Sept. 23, she published a post on Facebook where she alluded to the alleged discriminatory practices. 

“A vocal contingent of Abyssinian deacons has worked tirelessly with an energized group of Morehouse supporters and committee leadership to systematically eliminate all female applicants from the pool of candidates,” she wrote.

“Even as the desired outcomes of the identified groups are distinct, they converge on one significant matter: gender bias. In addition, other activities of the committee are in direct conflict with the Church bylaws. Will this and other key information be disclosed to the congregation? Curiously, the congregation will be updated on the committee’s ‘progress,’ even as such progress is castrated by an all-male slate of ‘finalist’ candidates.”

Filed on Dec. 29, Marshall Turman’s lawsuit specifically names acting search committee chair Valerie S. Grant, who she says behaved unprofessionally during the interview process and questioned her harshly compared to the male applicants.

“Gender discrimination motivated the decision not to hire (Marshall Turman), a fact discussed openly during meetings of the Committee, including by Grant and another Committee member, who said that Abyssinian would only hire a woman as its Senior Pastor ‘over my dead body,’” the suit states. 

Both Grant and the Church have issued statements denying Marshall Turman’s allegations. Grant shared that Marshall Turman was selected along with 11 other people from a pool of 47 applicants but did not receive sufficient votes to advance to the final round. She also stated that each candidate was asked a series of questions, some tailored specifically for each individual. Because Marshall Turman was the only woman who had made it to that stage, her questions mirrored that. 

Abyssinian spokesperson LaToya Evans also refuted the accusations, stating that though she had been a competitive applicant, Marshall Turman was denied because she lacked the necessary qualities.

“While she and others were considered for the role because of their impressive backgrounds, she ultimately fell short of some key requirements for the role, where other finalist candidates prevailed and moved forward in the process,” Evans said. The remaining finalists are all men. 

Marshall Turman’s career has largely centered on the role of women in Christianity, a subject that she has extensively explored in her book Black Women’s Burden: Male Power, Gender Violence, and the Scandal of African American Social Christianity. She seeks monetary damages for “lost wages, benefits, other economic damages, shame, humiliation, embarrassment, and mental distress.” 

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