Venus Bender is a PhD candidate in the Department of American Studies. She completed her BA and MA in Educational Studies and American Studies at Goethe University. She received her doctoral scholarship from the Stiftung der Deutschen Wirtschaft and has been a member of the DFG network Building Black Freedom Struggles, where she currently serves on the editorial committee. Her research interests include modern U.S. history, histories of race, cultural and intellectual history, and Black liberation theology.

Her dissertation examines the role of clergy and church members in the Black Power movement, with a particular focus on Albert B. Cleage Jr., Earl A. Neil, and the National Black Sisters' Conference (NBSC). It explores their social activism and intellectual contributions to the movement. It is connected to the research team, The Black Power Movement and the Contested Nature of American Democracy, led by Prof. Dr. Simon Wendt and funded by the Gerda Henkel Foundation.