Black Theology & Black Power According to James H. Cone

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I believe the best place to start this essay would be with an explanation of Black Power. Black Power according to James H. Cone “is an emotionally charged term that can evoke either angry rejection or passionate acceptance.” Critics see it as blacks hating whites, while advocates see Black Power as the only viable option for black people. Advocates see Black Power meaning black people are taking a dominate role in deciding what the black-white relationship should be in American Society. Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Jr. is preaching this right now. He sees that blacks need to go back to their blackness and no longer live their lives as the white society wants them to. What these two men are encouraging can be very difficult for most people to understand. Most of us see this as a call to violence. What Cone is really saying is that Black Power means the complete emancipation of black people from white oppression by whatever means black people deem necessary. The methods to reach this can include selective buying, boycotting, marching, and even rebellion. Black Power means black freedom, black self-determination, where black people no longer see themselves as without human dignity, but as people, human beings with the ability to carve out their own destiny. Paul Tillich’s analysis of “the courage to be” further clarifies the meaning of Black Power. He says that “the courage to be” “is the ethical act in which man affirms his being in spite of those elements of his existence which conflict with his essential self-affirmation” Black Power is then a humanizing force because it the black man’s attempt to be recognized as a “thou” in spite of the “other,” the white power which dehumanizes him. The courage they feel gives them the... ... middle of paper ... ... What it really means is that your heart, your soul, your mind, and your body are where the dispossessed are. Your mind, soul, and heart need to be reconciled to God. Cone ends his book, Black Theology & Black Power with this thought, “The real questions are: Where is your identity? Where is your being? Does it lie with the oppressed blacks or with the oppressors? Let us hope that there are enough to answer this question correctly so that America will not be compelled to acknowledge a common humanity by see that blood is always one color.” We need to put aside our pasts and try to find the common ground we share in Christ and become reconciled to each other that neither black or white is superior, but we are just the same in God’s eyes and we all bleed in the same color. Work Cited James H. Cone . "Black Theology and Black Power" Orbis Books, 1997

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