Thursday, March 03, 2016
The End of the GOP?
Lincoln stated that "a house divided against itself cannot stand."
Is this the end of the Republican Party?
Monday, August 27, 2012
Monday, March 31, 2008
Towards a More Perfect Multi-America: Barack Obama’s Philadelphia Speech and Proposal for Racial Healing
By Dr. Zachery Williams
Cleveland Plain Dealer Submission
March 20, 2008
The unfortunate truth is that America still suffers from the sickness and cancer of racism. This fact has been made most evident in the recent controversy surrounding Senator Obama’s affiliation with Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, Illinois, including his relationship with former pastor Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright.
In a span of thirty-seven minutes, Presidential candidate Barack Obama, exposed the intense and serious wounds of our nation: black anger and white resentment which continues to stifle this nation’s ability to move forward, toward a Multi-America.
We, as Americans, revel in our nation as a metaphor and an ideal; however, we cringe at any display of criticism or revelation of the truth of our nation’s unsavory past. This past, operates in our rearview mirror even as it appears front and center during delicate political moments such as this one. Americans, of all kinds, suffer from what social psychologist Dr. Joy DeGruy-Leary calls “cognitive dissonance,” which impairs our understanding and acceptance of the real effects of historic racial trauma.
Silence is agreement. For far too long, all Americans have been subdued into a seductive silence, one that romanticizes racial transcendence while also positing the inevitability of perpetual racial division. Yet, these conversations occur in private, on derisive talk shows, and in limited public spaces, disallowing collective engagement around such a serious and potentially, debilitating issue.
The stakes are too high for us to remain silent and inactive in resolving what Gunnar Myrdal called in 1940, “An American Dilemma.”
Cleveland native and poet, Langston Hughes, penned a significant poem which has direct application to our country’s current dilemma regarding race. Hughes in “A Dream Deferred,” writes:
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dy up?
Like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore—
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over—
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
Like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
Similarly writer James Baldwin, penned perhaps one of the most poignant civil rights manifestos of America’s greatest generation, in 1963, with his The Fire Next Time. The consummate public intellectual, Baldwin offered critical insights designed to help our nation avoid what he called “racial conflagration” or racial conflict/war.
He spoke, convincingly and expertly, of the complex fate of American blacks, highlighting the necessity to help deliver white Americans from their imprisonment by myths of racial superiority. Baldwin offered history and education as tools that would help bring our nation to complete maturity, even as it faced the difficult parts of its past. Baldwin offered that the consequence to averting such a path was found in the warning offered in the song of the enslaved: “God gave Noah the rainbow sign/No more water, the fire next time!” We already see the evidence of “quiet riots,” percolating in our central cities, illustrating that efficacy of Baldwin’s words coming true-unless we address the racial divide-once and for all time.
For too many Americans, black and white, our nation has yet to fulfill its promises of citizenship, equality, and justice. Unless we fully come to grips with the damage of centuries and decades of racialized attitudes, policies, and customs, our nation’s growth will continue to be stunted.
Barack Obama’s original speech on race, written by himself, evidenced a transformative leader that can lead by example, assisting us in healing America’s long-standing racial wounds. His own personal story, resonates with every American’s, signifying each of our genealogical trees-reflecting the immense, complicated character of relatives of tremendous racial and ethnic background.
In his finest moment of this campaign, Obama, standing against the backdrop of eight American flags, rose arose above the cynicism of his detractors, to provide a vision and a plan to assist America in confronting its past and present racial dilemmas. In Kingian language, he welded acknowledgement of the nation’s inhumane treatment of African Americans with a direct call for mutual responsibility, forging a blueprint for individual and collective racial healing.
Obama echoed the blunt honesty of his bold and dynamic wife and partner, Michelle Obama, concerning her pride in the nation’s apparent ability to turn the corner, as it related to racial division in American politics. Michelle raised an important commentary, highlighting the overwhelming and enthusiastic support of her husband’s campaign-that of a bi-racial African American man. The honesty of Senator Obama is refreshing, considering the fact that this important ingredient has been missing from our current discussions. Obama’s courageous speech provided a personal example of how we, as a nation, can rise above the stifling fears that have continually constricted our ability to be open and honest as it relates to our nation’s racial past.
Recently, as of February 5-12, 2008, the University of Akron, commemorated the 10th anniversary of President Bill Clinton’s race commission in 1997. The first town hall meeting was held at the University of Akron in 1997. Visit our website at http://www.uakron.edu/colleges/artsci/race/RevisitingRace.php to review our list of speakers, face-to-face conversations, and community activities.
In 2009, the University of Akron plans to continue these dialogues on an annual basis, engaging the campus and greater Akron/Canton/Cleveland communities in serious dialogues and solution-seeking forums regarding this issue. We need this dialogue to take on an applicable action-oriented character to effectively resolve problems plaguing every race and ethnic group.
Senator Obama’s historic speech provides us a golden opportunity, at this very hour, to revive these discussions regarding race and racial healing. Parallel with it, we must build upon the important groundwork laid by President Bill Clinton’s race commission, headed by eminent historian, Dr. John Hope Franklin. To take a step further, we must resolve to develop an open and honest national truth and reconciliation as South Africa developed in its attempt to deal with the ghosts and current legacy of racial apartheid.
In doing so, we must understand that the process will not be easy. It will not be without difficulty or anxiety. However, this is a process that all of us must undergo in order to achieve authentic racial healing and reconciliation. Political scientist Dr. Ronald Walters has written an insightful new book examining such a proposal in his work, The Price of Racial Reconciliation (University of Michigan Press, 2008).
Contributing to our nation’s culture of fear have been insensitive conservative and liberal media pundits, who railed against Obama, pointing our incomplete and misconstrued sound-bites of his former pastor, Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright. The tactics of Fox News, ABC News, and countless talk show hosts are reprehensible and highly polarizing. The American people deserve truth and honesty, rather than derision, diversion and hyperbole.
An interesting juxtaposition of Obama’s Philadelphia, Pennsylvania speech of racial challenge and racial hope is Ronald Reagan’s 1980 speech in Philadelphia, Mississippi, which evidenced extreme racial insensitivity and intolerance. My hope is that Obama’s speech will result in the development of countless policies which constructively reconstruct our nation, as opposed to the slew of destructive policies that emanated from the Reagan administration.
Regarding the black church and black pastors, both entities have functioned as the conscience of America. Black preachers, in the social justice tradition-namely Rev. Dr. Otis Moss Jr., Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright Jr., and Rev. Otis Moss III-have continuously functioned as prophetic leaders for our nation and world. Beginning in the crucible of slavery, running through the period of Jim Crow and domestic colonialism, to the current vestiges of institutional racism and discrimination, black prophets have spoken the truth in love, even if this love-talk has been deemed as harsh due to its honest nature. We as Americans must face the honest truth of our nation’s past and commit ourselves to a full immersion baptism in the river of reconciliation, so that we can be cleaned and healed of this cancer of racism.
The truth of the matter is that Obama is correct: Sunday morning is still the most segregated hour in America. Sociologist of religion and public intellectual, C. Eric Lincoln, provides an explanation for the development of the black church in his prophetic book, Race, Religion, and the Continuing American Dilemma. Lincoln argues that the black church developed as a result of the discrimination inherent in the white church, noting that no discussion of the black church and its cultural character can commence without discussing this sordid relationship and past history.
We must have the collective courage and desire to slay the dragons of discrimination, demonization, and dehumanization. Our children will thank us. As Cornel West appropriately penned in 1993 book by the same title, race matters. The question for our generation to answer is one Dr. King put forward in his last major work in 1967: “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?”
My proposal is for black, white and multi-ethnic church leaders, denominations, and organizations, led by the United Church of Christ and various African American denominations, to organize these truth and reconciliation commissions. The church is the proper institution to handle the racial mountain as it relates to religion. Church leaders should organize ongoing interfaith, intergenerational, ecumenical dialogues, engaging the American public and local communities, around interconnected issues of race, religion, politics, and America’s past. Two books that I would suggest as reading materials for this church-led effort would be Lincoln’s Race, Religion, and the Continuing American Dilemma and Michael O. Emerson and Christian Smith’s Divided By Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America.
To be healed of its racial pain and trauma, Americans must be honest and thorough in studying, sharing, digesting, debating, and actively discussing/resolving our nation’s racial and ethnic past. In this effort, Americans of all backgrounds must understand that every group has been racialized. We are all fully responsible for charting a visionary direction through our racial/ethnic morass. Ignoring race or acting as if it is the responsibility of one group is absurd and inaccurate. Race cripples white as much as it does black-Asian, Hispanic, Latino, immigrant, Native American, etc.
While addressing race, we must simultaneously address parallel, significant and interrelated issues of disparities in health care, home foreclosures, costs of war, economy, education, involvement in the prison system, environmental matters, and the like. These challenges are not only local, regional, and national-they are global. Dr. King resolved that America possessed the resources to deal with this insidious crisis. However, he also lamented that, as a nation, it was evidenced that we lacked the will to commit the necessary resources to root out these collective ills.
In 2008, as a nation, we find ourselves at a decisive crossroads. Barack Obama has opened the door for us to promote racial reconciliation and healing. The question is: will we walk in, roll up our sleeves, and get to the difficult work of making this long-held dream a reality. My hope and prayer is that, as a Multi-America in the making, we unequivocally respond with a resounding “Yes, We Can,” and “Yes, We Will” because “Yes, We Must.”
Written By Dr. Zachery Williams
University of Akron History Professor
Interim Director of Pan African Studies
Public Historian and Intellectual
All Rights Reserved
Dr. Williams can be contacted at zrw@uakron.edu.
By Dr. Zachery Williams
Cleveland Plain Dealer Submission
March 20, 2008
The unfortunate truth is that America still suffers from the sickness and cancer of racism. This fact has been made most evident in the recent controversy surrounding Senator Obama’s affiliation with Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, Illinois, including his relationship with former pastor Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright.
In a span of thirty-seven minutes, Presidential candidate Barack Obama, exposed the intense and serious wounds of our nation: black anger and white resentment which continues to stifle this nation’s ability to move forward, toward a Multi-America.
We, as Americans, revel in our nation as a metaphor and an ideal; however, we cringe at any display of criticism or revelation of the truth of our nation’s unsavory past. This past, operates in our rearview mirror even as it appears front and center during delicate political moments such as this one. Americans, of all kinds, suffer from what social psychologist Dr. Joy DeGruy-Leary calls “cognitive dissonance,” which impairs our understanding and acceptance of the real effects of historic racial trauma.
Silence is agreement. For far too long, all Americans have been subdued into a seductive silence, one that romanticizes racial transcendence while also positing the inevitability of perpetual racial division. Yet, these conversations occur in private, on derisive talk shows, and in limited public spaces, disallowing collective engagement around such a serious and potentially, debilitating issue.
The stakes are too high for us to remain silent and inactive in resolving what Gunnar Myrdal called in 1940, “An American Dilemma.”
Cleveland native and poet, Langston Hughes, penned a significant poem which has direct application to our country’s current dilemma regarding race. Hughes in “A Dream Deferred,” writes:
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dy up?
