Black Theology Paper
Black Theology's Call for Economic Justice how do economics and the search for a new just economic order fit in with the goals of black theology? Does black
theology focus solely on exposing and eliminating racism or does it also speak out against economic injustice? If one examines the history of blacks in America, the setting from which black theology emerged, the terminology that it uses, and the later writings of James Cone and Cornel West, then it becomes clear that inherent in black theology is a call for a new economic system that would reduce the harmful effects of capitalism.
Background
Black theology is a popular theology, designed not for an intellectual ruling elite but instead for tens of millions of working class blacks in the United States. It emerges from their experiences of hundreds of years of white racism and economic exploitation, two forms of discrimination that are inseparable
and which still exist in our time.
Slavery
When discussing black experience in the United States one
must first remember that for over a hundred years slavery has
dehumanized blacks and it has shaped the racial and economic
relations that exist today. Slavery determined that black and
whites would be socially divided from the time of the founding of
the United States. It did not exist solely due to white racism
and a 'need' to be superior then blacks. Instead slavery existed
to get blacks to work at bare subsistence levels so that white
plantation owners could earn large profits. This guiding force
behind slavery, a doctrine of minimizing wages and maximizing
exploitation, was capitalism.
After Slavery
Slavery was theoretically abolished by President Lincoln
during the Civil War, but a new kind of slavery replaced it.
Freed slaves found themselves suddenly in a capitalist economy
"full of opportunity", but they were without capital. Many
former slaves returned to work the fields as sharecroppers and
got raw deals in the face of whites who owned all of the land
while they themselves had none. After Emancipation blacks
continued to face discrimination as they were segregated into
jobs that were more dangerous and paid less than those reserved
for whites. Blacks currently serve a role as an army of
unemployed that can be used by bosses to threaten unions to keep
wages low or lose their jobs. Current discrimination is evident
in the fact that blacks are fired in disproportionate numbers
during an economic recession and always face greater rates of
unemployment than whites.
James Foreman
Blacks rebelled against racism and their imposed poverty
during the Civil Rights movements, with the radicals rallying
around the slogan: Black Power! Black theology allied itself
with this Black Power movement that was clearly calling for a new
economic order. James Foreman, in his "Black Manifesto", a call
for economic justice and for a beginning of reparations that was
read at the Riverside church in NYC in 1969, saw clearly that
liberation would not work within a capitalist system:
Any black man or Negro who is advocating a perpetuation of
capitalism inside the United States is in fact seeking not
only his ultimate destruction and death but is contributing
to the continuous exploitation of black people all around
the world. (Foreman 27)
He realized that there was a strong linkage between racism and
capitalism, two forms of oppression that were both part of the
same package that the black power and black theology movements
were opposing. Unlike others who were more concerned with
opposing the current system then creating a new vision, he
explicitly called for a new socialist economic system as a
crucial goal for the liberation of blacks:
"Our fight is against racism, capitalism, and imperialism,
and we are dedicated to building a socialist society inside
the United Sates where the total means of production and
distribution are in the hands of the State, and that must be
led by black people, by revolutionary blacks who are
concerned about the total humanity of this world." (Foreman
29)
Terminology
Black theology emerged from the civil rights movement of the 1960's and therefore it shared the general goals of protesters of that era. It latched on to the radical end of the civil rights movement, favoured Malcolm over Martin, and used terms like "liberation", "Black Power", and even "revolution". So while
Black Theology did not explicitly call for economic change, the terms it used clearly proved what side it was on.
How could a movement favour liberation and agree that economic inequalities should be allowed to continue? Those two beliefs are clearly incompatible! Especially when given the fact that blacks were themselves the primary victims of the inequality. Does not liberation carry with it a clear message of economic liberation in addition to the stated goal of racial liberation?
How could black theologians talk about revolution and agree to maintain the primary system of control, that of capitalism? Revolution would clearly be associated with new left ideology and of past revolutions in countries like Cuba, China, and Russia. The call for revolution was synonymous with advocating socialism.
