On A Mission To Spread God’s Message, He Created A Black Gospel

In the crux of the Civil Rights movement, Reverend James Cone found himself at a crossroads. He loved God but hated how anti-Blackness whitewashed and weaponized Christianity.

In his spirit he knew that God is the God of the oppressed.

Cone, who was a prominent American theologian and scholar, believed God saw Black people as divine. So he pioneered Black Liberation Theology, a theological framework deeply rooted in Black history and the Christian faith.

Black Liberation Theology drew from scripture as well as thought leaders like MLK and Malcolm X, fusing critical race theory and religion in a way that hadn’t been done before.

Cone wanted Black Liberation Theology to “teach people how to be both unapologetically Black and Christian at the same time."

Black Liberation Theology sparked important conversations amongst Black theologians. Soon numerous spiritual leaders were incorporating its rhetoric into their services and sermons.

Cone believed, “to be free, [we] must first love [our] Blackness.” Black Liberation Theology works to remind us that God lives within us, so to love God we must inherently love ourselves, especially our Blackness.

Loving our Blackness IS our highest level of spiritual resistance.