Like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore—
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over—
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
Like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
Similarly writer James Baldwin, penned perhaps one of the most poignant civil rights manifestos of America’s greatest generation, in 1963, with his The Fire Next Time. The consummate public intellectual, Baldwin offered critical insights designed to help our nation avoid what he called “racial conflagration” or racial conflict/war.
He spoke, convincingly and expertly, of the complex fate of American blacks, highlighting the necessity to help deliver white Americans from their imprisonment by myths of racial superiority. Baldwin offered history and education as tools that would help bring our nation to complete maturity, even as it faced the difficult parts of its past. Baldwin offered that the consequence to averting such a path was found in the warning offered in the song of the enslaved: “God gave Noah the rainbow sign/No more water, the fire next time!” We already see the evidence of “quiet riots,” percolating in our central cities, illustrating that efficacy of Baldwin’s words coming true-unless we address the racial divide-once and for all time.
For too many Americans, black and white, our nation has yet to fulfill its promises of citizenship, equality, and justice. Unless we fully come to grips with the damage of centuries and decades of racialized attitudes, policies, and customs, our nation’s growth will continue to be stunted.
Barack Obama’s original speech on race, written by himself, evidenced a transformative leader that can lead by example, assisting us in healing America’s long-standing racial wounds. His own personal story, resonates with every American’s, signifying each of our genealogical trees-reflecting the immense, complicated character of relatives of tremendous racial and ethnic background.
In his finest moment of this campaign, Obama, standing against the backdrop of eight American flags, rose arose above the cynicism of his detractors, to provide a vision and a plan to assist America in confronting its past and present racial dilemmas. In Kingian language, he welded acknowledgement of the nation’s inhumane treatment of African Americans with a direct call for mutual responsibility, forging a blueprint for individual and collective racial healing.
Obama echoed the blunt honesty of his bold and dynamic wife and partner, Michelle Obama, concerning her pride in the nation’s apparent ability to turn the corner, as it related to racial division in American politics. Michelle raised an important commentary, highlighting the overwhelming and enthusiastic support of her husband’s campaign-that of a bi-racial African American man. The honesty of Senator Obama is refreshing, considering the fact that this important ingredient has been missing from our current discussions. Obama’s courageous speech provided a personal example of how we, as a nation, can rise above the stifling fears that have continually constricted our ability to be open and honest as it relates to our nation’s racial past.
Recently, as of February 5-12, 2008, the University of Akron, commemorated the 10th anniversary of President Bill Clinton’s race commission in 1997. The first town hall meeting was held at the University of Akron in 1997. Visit our website at http://www.uakron.edu/colleges/artsci/race/RevisitingRace.php to review our list of speakers, face-to-face conversations, and community activities.
In 2009, the University of Akron plans to continue these dialogues on an annual basis, engaging the campus and greater Akron/Canton/Cleveland communities in serious dialogues and solution-seeking forums regarding this issue. We need this dialogue to take on an applicable action-oriented character to effectively resolve problems plaguing every race and ethnic group.
Senator Obama’s historic speech provides us a golden opportunity, at this very hour, to revive these discussions regarding race and racial healing. Parallel with it, we must build upon the important groundwork laid by President Bill Clinton’s race commission, headed by eminent historian, Dr. John Hope Franklin. To take a step further, we must resolve to develop an open and honest national truth and reconciliation as South Africa developed in its attempt to deal with the ghosts and current legacy of racial apartheid.
In doing so, we must understand that the process will not be easy. It will not be without difficulty or anxiety. However, this is a process that all of us must undergo in order to achieve authentic racial healing and reconciliation. Political scientist Dr. Ronald Walters has written an insightful new book examining such a proposal in his work, The Price of Racial Reconciliation (University of Michigan Press, 2008).
Contributing to our nation’s culture of fear have been insensitive conservative and liberal media pundits, who railed against Obama, pointing our incomplete and misconstrued sound-bites of his former pastor, Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright. The tactics of Fox News, ABC News, and countless talk show hosts are reprehensible and highly polarizing. The American people deserve truth and honesty, rather than derision, diversion and hyperbole.
An interesting juxtaposition of Obama’s Philadelphia, Pennsylvania speech of racial challenge and racial hope is Ronald Reagan’s 1980 speech in Philadelphia, Mississippi, which evidenced extreme racial insensitivity and intolerance. My hope is that Obama’s speech will result in the development of countless policies which constructively reconstruct our nation, as opposed to the slew of destructive policies that emanated from the Reagan administration.
Regarding the black church and black pastors, both entities have functioned as the conscience of America. Black preachers, in the social justice tradition-namely Rev. Dr. Otis Moss Jr., Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright Jr., and Rev. Otis Moss III-have continuously functioned as prophetic leaders for our nation and world. Beginning in the crucible of slavery, running through the period of Jim Crow and domestic colonialism, to the current vestiges of institutional racism and discrimination, black prophets have spoken the truth in love, even if this love-talk has been deemed as harsh due to its honest nature. We as Americans must face the honest truth of our nation’s past and commit ourselves to a full immersion baptism in the river of reconciliation, so that we can be cleaned and healed of this cancer of racism.
The truth of the matter is that Obama is correct: Sunday morning is still the most segregated hour in America. Sociologist of religion and public intellectual, C. Eric Lincoln, provides an explanation for the development of the black church in his prophetic book, Race, Religion, and the Continuing American Dilemma. Lincoln argues that the black church developed as a result of the discrimination inherent in the white church, noting that no discussion of the black church and its cultural character can commence without discussing this sordid relationship and past history.
We must have the collective courage and desire to slay the dragons of discrimination, demonization, and dehumanization. Our children will thank us. As Cornel West appropriately penned in 1993 book by the same title, race matters. The question for our generation to answer is one Dr. King put forward in his last major work in 1967: “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?”
My proposal is for black, white and multi-ethnic church leaders, denominations, and organizations, led by the United Church of Christ and various African American denominations, to organize these truth and reconciliation commissions. The church is the proper institution to handle the racial mountain as it relates to religion. Church leaders should organize ongoing interfaith, intergenerational, ecumenical dialogues, engaging the American public and local communities, around interconnected issues of race, religion, politics, and America’s past. Two books that I would suggest as reading materials for this church-led effort would be Lincoln’s Race, Religion, and the Continuing American Dilemma and Michael O. Emerson and Christian Smith’s Divided By Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America.
To be healed of its racial pain and trauma, Americans must be honest and thorough in studying, sharing, digesting, debating, and actively discussing/resolving our nation’s racial and ethnic past. In this effort, Americans of all backgrounds must understand that every group has been racialized. We are all fully responsible for charting a visionary direction through our racial/ethnic morass. Ignoring race or acting as if it is the responsibility of one group is absurd and inaccurate. Race cripples white as much as it does black-Asian, Hispanic, Latino, immigrant, Native American, etc.
While addressing race, we must simultaneously address parallel, significant and interrelated issues of disparities in health care, home foreclosures, costs of war, economy, education, involvement in the prison system, environmental matters, and the like. These challenges are not only local, regional, and national-they are global. Dr. King resolved that America possessed the resources to deal with this insidious crisis. However, he also lamented that, as a nation, it was evidenced that we lacked the will to commit the necessary resources to root out these collective ills.
In 2008, as a nation, we find ourselves at a decisive crossroads. Barack Obama has opened the door for us to promote racial reconciliation and healing. The question is: will we walk in, roll up our sleeves, and get to the difficult work of making this long-held dream a reality. My hope and prayer is that, as a Multi-America in the making, we unequivocally respond with a resounding “Yes, We Can,” and “Yes, We Will” because “Yes, We Must.”
Written By Dr. Zachery Williams
University of Akron History Professor
Interim Director of Pan African Studies
Public Historian and Intellectual
All Rights Reserved
Dr. Williams can be contacted at zrw@uakron.edu.
Friday, April 14, 2006
The Doctrine of Humanity, the Humanity of Black Men and the Development of a Black Men’s Theology
By Dr. Zachery Williams
Noted African American theologian Howard Thurman, developed a model of critical self-engagement of the spiritual self, which he called the process by which one listens to the sound of the genuine within. This model of worship and spiritual soul-searching provides a model from which African American men, in all varieties, can develop a specific doctrine of their humanity in relation to the God in whose image they were made. In many ways, Thurman’s model resonates with the writings of Dr. James Evans, Dwight Hopkins, and even Stanley Grenz. Grenz makes an important statement concerning the doctrine of humanity in general in his important work, Theology for the Community of God. In discussing God’s ultimate purpose as establishing community among his creation, he also lays out the significance of an anthropological understanding of Christian belief. Grenz argues that this notion of “Christian anthropology, “or the understanding of the humanity of creation is related to this doctrine of God. It entails the relationship between the creation’s responsibilities to the Creator as well as to co-members of creation. This connection between the doctrine of God and Humanity opens the door for theological community as long as the relationship is maintained. Unfortunately for humanity generally, and African American men specifically, man, because of sin and sinful acts, has fallen and has needed reconciliation in order to re-establish that relationship and community as one with God.
The need for reconciliation still holds true for many black men who are not in the church, who are disproportionately representative of those imprisoned, as well as overwhelmingly involved in dangerous life-styles, ranging from gangs and drug cartels to participation in deviant sexual behaviors with deleterious effects upon themselves, black women, and the black community itself. While many decry the continued uselessness of black men as spiritual beings, I affirm, as an African American Christian man, the belief and hope that African American men can be raised from their deadened states. This calls for atonement much as Minister Louis Farrakhan called for at the 1995 Million Man March. The only difference is that instead of abandoning Christianity in favor of Islam as the true religion of the Black man, I posit that Christianity, taught in a manner that recognizes the humanity of black men and demonstrates their inseparable relationship to God, is the way of truth and light for the community of men of African descent.[1]
In his discussion of Christian anthropology, Grenz offers that human beings deal with an identity crisis that is a consequence of their separation from God, the Creator. In agreeing with Grenz, the human identity problem is primarily “religious in nature.” Grenz formulates three aspects of identity that are useful for this discussion. Acknowledging the belief that we are the creation of God, it also must be understood that as creation we are good creations, and despite our challenges with sin, we have the ever-present possibility of reconciliation because as Grenz states, “we are also the object of God’s redemptive activity.” African American men have had major problems seeing themselves in the image of God and within the framework of God’s plan. Primarily, these understandings of God have been shaped by racism and socialization which has devalued the worth and humanity of Black men. Rebelling against this evident attack on their humanity, many black men have, over the decades of their sojourn in America, internalized and adopted these negative assessments, often with very harmful effects on themselves, black women, and black children in the form of abuse, violence, and intimidation. The idea of who God is has not fully been resolved by Black men in America as a whole and is still in question.[2]
As briefly discussed in the opening of this essay, models of understanding God for African American men will come from, largely, although not solely, other African American men. To address the question of humanity of black men, the lives of countless black men must be examined and mined, so as to look for nuggets of wisdom, which can provide revelation as to the depth of the problem facing them, from their perspective, as well as avenues of redemption in light of a critical engagement with their lives.
Men such as Howard Thurman, Tu Pac Shakur and Malcolm X, who held a definite, and differing religious orientations, offer instructive lessons for contemporary African American Men of all ages. Although the church functions as the predominant framework by which we must examine the religious understanding of God and the human identity problem of Black men, we must not delimit or disassociate that lens from the social location and lived reality out of which it emerges for varieties of black men. The two are inseparable and mutually dependent on one another.