Cornel West
Starting in the late Seventies, writers like Cornel West and James Cone began to integrate the Marxist critique of capitalism into black theology. In his essay, "Black Theology and Marxist thought" Cornel West calls out for the need for the two to come together and to focus on critiquing their common enemy. First he
questions the use of the term "liberation". Do blacks only seek to imitate middle class whites and permit vast economic inequalities to continue to exist (West 413, vol. 1)? Or does black theology have something to say about the dual economic exploiting doctrines of capitalism and imperialism? (West 413,
vol. 1) He argues that black theology has in the past oncentrated more on opposing the current dominant paradigm than on proposing an alternative, and for that reason it has neglected economic justice (West 413, vol. 1). West argues that class is actually the dominant cause of alienation and this can be seen by
the fact that working class whites are also affected (West 416, vol. 1). Finally he sees that the same forces are aligned behind capitalism and racism against the liberation of blacks (West 414, vol. 1). It is all one fight.
Cornel West in a second essay, "Black Theology of Liberation: a Critique of Capitalist Civilization," calls for a shift in black theology to one that recognizes the validity of the Marxist critique of capitalism and the need for a new socialist order. He recognizes Christianity's prophetic tradition of speaking out against oppression (West 411, vol. 2) and notes Christianity's focus on self fulfilment, a concept that s incompatible with any form of discrimination (West 420, vol.
2). West is not an utopian and recognizes that sin and imperfection will exist, but believes that a revolution, likely an armed struggle, will lead to the establishment of a socialist ociety that he hopes will combine the best of the Marxist and
Christian traditions (West 421-422, vol. 2)
James Cone
According to Cone, Marxism had been neglected because it has been associated with racist whites (Cone 273), viewed as a fringe ideology, associated with Russia in a time of anticommunism, viewed as atheist and a direct threat to Christianity, and seen as overly sectarian (Cone 176-178). In face of these negatives, Cone's interest in Marxism was renewed through contact with Latin
American theology (Cone 177). From there he began to recognize the validity of the Marxist critique, agreeing that Christianity had been used as an opium of the masses (Cone 181). Furthermore he affirms that black liberation theology is in clear support of the poor: "All proponents of liberation theology contend that the
masses are not poor by accident. They are made and kept poor by the rich and powerful few." (Cone 393) Finally Cone directly affirms black theology and being compatible with Marxist political values: "No one can be a follower of Jesus Christ without a political commitment that expresses one's solidarity
with victims." (Cone 187)
Conclusion
In the beginnings of black theology, while it was just emerging the first and most evident source of oppression of blacks was white racism. So racism became its primary target, while black theology's support for socialism remained under the
surface. However as black theology developed, writers like Cone and West recognized the value of a Marxist critique of the capitalist system, and integrated that into black theology and now call for a total liberation of black people from both racism, capitalism, and imperialism.
Works Cited
Cone, James H. "Black Theology and the Black Church: where do we
go from here?" Black Theology: a Documentary History
volume I 1966-1979. Eds. James H. Cone & Gayraud S.
Wiltmore. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1980. 266-275.
Cone, James H. "Black Theology and Third World Theologies."
Black Theology: a Documentary History volume II 1980-1992.
Eds. James H. Cone & Gayraud S. Wiltmore. Maryknoll: Orbis
Books, 1993. 388-398.
Cone, James H. For My People: Black Theology and the Black
Church. Maryknoll : Orbis Books, 1984.
Foreman, James. "The Black Manifesto." Black Theology: a
Documentary History volume I 1966-1979. Eds. James H. Cone
& Gayraud S. Wiltmore. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1980.
27-36.
West, Cornel. "Black Theology and Marxist Thought." Black
Theology: a Documentary History volume I 1966-1979. Eds.
James H. Cone & Gayraud S. Wiltmore. Maryknoll: Orbis
Books, 1980. 409-424.
