DR Martin Luther King, JR & Black Liberation theology 11.15.16

Dr Martin Luther King, JR Biography: Born in Atlanta. Morehouse graduate. PhD at Boston University Religious Background - father Baptist minister, MLK becomes Baptist minister Influenced by Gandhi (non-violence disobedience) and Walter Rauschenbusch (social gospel) Mountaintop Speech April 3, 1968 Memphis Sanitation Strike Last part of speech Advocates trust in God and to avoid violence

James H. Cone Born 1938 in Arkansas MA and PhD from Northwestern University Currently teaches at Union Theological Seminar in NYC Ordained minister in AME church Influenced by Black Power Movement, Malcolm X, & MLK jr Stressed the idea that theology is not universal, but rather is tied to social and historical contexts

Black Liberation Theology Connection to slavery in America Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass, MLK Jr Reads Bible through experience of people who have suffered Contends that dominant cultures have corrupted Christianity Result is a mainstream faith-based empire that serves its own interests, not God’s Asks whose side should God be one — the side of the oppressed or the oppressors? Belief in alternative and true God who desires the empowerment of the oppressed through self-definition, self-affirmation, and self-determination Cone interview Black Liberation Theology, Jeremiah Wright

Religion, Race and Identity

MLK Jr, Black Theology and Black Church — article What is Cone’s argument about the relationship between King, the black church, and scholarship? King Interview (6 min) Who is King’s audience in this video? How do his answers reflect that? (256) How does Cone argue that King’s actions demonstrate his connections to the black church? SCLC & Ebenezer Baptist (257) Critique of Civil Rights Movement and Southern white ministers (260) Cone’s argument about oppression: “Freedom is not a gift but must be taken” (261)

Cone, King & Black Theology Cone differs from King in the following ways: Believes that any mean, not just non-violence, should be used to achieve freedom Believes that “the people who benefit from the unjust social, political, and economic order are not likely to be the ones who will change it radically (261) “…groups seldom, if ever, can transcend their interests for the sake of another” (261) Contends that differences between he and King are understood better within the context of the Black Church

freedom and hope Significance of the “eschatological hopes freedom” found in King’s diction (262-5) Cosmic peace? Who does this appeal to? How does this relate to King’s “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” sermon? Key to understanding King’s theology is understanding the relationship between style and meaning (262) Meaning is found in the way the word is spoke, as well as the effect upon those who hear it Style is reflected in sermon oration

Intersectionality "The most disrespected person in America is the black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the black woman. The most neglected person in America is the black woman.” Malcolm X - May 22, 1962 Intersectionality: study of intersections between forms or systems of oppression, domination or discrimination race, religion, nationality, class, sexuality, physical ability, age

Womanist THeology Delores Williams MA Columbia University, PhD from Union Theological Seminary Womanist — term derived from Alice Walker’s (The Color Purple) writings Expanded by Williams and others Extension / response to Cone’s Black Liberation theology and feminism Speaks to feminism’s problem with intersectionality

Womanist & Feminist

WOMANIST THEOLOGY Womanist determination to love themselves Emphasizes black women’s culture and way of being in the world Affirms black women’s historical connection with mean through love and shared struggle of survival Two principal concerns: survival community building and maintenance (268) Womanist determination to love themselves “Deep shade of difference between feminism and womanism” Gives womanist theorists freedom without being deigned by work of white feminists Rejects homophobia, colorism, classism, promotes male-female equity