Since there are evidently varieties of black men, there will also be varieties of responses and non-responses to God, located in various arenas. In this sense, the scope of the black religious sphere as well as the arena for salvation, for many black men, will be wherever they are in their encounter, positive or negative, with God. As we know, God can reach and meet his creation in the depths of the earth and valleys of life as God is believed to be omnipresent. If we hold to this time held, belief within the African American Christian context, we must also affirm that African American men can find God in unconventional places.
The church must not be the only venue for redemption, although it is the primary facilitator of that process. To function as the useful facilitator, the church and the community of believers, including redeemed black men, must go beyond the walls of the church, and connect the larger socio-geographic community to the institution that we understand as the black church. Jesus, in his self-sacrificing acts of atonement, including his public ministry, the calling of disciples, as well as his crucifixion experience provide a model for us to contextualize upon our specific socio-cultural landscape.
Many of these redemptive social arenas and forms will include locations that on the surface would be distracting environments, such as gang and drug groups, hip hop culture, and other less valued arenas. For the community of black men, many of those who are lost and separated from God, an appreciation of their place and social location as well as their struggle is the first step in their redemption. No experience by black men can be undervalued or ignored. God’s approach towards us does not privilege any experience over the other, although we as humans do and certainly society does. However, despite this latter fact, we must adopt the position of God in relating to one another. While we can offer models of Christian understandings such as those considered less radical and more conventional, we must not ignore the reality that God works through humans to bring redemption to creation, and often in vessels and contexts considered foolish by many. It must be added that many who devalue certain experiences of other men, have either forgotten or decontextualized their redemptive conversion experience or those of the type who they appropriate. For instance, Howard Thurman was, and still is often misunderstood in many Christian circles, because of his innovative religious worship styles. Martin Luther King Jr. was challenged on his public stance against the war in Vietnam and economic inequality in America.
Furthermore, even Frederick Douglass was dismissed due to another challenge facing black men historically and today: being involved with or married to a white woman. Many other differing experiences of alienation from the community of God abound, having been experienced by Black men, popular and unknown, but no less real and relevant. Regardless of the level and reason why black men are actually separated from God, it is the responsibility of all members of the community to participate actively in the redemptive process of others. In that process, many, will also find greater levels of redemption for themselves as well. This is true as the ongoing mental, physical, and spiritual burden or racism, sexism, and men’s cultural and religious socialization daily challenge Black men in any effort to understand God from their experience as well as try to understand their own humanity in light of who they believe themselves to be in relationship to God and others in the community.
The struggle of African American Men to define their humanity in the context of an oppressive environment, bent on their destruction, has played itself out in various ways. One of the major ways is through the assertion of the notion of freedom, a connected freedom that linked the individual self, the realities and experiences of all black men, and all black people. Two ways that many black men religious leaders sought to develop and preserve was through the methods of integration and separatism. In the context of those strategies, black men found vehicles through which to assert their humanity as men, in ways that also sought to promote the freedom of black people everywhere.
James Evans in his work, We Have Been Believers: An African American Systematic Theology, discusses the notion of the doctrine of humanity as related to the African American experience of struggle. Evans asserts that, in the context of the African American experience, one cannot talk about the existence of an individual reality of humanity without discussing the related evolution and development of the entire community’s humanity, In this sense, the Afrocentric philosophical notion, “I Am because We are,” appropriately applies to an understanding of the embattled black experience, as we also understand that the humanity of various black communities, as a whole, has been formed and shaped through the formation of the individual in the context of community and struggle.
Correspondingly, the individual identity of black people in general and black men in particular, in the context of America, has been deeply influenced and shaped by the collective understandings of humanity by communities of black men as well as the larger black community itself. There has been and continues to be a symbiotic relationship between the individual black self and the communal black. Theologian, John S. Mbiti, although a critic of Black Theology, offers an interesting assessment of the doctrine of humanity with respect to the African experience, one that is applicable to the Diaspora African in North America. Mbiti writes:
What then is the individual and where is his [or her] place in the community? In
traditional life, the individual does not and cannot exist alone except corporately. He
owes his existence to other people, including those of past generations and his
contemporaries. He is simply part of the whole. The community must therefore
make, create or produce the individual, for the individual depends on the corporate
group.[3]
In this context, one can also examine the particular understandings of self of black men, to get a handle on the manner in which they developed modes and models of manhood, in a foreign environment that sought to destroy such agency. In addition, from a proper application of Mbiti’s quote to the African American experience, one can arrive at a proper understanding of the importance of community and brotherhood among black men in America. Such an understanding should lead one to conclude that a critical black men’s theology must be undertaken, one that is reflective of the dialectic between the individual humanity of black men and the tradition or communal humanity that comes out of the imagined and real black experience. Undoubtedly, black men in America have always, whether they recognized it or not, evolved out of a tradition of men and women who have passed down a tradition of understandings of black men’s humanity. Particularly, for the Christian church, this tradition must be revisited and reinterpreted so as to arrive at a clear and useful black men’s theology of practice for the “fishers of men.”[4]
Specifically, Riggins Earl, Jr. in his chapter, “Apologists and Ideologues of Black Manhood and Brotherhood,” seeks to use various typologies of black men religious intellectuals, to arrive at an understanding of what black manhood represents. He presents four typologies to depicting what he believes to be various responses of black men, attempting to define their humanity in the context of struggle. First, he asserts the notion of the “generic man” model of black manhood, as represented by Frederick Douglass, a type that espoused generic qualities of manhood such as notions of color-blindness, manly character, and the universality of humanity. Earl’s sees his second category, that of the utility man, best evidenced by the example of Booker T. Washington whom he credited with being able to promote useful and industrious character traits as self-dignity, love, and compromise as being indicative of a “representative man.” Thirdly, W.E. B. Du Bois represents “the dialectic self-conscious man,” who is critically aware of his own “self-conscious manhood,” desiring to merge his double self into a new and better man, and able to intentionally articulate black strivings by being a co-worker with God in his kingdom on earth.
Lastly, Marcus Garvey, attains the label of “self-confident man,” who sought to instill a type of manhood in black men that promoted a cultural and nationalist self-reliance and an understanding of the meaning of brotherhood, through the vehicle of the Universal Negro Improvement Association. Garvey, espousing a strong black manhood, with evident Christian overtones, served as a model for the theological foundation of the Nation of Islam and its most prized member, Malcolm Little, whose father was a Garveyite himself. Furthermore, Earl seeks to develop the concept of “Salutatory Brothers of New Paradigms,” focusing on the example and theological insights of Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X, whereby he examines the models of manhood of both figures through priestly and prophetic lenses. Overall, he develops the idea that an examination of these types will illicit a more informed standpoint from which to determine the struggles of individual black men by which to understand themselves in relation to God, creation, and redemption. [5]
James Cone, in his book, Malcolm, Martin and America, discusses in the introduction, two distinct, yet related traditions of black men religious intellectuals who sought to achieve equality for black people. One tradition promoted equality through the notion of integration and the other tradition, asserted the notion of separatism. The point where Cone advances the argument beyond Earl is that the former illicits a type of Du Boisian double consciousness among many adherents of both the integrationist and nationalist traditions, one that affirms the idea of dual existence of both traditions, that are dependent on one another and dovetail over time, as influenced by the cultural and political context of the times as well as their social location. This is most evident as one analyzes, for instance, the manner in which both the integrationism of both Martin Luther King Jr., and Frederick Douglass, becomes, towards the end of their lives, more radicalized and hence, sympathetic to aspects of the nationalist/separatist argument. Conversely, the theological and political view of such black men religious intellectuals as Malcolm X and Martin Delany, at the end of their lives, evidences a shift in radical views more towards the center, at least to the point where they are open to a more inclusive separatism, and possibly exhibit openness to a radical integrationism. As one connects, Evans, Cone, and Earl, one sees that there is an ideal of brotherhood, whether overt of subtle, that has asserted an idea of humanity for black men which resonates to black men as a community and even to a larger African American community, beyond the individual self. [6]
In conclusion, any model for the construction of the doctrine of humanity of black men must be contextual in that “context influences meaning,” as Amy-Jill Levine argues for women. Furthermore, all contexts where black men reside, must be equally valued and examined. Functioning in community, and utilizing both past and present lives and models to create an ever evolving and multi-dimensional experiences should be the goal of a relevant 21st century black theology. The works of Evans, Cone, and Earl, as well as others, provide useful material to redeem our humanity as we as black men seek to simultaneously enter in with God in the redemptive process of reconciliation with the Father/Mother, Son, and Holy Spirit. This model and text is ever-evolving and in dialogue with many aspects of itself. In this way, the schizophrenia and identity crises or varieties of double and multiple consciousness are turned on their heads and will not emerge unchanged. The challenge is that as we engage in the connected theological and practical tasks of redemption and reconciliation of the minds, bodies, and souls of black men, we yield to God and see ourselves as a composite of not only the sum of our experiences but also as the composite of who God is, was, and will always be. We are not God, and have never been, even in our various messianic moments, but we do share aspects of God’s character and personality, as we function as in community with our Creator in the redemption of our communities and that of the world.
In order to fully articulate and manifest the Doctrine of Humanity of Black Men, a relevant Black Men’s Theology must be developed. This theology has a theoretical and theological component on the one hand, which articulate what it is and what persons have contributed to its construction. On the other hand, such a doctrine and theology must develop a parallel and contextual model of praxis. I have discussed aspects that can begin to contribute to the development of the theoretical component and will add few additional thoughts regarding that aspect. However the majority of the remainder of the paper will deal with the assertion of a beginning praxis model, based on different elements.
J. Deotis Roberts offers an interesting beginning statement on a doctrine of humanity for black men, and, process, a Black Men’s Theology. He argues:
A doctrine of man in black theology should begin with the human condition and
aim at liberation of through wholeness. Wholeness is related to a total view of man
as body, soul, and spirit. Theologies of the body are likely to be concerned with the
carnal man and man’s place in nature. Theologies of revolution aim primarily at the
collective. The approach of black theology must be existential as well as political.[7]
Roberts argues that a narrow examination of the humanity of black men is insufficient and heretofore, has only complicated the continued search by black men for a tangible and affirmative identity. Unless a comprehensive theology can be developed, one that incorporates all the dimensions of the complicated self of black men then the notion of humanity and freedom will continue to elude every black man, regardless of social class or status. Roberts continues and asserts that such a doctrine, and theology must come from black men themselves. Here he alludes to such:
We need an understanding of human nature that can bring to black people, under
the conditions of their existence sanity and wholeness. A perfectly rational
interpretation of man, however, much applauded by white theologians, would be
‘dry bones’ for the faith of the black masses if they did not take seriously their life
and death struggle in this society.[8]
In offering explanation of Roberts’ anthropological discussion of the doctrine of humanity, Evans contends that it is “centered on the notion of the collective dimension of human existence.” So, in this regard, black men must define for themselves what a doctrine of their humanity truly represents as well as locating this definition in the context of the varied community of black men and black people.