West, Cornel. "Black Theology of Liberation: a Critique of
Capitalist Civilization." Black Theology: a Documentary
History volume II 1980-1992. Eds. James H. Cone & Gayraud
S. Wiltmore. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1993. 410-425.
theology focus solely on exposing and eliminating racism or does it also speak out against economic injustice? If one examines the history of blacks in America, the setting from which black theology emerged, the terminology that it uses, and the later writings of James Cone and Cornel West, then it becomes clear that inherent in black theology is a call for a new economic system that would reduce the harmful effects of capitalism.
Background
Black theology is a popular theology, designed not for an intellectual ruling elite but instead for tens of millions of working class blacks in the United States. It emerges from their experiences of hundreds of years of white racism and economic exploitation, two forms of discrimination that are inseparable
and which still exist in our time.
Slavery
When discussing black experience in the United States one
must first remember that for over a hundred years slavery has
dehumanized blacks and it has shaped the racial and economic
relations that exist today. Slavery determined that black and
whites would be socially divided from the time of the founding of
the United States. It did not exist solely due to white racism
and a 'need' to be superior then blacks. Instead slavery existed
to get blacks to work at bare subsistence levels so that white
plantation owners could earn large profits. This guiding force
behind slavery, a doctrine of minimizing wages and maximizing
exploitation, was capitalism.
After Slavery
Slavery was theoretically abolished by President Lincoln
during the Civil War, but a new kind of slavery replaced it.
Freed slaves found themselves suddenly in a capitalist economy
"full of opportunity", but they were without capital. Many
former slaves returned to work the fields as sharecroppers and
got raw deals in the face of whites who owned all of the land
while they themselves had none. After Emancipation blacks
continued to face discrimination as they were segregated into
jobs that were more dangerous and paid less than those reserved
for whites. Blacks currently serve a role as an army of
unemployed that can be used by bosses to threaten unions to keep
wages low or lose their jobs. Current discrimination is evident
in the fact that blacks are fired in disproportionate numbers
during an economic recession and always face greater rates of
unemployment than whites.
James Foreman
Blacks rebelled against racism and their imposed poverty
during the Civil Rights movements, with the radicals rallying
around the slogan: Black Power! Black theology allied itself
with this Black Power movement that was clearly calling for a new
economic order. James Foreman, in his "Black Manifesto", a call
for economic justice and for a beginning of reparations that was
read at the Riverside church in NYC in 1969, saw clearly that
liberation would not work within a capitalist system:
Any black man or Negro who is advocating a perpetuation of
capitalism inside the United States is in fact seeking not
only his ultimate destruction and death but is contributing
to the continuous exploitation of black people all around
the world. (Foreman 27)
He realized that there was a strong linkage between racism and
capitalism, two forms of oppression that were both part of the
same package that the black power and black theology movements
were opposing. Unlike others who were more concerned with
opposing the current system then creating a new vision, he
explicitly called for a new socialist economic system as a
crucial goal for the liberation of blacks:
"Our fight is against racism, capitalism, and imperialism,
and we are dedicated to building a socialist society inside
the United Sates where the total means of production and
distribution are in the hands of the State, and that must be
led by black people, by revolutionary blacks who are
concerned about the total humanity of this world." (Foreman
29)
Terminology
Black theology emerged from the civil rights movement of the 1960's and therefore it shared the general goals of protesters of that era. It latched on to the radical end of the civil rights movement, favoured Malcolm over Martin, and used terms like "liberation", "Black Power", and even "revolution". So while
Black Theology did not explicitly call for economic change, the terms it used clearly proved what side it was on.
How could a movement favour liberation and agree that economic inequalities should be allowed to continue? Those two beliefs are clearly incompatible! Especially when given the fact that blacks were themselves the primary victims of the inequality. Does not liberation carry with it a clear message of economic liberation in addition to the stated goal of racial liberation?
How could black theologians talk about revolution and agree to maintain the primary system of control, that of capitalism? Revolution would clearly be associated with new left ideology and of past revolutions in countries like Cuba, China, and Russia. The call for revolution was synonymous with advocating socialism.
