The Scholar and the Spirit: Why Studying Hoodoo Still Matters

Happy Hoodoo Heritage Month! It’s also my birthday month! Shout out to all of my Libras and Scorpios. In celebration of my favorite time of the year, I’m dedicating these last few episodes of this season of the podcast to the tradition. What happens when you study Hoodoo not as superstition, but as sacred practice — a living, breathing tradition of survival, healing, and power?This week on The Practice of a Hoodoo Baptist, I’m joined by Dr. Yvonne P. Chireau, historian, author of Black Magic: Religion and the African American Conjuring Tradition, and one of the first scholars to put Black folk healing and conjure at the center of American religious studies.Together, we talk about:* How enslaved and free Black communities used conjure as medicine, protection, and resistance.* The importance of oral tradition, memory, and everyday practice in keeping these traditions alive.* What therapeutic pluralism teaches us about the blending of Hoodoo, Christianity, and other healing systems.* The impact of her mentor Albert Raboteau, and what it means to build on that legacy.* Her own reflections on identity, faith, and how scholarship and spirit meet in her life.Dr. Chireau reminds us that Hoodoo is not just history on a page — it’s a sacred technology of resilience, rooted in the lives of Black people who refused to be erased. Listen now right here on Substack or consider following the podcast on Youtube! Follow Dr. Chireau’s work on her website, AcademicHoodoo.com. Paid subscribers get access to extended notes from this conversation, plus reflections on how Dr. Chireau’s scholarship shaped my own practice and work. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.chelseavonchaz.com/subscribe