The discussion by Roberts points us toward a discussion of models for the holistic development of black men. One such model that should be incorporated into the development of a doctrine of black men’s humanity and theology is that of the “Morehouse Man.” Of course, the model itself was exemplified and established from the person and example of Dr. Benjamin E. Mays. Dr. Mays, President of Morehouse College for twenty seven years, in addition to writing numerous books about the Black religious experience, also developed a model of manhood that has stood the test of time. Mays’ model of the Morehouse man takes into account much of Roberts’ understandings and articulations of wholeness. Proof of the effectiveness of such a model can be found in the countless graduates of the College who have gone on to impact the world, including the perceptions of black men. Usage of such as model as well as those offered by the Nation of Islam, Masons, and Fraternities can provide contributing parts, designed to create a multi-level framework that can help bring about reconciliation. The deciding factor that would make this amalgam distinctively Black Christian, and evidence of manhood would be the foundation of the example and gospel of the Black Christ, Jesus.
In an article in The Phylon Quarterly, Edward Jones lays out the five tenets of the Morehouse Mystique as articulated by Mays at the Ninetieth Anniversary Convocation of the College. The first tenet is the “training of the mind to think logically, constructively, and discriminatingly.” Further explaining this tenet, he specifies that the training of the student mind should be undertaken “whether an ordinary or a brilliant one.” Secondly, Mays stated that an emphasis at Morehouse was placed on the development of “men of sound character and integrity: men who are dependable, reliable, trustworthy, honest, true-men who can be trusted to carry responsibility both in private and in public life.” For Mays it was “a dangerous thing” to train a man’s mind without at the same time training him to be good. A third tenet of the Morehouse Mystique examines the significance of community responsibility and depicts a man “who is concerned for the welfare of the community and who participates in the affairs of that community and lends whatever support he can to further the ideals of progress, democratic living, and interracial goodwill. Lastly, the fifth element of the Morehouse Mystique deals with the issue of strong self-esteem, placing “confidence in themselves and confidence in their future.” Such confidence teaches Morehouse men, to this very day, “not to accept the ceiling as the limit but the sky, and that a better tomorrow….must be molded by them.” All in all, this framework and lifestyle has exuded a great degree of humanity and manhood for graduate of Morehouse. For the purposes of this essay, it provides a critical example from which to draw from in re-envisioning a doctrine of humanity and black men’s theology for black men of all backgrounds and experiences. [9]
Evans notes the utility of black spiritual autobiography as relevant for the re-creation of a doctrine of humanity for black men. Using an autobiographical statement of sorts, African theologian Manas Buthelezi offers a useful assessment of the doctrine of humanity as applied to black men. Buthelezi writes:
Man suddenly discovers his humanity in caricature form: he realizes that he is neither what he thought he was nor what he would like to be. Out of this mental and
emotional torture arise a number of existential questions: After all, who am I: What
is the destiny of my being and mode of existence? How can I so live as to overcome
what militates against the realization of my destiny as a human being? This in
essence is the quest for true authentic humanity, For a black man, such as I am, this
issue is loaded with historical accidents which project a peculiar dimension of the
basic quest: Can I realize my authentic humanity in the medium of my blackness? Is
my blackness some fatalistic road block in life within which God has made it
possible for me to be an authentic man?[10]
Buthelezi’s statement offers an interesting perspective from which to examine black spiritual autobiography as contributive to a substantive doctrine of humanity. It allows black men of various identities to examine, question, and probe, from the context of their distinctive social and cultural location, the meaning of who they are as men, and hopefully, discover it in the process. Furthermore, black spiritual autobiography is not relegated to theologians or men of the cloth. For the variety of Black men, there are countless and unique relationships and experiences of the divine and, in essence of one’s humanity. Therefore, each experience must be valued equally within the context of the community. As a community of voices echoing and bouncing off of one another, there will be evident parallels as well as divergencies that will be instructive for each member so long as mutual respect and value can be placed on teach voice. Examples of black men’s spiritual autobiography include notable public figures such as James Baldwin, W.E.B. Du Bois, Paul Robeson, Mays, Howard Thurman, Martin L. Kings, Jr. and countless others. In addition to more notable intellectuals, ministers, and activists, other groups must be included into this framework including divergent groups such as the hip hop community, former gang members, black gay men, everyday working class men, as well as other varieties not commonly privileged.
Asian theologian Andrew Sung Park provides the interesting framework of Han, which discusses elements of healing, reflection, and reconciliation, among others, in the context of the Christian doctrine of sin. Han is described as the relational consequence of sin and is exhibited by the spiritual, emotional, and cultural scars in victims by those who have perpetrated some form of oppression. It also discusses the idea of blending different experiences in order to create a more balanced whole. Evidence of this within the experiences of black men in America can be seen in the religious search for meaning by many black men, known and unknown. Everything from sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee holding signs proclaiming: “I Am a Man” to the idea of the idea of the Beloved Community of Mordecai Johnson, Howard Thurman, and Martin King can find common ground with the religious ethos of Garveyism, the Nation of Islam and the Black Hebrew Israelites. In addition, a theology of sexuality as advanced by theologian Kelly Brown Douglass can be interpreted by black gay Christian men and young men of the Hip Hop generation, so as to articulate a relevant theology that voices their specific concerns. Not that a nice and neat unified whole will ever be created. That is not and should not be the goal of unity of reconciliation. The primary motive and driving force should be healing and a desired reconnection with the creator God, in whose image, each and every variety of Black man was made and is being fashioned.
Bibliography
The Amplified Bible. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1987.
Cone, James H. Malcolm, Martin, and America: A Dream of a Nightmare. Maryknoll,
N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1992.
Earl, Riggins, Jr., Dark Salutations: Ritual, God, and Greetings in the African American
Community. Harrisburg: Trinity Press International, 2001.
Evans, James H. We Have Been Believers: an African American Systematic Theology.
Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1992.
Grenz, Stanley J. Theology For the Community of God. Vancouver: Regent College
Publishers, 1994.
Jones, Edward A. “Morehouse College in Business Ninety Years—Building Men,” The
Phylon Quarterly. Vol. 18, No. 3, 1957.
Mbiti, John S. African Religions and Philosophy. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1970.
Roberts, J. Deotis. A Black Political Theology. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1974.
Endnotes
[1] . Stanley J. Grenz. Theology For the Community of God (Vancouver: Regent College Publishing, 1994). 125.
[2] . Grenz, pp. 125-127.
[3] . John S. Mbiti, African Religions and Philosophy (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1970), 119.
[4]. Matthew 4:19. The Amplified Bible. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1987, 1076.
[5] . Riggins R. Earl, Jr., Dark Salutations: Ritual, God, and Greetings in the African American Community (Harrisburg: Trinity Press International, 2001), 114-
[6] . James H. Cone. Malcolm, Martin, and America: A Dream or a Nightmare. (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis), 1992.
[7] . J. Deotis Roberts, A Black Political Theology (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1974), 84.
[8] . Roberts, A Black Political Theology, 90.
[9] . Edward A. Jones, “Morehouse College in Business Ninety Years—Building Men,” The Phylon Quarterly. Vol 18, No. 3, 1957, p. 233.
[10] . Evans, We Have Been Believers: An African American Systematic Theology (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1992), 114.
By Dr. Zachery Williams
Noted African American theologian Howard Thurman, developed a model of critical self-engagement of the spiritual self, which he called the process by which one listens to the sound of the genuine within. This model of worship and spiritual soul-searching provides a model from which African American men, in all varieties, can develop a specific doctrine of their humanity in relation to the God in whose image they were made. In many ways, Thurman’s model resonates with the writings of Dr. James Evans, Dwight Hopkins, and even Stanley Grenz. Grenz makes an important statement concerning the doctrine of humanity in general in his important work, Theology for the Community of God. In discussing God’s ultimate purpose as establishing community among his creation, he also lays out the significance of an anthropological understanding of Christian belief. Grenz argues that this notion of “Christian anthropology, “or the understanding of the humanity of creation is related to this doctrine of God. It entails the relationship between the creation’s responsibilities to the Creator as well as to co-members of creation. This connection between the doctrine of God and Humanity opens the door for theological community as long as the relationship is maintained. Unfortunately for humanity generally, and African American men specifically, man, because of sin and sinful acts, has fallen and has needed reconciliation in order to re-establish that relationship and community as one with God.
The need for reconciliation still holds true for many black men who are not in the church, who are disproportionately representative of those imprisoned, as well as overwhelmingly involved in dangerous life-styles, ranging from gangs and drug cartels to participation in deviant sexual behaviors with deleterious effects upon themselves, black women, and the black community itself. While many decry the continued uselessness of black men as spiritual beings, I affirm, as an African American Christian man, the belief and hope that African American men can be raised from their deadened states. This calls for atonement much as Minister Louis Farrakhan called for at the 1995 Million Man March. The only difference is that instead of abandoning Christianity in favor of Islam as the true religion of the Black man, I posit that Christianity, taught in a manner that recognizes the humanity of black men and demonstrates their inseparable relationship to God, is the way of truth and light for the community of men of African descent.[1]
In his discussion of Christian anthropology, Grenz offers that human beings deal with an identity crisis that is a consequence of their separation from God, the Creator. In agreeing with Grenz, the human identity problem is primarily “religious in nature.” Grenz formulates three aspects of identity that are useful for this discussion. Acknowledging the belief that we are the creation of God, it also must be understood that as creation we are good creations, and despite our challenges with sin, we have the ever-present possibility of reconciliation because as Grenz states, “we are also the object of God’s redemptive activity.” African American men have had major problems seeing themselves in the image of God and within the framework of God’s plan. Primarily, these understandings of God have been shaped by racism and socialization which has devalued the worth and humanity of Black men. Rebelling against this evident attack on their humanity, many black men have, over the decades of their sojourn in America, internalized and adopted these negative assessments, often with very harmful effects on themselves, black women, and black children in the form of abuse, violence, and intimidation. The idea of who God is has not fully been resolved by Black men in America as a whole and is still in question.[2]
As briefly discussed in the opening of this essay, models of understanding God for African American men will come from, largely, although not solely, other African American men. To address the question of humanity of black men, the lives of countless black men must be examined and mined, so as to look for nuggets of wisdom, which can provide revelation as to the depth of the problem facing them, from their perspective, as well as avenues of redemption in light of a critical engagement with their lives.
Men such as Howard Thurman, Tu Pac Shakur and Malcolm X, who held a definite, and differing religious orientations, offer instructive lessons for contemporary African American Men of all ages. Although the church functions as the predominant framework by which we must examine the religious understanding of God and the human identity problem of Black men, we must not delimit or disassociate that lens from the social location and lived reality out of which it emerges for varieties of black men. The two are inseparable and mutually dependent on one another.
Since there are evidently varieties of black men, there will also be varieties of responses and non-responses to God, located in various arenas. In this sense, the scope of the black religious sphere as well as the arena for salvation, for many black men, will be wherever they are in their encounter, positive or negative, with God. As we know, God can reach and meet his creation in the depths of the earth and valleys of life as God is believed to be omnipresent. If we hold to this time held, belief within the African American Christian context, we must also affirm that African American men can find God in unconventional places.
The church must not be the only venue for redemption, although it is the primary facilitator of that process. To function as the useful facilitator, the church and the community of believers, including redeemed black men, must go beyond the walls of the church, and connect the larger socio-geographic community to the institution that we understand as the black church. Jesus, in his self-sacrificing acts of atonement, including his public ministry, the calling of disciples, as well as his crucifixion experience provide a model for us to contextualize upon our specific socio-cultural landscape.
