As I sat in my father\u2019s car driving down Billy Graham highway in North Carolina, I heard my father utter the words, \u201cI don\u2019t like Black lady preachers.\u201d That was at the very beginning of my journey, when I had just started seminary. Since then I\u2019ve chosen to sarcastically refer to myself that way. Beyond writing about it, sarcasm has been my favorite tool to fortify myself against the downright foolishness I\u2019ve faced as a young black woman in ministry.<\/span><\/p>\n As a \u201cBlack Lady Preacher\u201d who serves God in the church and in health care settings, I am keenly aware that my presence alone is often a disruption of traditional sexist, ageist and racist sensibilities. I am aware that when a nurse asks a patient, \u201cwould you like to see the Chaplain?\u201d a black female young adult is the last thing anyone expects to walk into their hospital room. I am aware that no matter how many times I refer to myself as \u201cReverend\u201d (because, you know, I am an ordained reverend), I will still be referred to as \u201cDeaconess\u201d and \u201cyoung lady\u201d at best or \u201csweety\u201d, \u201choney\u201d and \u201cboo boo\u201d at worst or simply \u201cDominique\u201d. <\/p>\n And I know there are some who are screaming at this article, \u201cIt\u2019s not about the title! It\u2019s about Jesus!\u201d Of course and I ever cared about titles. As a matter of fact when I pastored my first church, I told the congregants to call me by my first name. But as I returned to a more traditional African American setting, I realized titles only didn\u2019t matter when the title belonged to a woman. And any man who self-identifies as clergy wouldn\u2019t have the same level of difficulty getting people to remember his title when referring to him. As a matter of fact, in the Black Community men and boys who SEEM even vaguely clergy-ish are often prophetically given titles (Reverend, Doc., Bishop, Pastor\u2026) way before they\u2019ve earned them. <\/p>\n