Cornel West
Starting in the late Seventies, writers like Cornel West and James Cone began to integrate the Marxist critique of capitalism into black theology. In his essay, "Black Theology and Marxist thought" Cornel West calls out for the need for the two to come together and to focus on critiquing their common enemy. First he
questions the use of the term "liberation". Do blacks only seek to imitate middle class whites and permit vast economic inequalities to continue to exist (West 413, vol. 1)? Or does black theology have something to say about the dual economic exploiting doctrines of capitalism and imperialism? (West 413,
vol. 1) He argues that black theology has in the past oncentrated more on opposing the current dominant paradigm than on proposing an alternative, and for that reason it has neglected economic justice (West 413, vol. 1). West argues that class is actually the dominant cause of alienation and this can be seen by
the fact that working class whites are also affected (West 416, vol. 1). Finally he sees that the same forces are aligned behind capitalism and racism against the liberation of blacks (West 414, vol. 1). It is all one fight.
Cornel West in a second essay, "Black Theology of Liberation: a Critique of Capitalist Civilization," calls for a shift in black theology to one that recognizes the validity of the Marxist critique of capitalism and the need for a new socialist order. He recognizes Christianity's prophetic tradition of speaking out against oppression (West 411, vol. 2) and notes Christianity's focus on self fulfilment, a concept that s incompatible with any form of discrimination (West 420, vol.
2). West is not an utopian and recognizes that sin and imperfection will exist, but believes that a revolution, likely an armed struggle, will lead to the establishment of a socialist ociety that he hopes will combine the best of the Marxist and
Christian traditions (West 421-422, vol. 2)
James Cone
According to Cone, Marxism had been neglected because it has been associated with racist whites (Cone 273), viewed as a fringe ideology, associated with Russia in a time of anticommunism, viewed as atheist and a direct threat to Christianity, and seen as overly sectarian (Cone 176-178). In face of these negatives, Cone's interest in Marxism was renewed through contact with Latin
American theology (Cone 177). From there he began to recognize the validity of the Marxist critique, agreeing that Christianity had been used as an opium of the masses (Cone 181). Furthermore he affirms that black liberation theology is in clear support of the poor: "All proponents of liberation theology contend that the
masses are not poor by accident. They are made and kept poor by the rich and powerful few." (Cone 393) Finally Cone directly affirms black theology and being compatible with Marxist political values: "No one can be a follower of Jesus Christ without a political commitment that expresses one's solidarity
with victims." (Cone 187)
Conclusion
In the beginnings of black theology, while it was just emerging the first and most evident source of oppression of blacks was white racism. So racism became its primary target, while black theology's support for socialism remained under the
surface. However as black theology developed, writers like Cone and West recognized the value of a Marxist critique of the capitalist system, and integrated that into black theology and now call for a total liberation of black people from both racism, capitalism, and imperialism.
Works Cited
Cone, James H. "Black Theology and the Black Church: where do we
go from here?" Black Theology: a Documentary History
volume I 1966-1979. Eds. James H. Cone & Gayraud S.
Wiltmore. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1980. 266-275.
Cone, James H. "Black Theology and Third World Theologies."
Black Theology: a Documentary History volume II 1980-1992.
Eds. James H. Cone & Gayraud S. Wiltmore. Maryknoll: Orbis
Books, 1993. 388-398.
Cone, James H. For My People: Black Theology and the Black
Church. Maryknoll : Orbis Books, 1984.
Foreman, James. "The Black Manifesto." Black Theology: a
Documentary History volume I 1966-1979. Eds. James H. Cone
& Gayraud S. Wiltmore. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1980.
27-36.
West, Cornel. "Black Theology and Marxist Thought." Black
Theology: a Documentary History volume I 1966-1979. Eds.
James H. Cone & Gayraud S. Wiltmore. Maryknoll: Orbis
Books, 1980. 409-424.
West, Cornel. "Black Theology of Liberation: a Critique of
Capitalist Civilization." Black Theology: a Documentary
History volume II 1980-1992. Eds. James H. Cone & Gayraud
S. Wiltmore. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1993. 410-425.