Many of these redemptive social arenas and forms will include locations that on the surface would be distracting environments, such as gang and drug groups, hip hop culture, and other less valued arenas. For the community of black men, many of those who are lost and separated from God, an appreciation of their place and social location as well as their struggle is the first step in their redemption. No experience by black men can be undervalued or ignored. God’s approach towards us does not privilege any experience over the other, although we as humans do and certainly society does. However, despite this latter fact, we must adopt the position of God in relating to one another. While we can offer models of Christian understandings such as those considered less radical and more conventional, we must not ignore the reality that God works through humans to bring redemption to creation, and often in vessels and contexts considered foolish by many. It must be added that many who devalue certain experiences of other men, have either forgotten or decontextualized their redemptive conversion experience or those of the type who they appropriate. For instance, Howard Thurman was, and still is often misunderstood in many Christian circles, because of his innovative religious worship styles. Martin Luther King Jr. was challenged on his public stance against the war in Vietnam and economic inequality in America.
Furthermore, even Frederick Douglass was dismissed due to another challenge facing black men historically and today: being involved with or married to a white woman. Many other differing experiences of alienation from the community of God abound, having been experienced by Black men, popular and unknown, but no less real and relevant. Regardless of the level and reason why black men are actually separated from God, it is the responsibility of all members of the community to participate actively in the redemptive process of others. In that process, many, will also find greater levels of redemption for themselves as well. This is true as the ongoing mental, physical, and spiritual burden or racism, sexism, and men’s cultural and religious socialization daily challenge Black men in any effort to understand God from their experience as well as try to understand their own humanity in light of who they believe themselves to be in relationship to God and others in the community.
The struggle of African American Men to define their humanity in the context of an oppressive environment, bent on their destruction, has played itself out in various ways. One of the major ways is through the assertion of the notion of freedom, a connected freedom that linked the individual self, the realities and experiences of all black men, and all black people. Two ways that many black men religious leaders sought to develop and preserve was through the methods of integration and separatism. In the context of those strategies, black men found vehicles through which to assert their humanity as men, in ways that also sought to promote the freedom of black people everywhere.
James Evans in his work, We Have Been Believers: An African American Systematic Theology, discusses the notion of the doctrine of humanity as related to the African American experience of struggle. Evans asserts that, in the context of the African American experience, one cannot talk about the existence of an individual reality of humanity without discussing the related evolution and development of the entire community’s humanity, In this sense, the Afrocentric philosophical notion, “I Am because We are,” appropriately applies to an understanding of the embattled black experience, as we also understand that the humanity of various black communities, as a whole, has been formed and shaped through the formation of the individual in the context of community and struggle.
Correspondingly, the individual identity of black people in general and black men in particular, in the context of America, has been deeply influenced and shaped by the collective understandings of humanity by communities of black men as well as the larger black community itself. There has been and continues to be a symbiotic relationship between the individual black self and the communal black. Theologian, John S. Mbiti, although a critic of Black Theology, offers an interesting assessment of the doctrine of humanity with respect to the African experience, one that is applicable to the Diaspora African in North America. Mbiti writes:
What then is the individual and where is his [or her] place in the community? In
traditional life, the individual does not and cannot exist alone except corporately. He
owes his existence to other people, including those of past generations and his
contemporaries. He is simply part of the whole. The community must therefore
make, create or produce the individual, for the individual depends on the corporate
group.[3]
In this context, one can also examine the particular understandings of self of black men, to get a handle on the manner in which they developed modes and models of manhood, in a foreign environment that sought to destroy such agency. In addition, from a proper application of Mbiti’s quote to the African American experience, one can arrive at a proper understanding of the importance of community and brotherhood among black men in America. Such an understanding should lead one to conclude that a critical black men’s theology must be undertaken, one that is reflective of the dialectic between the individual humanity of black men and the tradition or communal humanity that comes out of the imagined and real black experience. Undoubtedly, black men in America have always, whether they recognized it or not, evolved out of a tradition of men and women who have passed down a tradition of understandings of black men’s humanity. Particularly, for the Christian church, this tradition must be revisited and reinterpreted so as to arrive at a clear and useful black men’s theology of practice for the “fishers of men.”[4]
Specifically, Riggins Earl, Jr. in his chapter, “Apologists and Ideologues of Black Manhood and Brotherhood,” seeks to use various typologies of black men religious intellectuals, to arrive at an understanding of what black manhood represents. He presents four typologies to depicting what he believes to be various responses of black men, attempting to define their humanity in the context of struggle. First, he asserts the notion of the “generic man” model of black manhood, as represented by Frederick Douglass, a type that espoused generic qualities of manhood such as notions of color-blindness, manly character, and the universality of humanity. Earl’s sees his second category, that of the utility man, best evidenced by the example of Booker T. Washington whom he credited with being able to promote useful and industrious character traits as self-dignity, love, and compromise as being indicative of a “representative man.” Thirdly, W.E. B. Du Bois represents “the dialectic self-conscious man,” who is critically aware of his own “self-conscious manhood,” desiring to merge his double self into a new and better man, and able to intentionally articulate black strivings by being a co-worker with God in his kingdom on earth.
Lastly, Marcus Garvey, attains the label of “self-confident man,” who sought to instill a type of manhood in black men that promoted a cultural and nationalist self-reliance and an understanding of the meaning of brotherhood, through the vehicle of the Universal Negro Improvement Association. Garvey, espousing a strong black manhood, with evident Christian overtones, served as a model for the theological foundation of the Nation of Islam and its most prized member, Malcolm Little, whose father was a Garveyite himself. Furthermore, Earl seeks to develop the concept of “Salutatory Brothers of New Paradigms,” focusing on the example and theological insights of Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X, whereby he examines the models of manhood of both figures through priestly and prophetic lenses. Overall, he develops the idea that an examination of these types will illicit a more informed standpoint from which to determine the struggles of individual black men by which to understand themselves in relation to God, creation, and redemption. [5]
James Cone, in his book, Malcolm, Martin and America, discusses in the introduction, two distinct, yet related traditions of black men religious intellectuals who sought to achieve equality for black people. One tradition promoted equality through the notion of integration and the other tradition, asserted the notion of separatism. The point where Cone advances the argument beyond Earl is that the former illicits a type of Du Boisian double consciousness among many adherents of both the integrationist and nationalist traditions, one that affirms the idea of dual existence of both traditions, that are dependent on one another and dovetail over time, as influenced by the cultural and political context of the times as well as their social location. This is most evident as one analyzes, for instance, the manner in which both the integrationism of both Martin Luther King Jr., and Frederick Douglass, becomes, towards the end of their lives, more radicalized and hence, sympathetic to aspects of the nationalist/separatist argument. Conversely, the theological and political view of such black men religious intellectuals as Malcolm X and Martin Delany, at the end of their lives, evidences a shift in radical views more towards the center, at least to the point where they are open to a more inclusive separatism, and possibly exhibit openness to a radical integrationism. As one connects, Evans, Cone, and Earl, one sees that there is an ideal of brotherhood, whether overt of subtle, that has asserted an idea of humanity for black men which resonates to black men as a community and even to a larger African American community, beyond the individual self. [6]
In conclusion, any model for the construction of the doctrine of humanity of black men must be contextual in that “context influences meaning,” as Amy-Jill Levine argues for women. Furthermore, all contexts where black men reside, must be equally valued and examined. Functioning in community, and utilizing both past and present lives and models to create an ever evolving and multi-dimensional experiences should be the goal of a relevant 21st century black theology. The works of Evans, Cone, and Earl, as well as others, provide useful material to redeem our humanity as we as black men seek to simultaneously enter in with God in the redemptive process of reconciliation with the Father/Mother, Son, and Holy Spirit. This model and text is ever-evolving and in dialogue with many aspects of itself. In this way, the schizophrenia and identity crises or varieties of double and multiple consciousness are turned on their heads and will not emerge unchanged. The challenge is that as we engage in the connected theological and practical tasks of redemption and reconciliation of the minds, bodies, and souls of black men, we yield to God and see ourselves as a composite of not only the sum of our experiences but also as the composite of who God is, was, and will always be. We are not God, and have never been, even in our various messianic moments, but we do share aspects of God’s character and personality, as we function as in community with our Creator in the redemption of our communities and that of the world.
In order to fully articulate and manifest the Doctrine of Humanity of Black Men, a relevant Black Men’s Theology must be developed. This theology has a theoretical and theological component on the one hand, which articulate what it is and what persons have contributed to its construction. On the other hand, such a doctrine and theology must develop a parallel and contextual model of praxis. I have discussed aspects that can begin to contribute to the development of the theoretical component and will add few additional thoughts regarding that aspect. However the majority of the remainder of the paper will deal with the assertion of a beginning praxis model, based on different elements.
J. Deotis Roberts offers an interesting beginning statement on a doctrine of humanity for black men, and, process, a Black Men’s Theology. He argues:
A doctrine of man in black theology should begin with the human condition and
aim at liberation of through wholeness. Wholeness is related to a total view of man
as body, soul, and spirit. Theologies of the body are likely to be concerned with the
carnal man and man’s place in nature. Theologies of revolution aim primarily at the
collective. The approach of black theology must be existential as well as political.[7]
Roberts argues that a narrow examination of the humanity of black men is insufficient and heretofore, has only complicated the continued search by black men for a tangible and affirmative identity. Unless a comprehensive theology can be developed, one that incorporates all the dimensions of the complicated self of black men then the notion of humanity and freedom will continue to elude every black man, regardless of social class or status. Roberts continues and asserts that such a doctrine, and theology must come from black men themselves. Here he alludes to such:
We need an understanding of human nature that can bring to black people, under
the conditions of their existence sanity and wholeness. A perfectly rational
interpretation of man, however, much applauded by white theologians, would be
‘dry bones’ for the faith of the black masses if they did not take seriously their life
and death struggle in this society.[8]
In offering explanation of Roberts’ anthropological discussion of the doctrine of humanity, Evans contends that it is “centered on the notion of the collective dimension of human existence.” So, in this regard, black men must define for themselves what a doctrine of their humanity truly represents as well as locating this definition in the context of the varied community of black men and black people.
The discussion by Roberts points us toward a discussion of models for the holistic development of black men. One such model that should be incorporated into the development of a doctrine of black men’s humanity and theology is that of the “Morehouse Man.” Of course, the model itself was exemplified and established from the person and example of Dr. Benjamin E. Mays. Dr. Mays, President of Morehouse College for twenty seven years, in addition to writing numerous books about the Black religious experience, also developed a model of manhood that has stood the test of time. Mays’ model of the Morehouse man takes into account much of Roberts’ understandings and articulations of wholeness. Proof of the effectiveness of such a model can be found in the countless graduates of the College who have gone on to impact the world, including the perceptions of black men. Usage of such as model as well as those offered by the Nation of Islam, Masons, and Fraternities can provide contributing parts, designed to create a multi-level framework that can help bring about reconciliation. The deciding factor that would make this amalgam distinctively Black Christian, and evidence of manhood would be the foundation of the example and gospel of the Black Christ, Jesus.
In an article in The Phylon Quarterly, Edward Jones lays out the five tenets of the Morehouse Mystique as articulated by Mays at the Ninetieth Anniversary Convocation of the College. The first tenet is the “training of the mind to think logically, constructively, and discriminatingly.” Further explaining this tenet, he specifies that the training of the student mind should be undertaken “whether an ordinary or a brilliant one.” Secondly, Mays stated that an emphasis at Morehouse was placed on the development of “men of sound character and integrity: men who are dependable, reliable, trustworthy, honest, true-men who can be trusted to carry responsibility both in private and in public life.” For Mays it was “a dangerous thing” to train a man’s mind without at the same time training him to be good. A third tenet of the Morehouse Mystique examines the significance of community responsibility and depicts a man “who is concerned for the welfare of the community and who participates in the affairs of that community and lends whatever support he can to further the ideals of progress, democratic living, and interracial goodwill. Lastly, the fifth element of the Morehouse Mystique deals with the issue of strong self-esteem, placing “confidence in themselves and confidence in their future.” Such confidence teaches Morehouse men, to this very day, “not to accept the ceiling as the limit but the sky, and that a better tomorrow….must be molded by them.” All in all, this framework and lifestyle has exuded a great degree of humanity and manhood for graduate of Morehouse. For the purposes of this essay, it provides a critical example from which to draw from in re-envisioning a doctrine of humanity and black men’s theology for black men of all backgrounds and experiences. [9]
Evans notes the utility of black spiritual autobiography as relevant for the re-creation of a doctrine of humanity for black men. Using an autobiographical statement of sorts, African theologian Manas Buthelezi offers a useful assessment of the doctrine of humanity as applied to black men. Buthelezi writes:
Man suddenly discovers his humanity in caricature form: he realizes that he is neither what he thought he was nor what he would like to be. Out of this mental and
emotional torture arise a number of existential questions: After all, who am I: What
is the destiny of my being and mode of existence? How can I so live as to overcome
what militates against the realization of my destiny as a human being? This in
essence is the quest for true authentic humanity, For a black man, such as I am, this
issue is loaded with historical accidents which project a peculiar dimension of the
basic quest: Can I realize my authentic humanity in the medium of my blackness? Is
my blackness some fatalistic road block in life within which God has made it
possible for me to be an authentic man?[10]
Buthelezi’s statement offers an interesting perspective from which to examine black spiritual autobiography as contributive to a substantive doctrine of humanity. It allows black men of various identities to examine, question, and probe, from the context of their distinctive social and cultural location, the meaning of who they are as men, and hopefully, discover it in the process. Furthermore, black spiritual autobiography is not relegated to theologians or men of the cloth. For the variety of Black men, there are countless and unique relationships and experiences of the divine and, in essence of one’s humanity. Therefore, each experience must be valued equally within the context of the community. As a community of voices echoing and bouncing off of one another, there will be evident parallels as well as divergencies that will be instructive for each member so long as mutual respect and value can be placed on teach voice. Examples of black men’s spiritual autobiography include notable public figures such as James Baldwin, W.E.B. Du Bois, Paul Robeson, Mays, Howard Thurman, Martin L. Kings, Jr. and countless others. In addition to more notable intellectuals, ministers, and activists, other groups must be included into this framework including divergent groups such as the hip hop community, former gang members, black gay men, everyday working class men, as well as other varieties not commonly privileged.
Asian theologian Andrew Sung Park provides the interesting framework of Han, which discusses elements of healing, reflection, and reconciliation, among others, in the context of the Christian doctrine of sin. Han is described as the relational consequence of sin and is exhibited by the spiritual, emotional, and cultural scars in victims by those who have perpetrated some form of oppression. It also discusses the idea of blending different experiences in order to create a more balanced whole. Evidence of this within the experiences of black men in America can be seen in the religious search for meaning by many black men, known and unknown. Everything from sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee holding signs proclaiming: “I Am a Man” to the idea of the idea of the Beloved Community of Mordecai Johnson, Howard Thurman, and Martin King can find common ground with the religious ethos of Garveyism, the Nation of Islam and the Black Hebrew Israelites. In addition, a theology of sexuality as advanced by theologian Kelly Brown Douglass can be interpreted by black gay Christian men and young men of the Hip Hop generation, so as to articulate a relevant theology that voices their specific concerns. Not that a nice and neat unified whole will ever be created. That is not and should not be the goal of unity of reconciliation. The primary motive and driving force should be healing and a desired reconnection with the creator God, in whose image, each and every variety of Black man was made and is being fashioned.
Bibliography
The Amplified Bible. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1987.
Cone, James H. Malcolm, Martin, and America: A Dream of a Nightmare. Maryknoll,
N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1992.
Earl, Riggins, Jr., Dark Salutations: Ritual, God, and Greetings in the African American
Community. Harrisburg: Trinity Press International, 2001.
Evans, James H. We Have Been Believers: an African American Systematic Theology.
Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1992.
Grenz, Stanley J. Theology For the Community of God. Vancouver: Regent College
Publishers, 1994.
Jones, Edward A. “Morehouse College in Business Ninety Years—Building Men,” The
Phylon Quarterly. Vol. 18, No. 3, 1957.
Mbiti, John S. African Religions and Philosophy. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1970.
Roberts, J. Deotis. A Black Political Theology. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1974.
Endnotes
[1] . Stanley J. Grenz. Theology For the Community of God (Vancouver: Regent College Publishing, 1994). 125.
[2] . Grenz, pp. 125-127.
[3] . John S. Mbiti, African Religions and Philosophy (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1970), 119.
[4]. Matthew 4:19. The Amplified Bible. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1987, 1076.
[5] . Riggins R. Earl, Jr., Dark Salutations: Ritual, God, and Greetings in the African American Community (Harrisburg: Trinity Press International, 2001), 114-
[6] . James H. Cone. Malcolm, Martin, and America: A Dream or a Nightmare. (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis), 1992.
[7] . J. Deotis Roberts, A Black Political Theology (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1974), 84.
[8] . Roberts, A Black Political Theology, 90.
[9] . Edward A. Jones, “Morehouse College in Business Ninety Years—Building Men,” The Phylon Quarterly. Vol 18, No. 3, 1957, p. 233.
[10] . Evans, We Have Been Believers: An African American Systematic Theology (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1992), 114.
Monday, April 10, 2006
Public Intellectualism and the Dilemmas of Black Men Intellectuals
The greatest dilemma facing black men intellectuals, outside of white supremacist, institutionalized structures, is the question of naming and identity. In my early years in the academy, I personally experienced my gendered version of the Dilemma of the Black Intellectual or Cruse’s “Crisis.” I submitted portions of a paper for a special issue of the Journal of Men’s Studies on the challenges facing black men in the academy. The title of my paper was “Dilemmas of Black Men Intellectuals.” I was dumbfounded by the comments from the reviewer who beyond stating that I needed to provide solutions to the “dilemma,” excoriated me for asserting the designation “black men intellectuals.” I was told in so many words that the term was awkward and made me seem, to put it mildly, nonacademic-even suggesting stupidity on my part.
Ironically, this review was written by another black “male” intellectual, who otherwise found the essay to be quite good. After getting over the initial shock and fury of the academic rejection I received, I rolled up my thick critical skin to reassess the situation from another angle. I concluded that my reviewer, as many black men intellectuals before, struggled with the gendered veil and double consciouness Du Bois spoke of, that embodying an intellectual who was black and an embattled man, seemingly swimming against the tide of his own inability to negotiate conflicting notions of self, exiled in American society and culture. The burden of legitimization, even for the most brilliant and ivy degree-decorated among us, has not escaped most if not all black intellectuals of a men's gender.
The refusal to acknowledge the twin evils in the black struggle-those of race and gender-has not only impeded the progress of black women-but has helped to subjugate black men themselves and placed us in a situation where we embrace silences of rage and frustration at our inability to negotiate a common identity.
Historically, while not being able to disclose these dual identities, due, in many instances, to intimidation or fear of death from lynching and other forms of violence (remember Du Bois and the Sam Hose incident), many black men have chosen to take out their frustrations on black women in certain arenas of the black public sphere, namely the church, seminary, and academy or others choose to exist in compliant isolation and bitterness.
Even when black men intellectuals, such as the venerable Du Bois, advanced racial causes as race men, they spoke from the depths of their own understanding concerning the black condition. They could not speak for black women, or be expected to, because, in many ways, they found it difficult to fully ascertain the meanings of their own racialized and gendered realities. Even in his classic Souls of Black Folk, Du Bois essentially penned an autobiographical study of himself and his understanding of the black experience; speaking from the perspective of an embattled black man who, although a giant among intellectuals was still considered, by many in the white world, as nothing more than what Kenneth Janken and Charles Henry have depicted black men intellectuals as: Bad Negroes with Ph.Ds. Malcolm X put it more bluntly when he answered his own rhetorical question of what many call a black man with a Ph.D. in a hostile and ambivalent white world: a nigger.
Even in this post-modern era, where the black public intellectual finds himself and herself as a celebrity, wooing audiences and making six figure salaries, they yet remain dislocated from the morally authoritative position of “race men,” and “race women.” I wonder what is the composition of the spell-bound fascination of predominately white audiences towards these black men and women intellectuals. Is it their evident brilliance and insight, which they offer with passion and fire, utilizing the vehicles of seemingly non-religious, spiritual civil sermons for a mass public, yet, segregated audience?
This fascination is the same commodified fascination with black culture Ellis Cashmore discusses in his work The Black Culture Industry. In general, the fascination with soul as expressive culture, as opposed to soul as a manifestation of black humanity, renders white audiences to the level of mere consumers of black identity rather than participants who also self-identify within the bounds of an active and mutually engaging milieu. The hope that some aspect of expressive or performative soul can be extrapolated and acquired has particularly hindered black men from being able to transcend the veil of stereotype and conjecture. For many audiences, even some black ones, the intellectual musings of many contemporary black public intellectuals (men and women), have been confounded by public appetites of mere entertainment. This insatiable demand for what Roediger characterizes as “white looks,” into a partial black reality, oftentimes, results in the dissolution of the urgent messages and prophetic utterances of black public intellectuals.[1]
[1] . Harold Cruse. The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual. New York: Morrow, 1968; Gerald Horne. Race Woman: the Lives of Shirley Graham Du Bois. New York: New York University Press, 2002.
The greatest dilemma facing black men intellectuals, outside of white supremacist, institutionalized structures, is the question of naming and identity. In my early years in the academy, I personally experienced my gendered version of the Dilemma of the Black Intellectual or Cruse’s “Crisis.” I submitted portions of a paper for a special issue of the Journal of Men’s Studies on the challenges facing black men in the academy. The title of my paper was “Dilemmas of Black Men Intellectuals.” I was dumbfounded by the comments from the reviewer who beyond stating that I needed to provide solutions to the “dilemma,” excoriated me for asserting the designation “black men intellectuals.” I was told in so many words that the term was awkward and made me seem, to put it mildly, nonacademic-even suggesting stupidity on my part.
Ironically, this review was written by another black “male” intellectual, who otherwise found the essay to be quite good. After getting over the initial shock and fury of the academic rejection I received, I rolled up my thick critical skin to reassess the situation from another angle. I concluded that my reviewer, as many black men intellectuals before, struggled with the gendered veil and double consciouness Du Bois spoke of, that embodying an intellectual who was black and an embattled man, seemingly swimming against the tide of his own inability to negotiate conflicting notions of self, exiled in American society and culture. The burden of legitimization, even for the most brilliant and ivy degree-decorated among us, has not escaped most if not all black intellectuals of a men's gender.
The refusal to acknowledge the twin evils in the black struggle-those of race and gender-has not only impeded the progress of black women-but has helped to subjugate black men themselves and placed us in a situation where we embrace silences of rage and frustration at our inability to negotiate a common identity.
Historically, while not being able to disclose these dual identities, due, in many instances, to intimidation or fear of death from lynching and other forms of violence (remember Du Bois and the Sam Hose incident), many black men have chosen to take out their frustrations on black women in certain arenas of the black public sphere, namely the church, seminary, and academy or others choose to exist in compliant isolation and bitterness.
Even when black men intellectuals, such as the venerable Du Bois, advanced racial causes as race men, they spoke from the depths of their own understanding concerning the black condition. They could not speak for black women, or be expected to, because, in many ways, they found it difficult to fully ascertain the meanings of their own racialized and gendered realities. Even in his classic Souls of Black Folk, Du Bois essentially penned an autobiographical study of himself and his understanding of the black experience; speaking from the perspective of an embattled black man who, although a giant among intellectuals was still considered, by many in the white world, as nothing more than what Kenneth Janken and Charles Henry have depicted black men intellectuals as: Bad Negroes with Ph.Ds. Malcolm X put it more bluntly when he answered his own rhetorical question of what many call a black man with a Ph.D. in a hostile and ambivalent white world: a nigger.
Even in this post-modern era, where the black public intellectual finds himself and herself as a celebrity, wooing audiences and making six figure salaries, they yet remain dislocated from the morally authoritative position of “race men,” and “race women.” I wonder what is the composition of the spell-bound fascination of predominately white audiences towards these black men and women intellectuals. Is it their evident brilliance and insight, which they offer with passion and fire, utilizing the vehicles of seemingly non-religious, spiritual civil sermons for a mass public, yet, segregated audience?
This fascination is the same commodified fascination with black culture Ellis Cashmore discusses in his work The Black Culture Industry. In general, the fascination with soul as expressive culture, as opposed to soul as a manifestation of black humanity, renders white audiences to the level of mere consumers of black identity rather than participants who also self-identify within the bounds of an active and mutually engaging milieu. The hope that some aspect of expressive or performative soul can be extrapolated and acquired has particularly hindered black men from being able to transcend the veil of stereotype and conjecture. For many audiences, even some black ones, the intellectual musings of many contemporary black public intellectuals (men and women), have been confounded by public appetites of mere entertainment. This insatiable demand for what Roediger characterizes as “white looks,” into a partial black reality, oftentimes, results in the dissolution of the urgent messages and prophetic utterances of black public intellectuals.[1]
[1] . Harold Cruse. The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual. New York: Morrow, 1968; Gerald Horne. Race Woman: the Lives of Shirley Graham Du Bois. New York: New York University Press, 2002.
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
The Malcolm X Chronicles-Part 1
February 21, 2006, marked an inauspicious event, forever a stark reminder of so much that still haunts Black America-the assassination of Malcolm X. It has been 41 years since that event took place and I pause at this time to take a brief inventory of the substance of our succeeding tributes to one of the most committed leaders the world has ever known.
Sure, you have as you did in the 1990s, people who adorn themselves with Malcolm paraphernalia as well as those who drop his name in order to sound down with the people. But how many do you find continually studying his life, learning of who he was at his core.
How many financially support the work of the Malcolm X College in Chicago, an institutionalized embodiment, of his educational philosophy, from the words of his life long partner, Mama Betty Shabazz? How many support numerous Afrocentric and community schools which have his name and philosophy associated with their institution? How many know of the Malcolm X Institute of Black Studies at Wabash College in Indiana? What grade would we receive as students in "Advanced Malcolm X 101?"
How many colleges and universities sincerely examine Malcolm's life and challenging legacy to us all? How many sugarcoat what truth he spoke, choosing to drown his memory in ephemeral soliloquies of jargon-filled, empty pontifications-whose sole intent is centered around gaining tenure, promoting careerism, and becoming the next "flava of the month" mouthpiece? Do these same scholars and their universities who profit off his name, embrace his nationalist and critical politics? Do they advance global understandings of cultures so as to promote real public diplomacy? Do they seek to promote justice and equality as fervently as he did?
When Malcolm spoke, he was genuine and spoke from the heart. His spirit resonated with so many because he understood them better than they oftentimes understood themselves. He sought to unite his people even as many hated him, reviled him, and misunderstood him. Malcolm challenged us to speak truth to power. He challenged us to create alliances with people all over the world who experienced similar injustices as we have faced. He valued life long learning and embraced the idea philopher Alain Locke championed-the idea of self-criticism long before it became a worn out loosely used term signifying upward mobility. Malcolm never stopped growing and learning and even in his 39 years on this earth, he surpassed most of us in maturity and depth of wisdom and self-knowledge. If we are true carriers of his message, we have some serious soul-searching to do.
What would he have to say about black nationalism in our day? Would he still be critical of empty integrationist and nationalist rhetoric? Broken promises? Katrina? The State of Black Leadership in America? The Condition of Africa?
A painting and quote that I have hanging in my office of him-one I look at everytime I step into my office-says in so many words that "Of all our our studies, history is most qualified to reward our research." I reflect on that as I enter a public research university each day with the understanding that we are going backwards in terms of progress instead of forwards. The numbers of Black Men professors of Black Studies appears to be on a significant decline and no one seems to care in the least. What would Malcolm say?
I must say that I am somewhat comforted that the site of one of the most horrific events in our history-the Audobon Ballroom, has been transformed into a site of learning of the legacy of our "black shinning prince." I wonder, however, if we have really learned anything from his life that can righten our abysmal creative state as a people. This thought went through my mind as I witnessed the comments of Malcolm's daughter Attallah at Mama Correta Scott King's homegoing service. How many people really seek to understand what his daughters and relatives have experienced and what they still live with, much less the diginity, strength and wisdom that he and Mama Betty imparted to their children-now all dynamic leaders?
In surveying Black America, one cannot help but notice a plethora of pomp and circumstance and so little substance. Much of our activism, most notably within Civil Rights and Hip Hop culture, has become grossly commercialized and severely watered down. The young generation, whom Malcolm was so dedicated to, is in many ways splintered and bent on self-destruction without a cause-although there are numerous exceptions. But in the total sum game, "black firsts" and "class respectability" have not bequeathed lasting legacies to us, neiher have "symbolic blackness" nor nepotism-based leadership selection.
I believe from my study of the master teacher of black culture and pride, that we are at a crossroads. More money alone will not bring freedom to our people. More black graduates of Ivy league and other top notch universities cannot save the masses of the black poor, including our Katrina kin. Another Benz or million dollar deal does nothing for youth who are alienated, lost, and seemingly hopeless. Those strivings cannot save us because attempts to attain each of those items are laced with notions of blind materialist greed and shameful self-promotion.
What we need is renewed vision-more than a word and much more than an ideal-a pragmatic and actualized, diversely created vision: Renewed vision that can only come through a deepened, disciplined, and voracious study and sharing of our collective past as an Africana people. As we delve into our inner people, this will lead us to love ourselves more authentically and be proud of who we are as a people.
We need to learn from the triumphs and trials of our past and use those as lessons to combat the evils of our day. We need to use our history as blueprint from which to develop better schools, churches, civic groups, and other institutions, many of which do not exist at this moment. Above all else, we need to organize the groups we have into a coordinated whole, eliminating the constant bickering, politicking, division, and envy. We need to equally build up women and men, young and elder, and reconstitute the broken chains and links. None of the fragments should be lost.
Here is where the Africana CommUniversity- connected to Africana/Black/Pan African Studies programs-can help promote mass literacy, education, outreach, advocacy-serving as a massive outreach mechanism that can counter anti-intellectualism, apathy, and low self -esteem-so prevalent within our communities and institutions. In fact, every urban and rural area of this country should house such community institutions. It stands in the tradition of the Civil Rights Freedom school and outstanding adult and community education programs such as Temple University's Volunteer Pan African Studies Community Education Program.
As a professor and teacher, I urge Black Studies programs to go beyond ceremonial remembrance of Malcolm and institute meaningful programs and projects that promote mentoring and training of the next generation of Malcolmites. As a Christian minister, I urge the various religious units of "The Black Church" to take heed of Malcolm's critiques and as Theologian James Cone has admonished us to-and institute a thorough and systematic black theology that will educate the masses of its membership and surrounding communities on the reality of being both unashamedly black and unapologetically Christian. Here we must connect Malcolm's critical thinking philosophy with the critical educational philosophies of Paulo Freire and Frantz Fanon.
Today is anothert step on our journey. Let us turn from hypocrisy and follow in the footprints of a man who lived his faith in us all. Malcolm, thank you for giving of yourself so that we would be proud of who we are.
Peace and Freedom to the entire world
February 21, 2006, marked an inauspicious event, forever a stark reminder of so much that still haunts Black America-the assassination of Malcolm X. It has been 41 years since that event took place and I pause at this time to take a brief inventory of the substance of our succeeding tributes to one of the most committed leaders the world has ever known.
Sure, you have as you did in the 1990s, people who adorn themselves with Malcolm paraphernalia as well as those who drop his name in order to sound down with the people. But how many do you find continually studying his life, learning of who he was at his core.
How many financially support the work of the Malcolm X College in Chicago, an institutionalized embodiment, of his educational philosophy, from the words of his life long partner, Mama Betty Shabazz? How many support numerous Afrocentric and community schools which have his name and philosophy associated with their institution? How many know of the Malcolm X Institute of Black Studies at Wabash College in Indiana? What grade would we receive as students in "Advanced Malcolm X 101?"
How many colleges and universities sincerely examine Malcolm's life and challenging legacy to us all? How many sugarcoat what truth he spoke, choosing to drown his memory in ephemeral soliloquies of jargon-filled, empty pontifications-whose sole intent is centered around gaining tenure, promoting careerism, and becoming the next "flava of the month" mouthpiece? Do these same scholars and their universities who profit off his name, embrace his nationalist and critical politics? Do they advance global understandings of cultures so as to promote real public diplomacy? Do they seek to promote justice and equality as fervently as he did?
When Malcolm spoke, he was genuine and spoke from the heart. His spirit resonated with so many because he understood them better than they oftentimes understood themselves. He sought to unite his people even as many hated him, reviled him, and misunderstood him. Malcolm challenged us to speak truth to power. He challenged us to create alliances with people all over the world who experienced similar injustices as we have faced. He valued life long learning and embraced the idea philopher Alain Locke championed-the idea of self-criticism long before it became a worn out loosely used term signifying upward mobility. Malcolm never stopped growing and learning and even in his 39 years on this earth, he surpassed most of us in maturity and depth of wisdom and self-knowledge. If we are true carriers of his message, we have some serious soul-searching to do.
What would he have to say about black nationalism in our day? Would he still be critical of empty integrationist and nationalist rhetoric? Broken promises? Katrina? The State of Black Leadership in America? The Condition of Africa?
A painting and quote that I have hanging in my office of him-one I look at everytime I step into my office-says in so many words that "Of all our our studies, history is most qualified to reward our research." I reflect on that as I enter a public research university each day with the understanding that we are going backwards in terms of progress instead of forwards. The numbers of Black Men professors of Black Studies appears to be on a significant decline and no one seems to care in the least. What would Malcolm say?
I must say that I am somewhat comforted that the site of one of the most horrific events in our history-the Audobon Ballroom, has been transformed into a site of learning of the legacy of our "black shinning prince." I wonder, however, if we have really learned anything from his life that can righten our abysmal creative state as a people. This thought went through my mind as I witnessed the comments of Malcolm's daughter Attallah at Mama Correta Scott King's homegoing service. How many people really seek to understand what his daughters and relatives have experienced and what they still live with, much less the diginity, strength and wisdom that he and Mama Betty imparted to their children-now all dynamic leaders?
In surveying Black America, one cannot help but notice a plethora of pomp and circumstance and so little substance. Much of our activism, most notably within Civil Rights and Hip Hop culture, has become grossly commercialized and severely watered down. The young generation, whom Malcolm was so dedicated to, is in many ways splintered and bent on self-destruction without a cause-although there are numerous exceptions. But in the total sum game, "black firsts" and "class respectability" have not bequeathed lasting legacies to us, neiher have "symbolic blackness" nor nepotism-based leadership selection.
I believe from my study of the master teacher of black culture and pride, that we are at a crossroads. More money alone will not bring freedom to our people. More black graduates of Ivy league and other top notch universities cannot save the masses of the black poor, including our Katrina kin. Another Benz or million dollar deal does nothing for youth who are alienated, lost, and seemingly hopeless. Those strivings cannot save us because attempts to attain each of those items are laced with notions of blind materialist greed and shameful self-promotion.
What we need is renewed vision-more than a word and much more than an ideal-a pragmatic and actualized, diversely created vision: Renewed vision that can only come through a deepened, disciplined, and voracious study and sharing of our collective past as an Africana people. As we delve into our inner people, this will lead us to love ourselves more authentically and be proud of who we are as a people.
We need to learn from the triumphs and trials of our past and use those as lessons to combat the evils of our day. We need to use our history as blueprint from which to develop better schools, churches, civic groups, and other institutions, many of which do not exist at this moment. Above all else, we need to organize the groups we have into a coordinated whole, eliminating the constant bickering, politicking, division, and envy. We need to equally build up women and men, young and elder, and reconstitute the broken chains and links. None of the fragments should be lost.
Here is where the Africana CommUniversity- connected to Africana/Black/Pan African Studies programs-can help promote mass literacy, education, outreach, advocacy-serving as a massive outreach mechanism that can counter anti-intellectualism, apathy, and low self -esteem-so prevalent within our communities and institutions. In fact, every urban and rural area of this country should house such community institutions. It stands in the tradition of the Civil Rights Freedom school and outstanding adult and community education programs such as Temple University's Volunteer Pan African Studies Community Education Program.
As a professor and teacher, I urge Black Studies programs to go beyond ceremonial remembrance of Malcolm and institute meaningful programs and projects that promote mentoring and training of the next generation of Malcolmites. As a Christian minister, I urge the various religious units of "The Black Church" to take heed of Malcolm's critiques and as Theologian James Cone has admonished us to-and institute a thorough and systematic black theology that will educate the masses of its membership and surrounding communities on the reality of being both unashamedly black and unapologetically Christian. Here we must connect Malcolm's critical thinking philosophy with the critical educational philosophies of Paulo Freire and Frantz Fanon.
Today is anothert step on our journey. Let us turn from hypocrisy and follow in the footprints of a man who lived his faith in us all. Malcolm, thank you for giving of yourself so that we would be proud of who we are.
Peace and Freedom to the entire world
Saturday, October 29, 2005
Prophetic Thoughts in the Age of False Prophets
Theologian Gayraud Wilmore, in an interview included in the recently published book, Blow the Trumpet in Zion: Global Vision and Action for the 21st Century Black Church, argued that we live in an age where prophetic Christian voices are for the most part silent, whereas many current public religious figures are not using the Word to speak truth to power and challenge the status quo on a variety of issues affecting people of color and the poor: among these issues and realities include education, health care, unemployment/underemployment, corporate greed, religious pimpitism, and governmental neglect.
I find it a dangerous proposition for those who profess to follow the example of Jesus and have an African America identification to be silent at a time where voices need to rise and speak consistently against the evils of our day. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's most important book, Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community, still remains as neglected a clarion call for black communities as James Baldwin's The Fire Next Time. This occurs at a time where the messages and lessons in these works and others are so sorely needed. Rampant poverty continues to afflict most cities and rural areas of Black America, the most notable of which remains New Orleans; although New Orleans is certainly not the sole representative.
One problem is that the "Black Church" has largely, with a few notable exceptions, maintained its conservative bent in regards to adopting and incorporating a relevant and practical liberation theology, including womanist theology and a critical black men's theology, into its local church ministry. Much as the "race-traitors" Historian Manning Marable exposes in his book, Great Wells of Democracy, many black preachers and pastors have become more enamored with dollar signs, political payoffs for favors, and intoxicated with the lucrative, popular nature/status of being the next rising star in the "Mega-church" galaxy. While this trend has continued, the masses of black, brown, and poor have suffered incessantly. Many flocks continue to lack couragous shepards who love the people above the so-called benefits of this world, a world continuing to spiral out of control.
The role of the Black preacher/pastor/religious intellectual has been a complex one throughout the history of Africana America. Yet, despite this complexity of identity and affiliation, there have remained those who rose to the occasion when the times and people called for leadership. Unfortunately, faith has been traded in for false witness and the prophetic message of liberation proclaimed by Old Testament prophets and Jesus himself has become a relic of nostalgia for many. Today, church services have become more representative of circus side shows, Sunday morning entertainment clubs, and movie theater performances insead of sites of agency, spiritual salvation, and holistic empowerment. Additionally, churches seem to flock more to the problematic androgynous Amos and Andy slap stick "gospel" plays rather than ministry meetings or NAACP gatherings at the church. Dr. King: Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?
I call for the young adult black women and men prophets of my generation, the Hip Hop Generation, whom God is raising in our midst, to stand up and bring Black/Africana theology back to the church. When we bring the liberation message of the Gospels, without dilution or sugarcoating, along with the divine wisdom from our cultural experience as chosen people of God, we will bring Jesus back into the church like never before. In this clarion call, I challenge the Hip Hop prophets to develop a relevant Hip Hop Liberation Theology.
As Black Theologians, Pastors, and Ministers, we must summon the courage to face the many ghosts in our religious and cultural closets. Once we recommit ourselves to working together to bridge gender divides and instances of historic discrimination, come to grips with closet issues of sexuality, and close the generational gap, the "Black Church" will rise from the ashes like the Phoenix and assume its rightful place as the bastion of the multi-various Black Americas and the nation itself.
Black Churches can only manifest this reality with the proper, prophetic leadership awakening and rising to the occasion. Civil Rights Activist and the guiding influence behind SNCC, Ella Baker said strong people don't need leaders and that we need to implement a model of group- centered leadership. Theologian J. Deotis Roberts called for the development of a Prophethood of Black Believers. We must heed these our elders and develop old/new ways of being unapologetically black and authentically Christian.
Will the real of communities of men and women prophets please come forth? Will the sleeping Lazarus' and Esthers no longer lie sleeping dead! Lazarus come forth and help lead your people.
Theologian Gayraud Wilmore, in an interview included in the recently published book, Blow the Trumpet in Zion: Global Vision and Action for the 21st Century Black Church, argued that we live in an age where prophetic Christian voices are for the most part silent, whereas many current public religious figures are not using the Word to speak truth to power and challenge the status quo on a variety of issues affecting people of color and the poor: among these issues and realities include education, health care, unemployment/underemployment, corporate greed, religious pimpitism, and governmental neglect.
I find it a dangerous proposition for those who profess to follow the example of Jesus and have an African America identification to be silent at a time where voices need to rise and speak consistently against the evils of our day. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's most important book, Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community, still remains as neglected a clarion call for black communities as James Baldwin's The Fire Next Time. This occurs at a time where the messages and lessons in these works and others are so sorely needed. Rampant poverty continues to afflict most cities and rural areas of Black America, the most notable of which remains New Orleans; although New Orleans is certainly not the sole representative.
One problem is that the "Black Church" has largely, with a few notable exceptions, maintained its conservative bent in regards to adopting and incorporating a relevant and practical liberation theology, including womanist theology and a critical black men's theology, into its local church ministry. Much as the "race-traitors" Historian Manning Marable exposes in his book, Great Wells of Democracy, many black preachers and pastors have become more enamored with dollar signs, political payoffs for favors, and intoxicated with the lucrative, popular nature/status of being the next rising star in the "Mega-church" galaxy. While this trend has continued, the masses of black, brown, and poor have suffered incessantly. Many flocks continue to lack couragous shepards who love the people above the so-called benefits of this world, a world continuing to spiral out of control.
The role of the Black preacher/pastor/religious intellectual has been a complex one throughout the history of Africana America. Yet, despite this complexity of identity and affiliation, there have remained those who rose to the occasion when the times and people called for leadership. Unfortunately, faith has been traded in for false witness and the prophetic message of liberation proclaimed by Old Testament prophets and Jesus himself has become a relic of nostalgia for many. Today, church services have become more representative of circus side shows, Sunday morning entertainment clubs, and movie theater performances insead of sites of agency, spiritual salvation, and holistic empowerment. Additionally, churches seem to flock more to the problematic androgynous Amos and Andy slap stick "gospel" plays rather than ministry meetings or NAACP gatherings at the church. Dr. King: Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?
I call for the young adult black women and men prophets of my generation, the Hip Hop Generation, whom God is raising in our midst, to stand up and bring Black/Africana theology back to the church. When we bring the liberation message of the Gospels, without dilution or sugarcoating, along with the divine wisdom from our cultural experience as chosen people of God, we will bring Jesus back into the church like never before. In this clarion call, I challenge the Hip Hop prophets to develop a relevant Hip Hop Liberation Theology.
As Black Theologians, Pastors, and Ministers, we must summon the courage to face the many ghosts in our religious and cultural closets. Once we recommit ourselves to working together to bridge gender divides and instances of historic discrimination, come to grips with closet issues of sexuality, and close the generational gap, the "Black Church" will rise from the ashes like the Phoenix and assume its rightful place as the bastion of the multi-various Black Americas and the nation itself.
Black Churches can only manifest this reality with the proper, prophetic leadership awakening and rising to the occasion. Civil Rights Activist and the guiding influence behind SNCC, Ella Baker said strong people don't need leaders and that we need to implement a model of group- centered leadership. Theologian J. Deotis Roberts called for the development of a Prophethood of Black Believers. We must heed these our elders and develop old/new ways of being unapologetically black and authentically Christian.
Will the real of communities of men and women prophets please come forth? Will the sleeping Lazarus' and Esthers no longer lie sleeping dead! Lazarus come forth and help lead your people.
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