There is a universal thread of
love which runs through the world's most respected religious, philosophical and
ideological traditions - a thread which serves as a call to action - and though
it might look slightly different in practice, the focus of this particular love
element is very similar in attending to the needs of the poor and oppressed in
a given society. In the Christian tradition,
Jesus was not only poor but according to the New Testament chose to identify
and surround Himself with those who were the poorest and most oppressed of his
time. The life of Christ serves as a
call to Christians to not only address issues of oppression, but to make the
concerns of poverty, social marginalization and therefore positive human development
a direct part of their lives if they are serious about following Jesus'
example. Further, it is argued here that
it is incumbent upon those who carry a love ethic of any kind - religious or otherwise
- to stand up, identify and fight with the oppressed against the structures
that control their lives and threaten existential destruction. To not do so, or
to do otherwise is a denial of humanity and indicates a lack of love.
This
analysis will focus on the modern radical black theology of the Christian
tradition, as first articulated by James Cone in the form of Black Liberation
Theology (Cone, 1990). Cone is arguably
the first African-American theologian to present an entirely American black
philosophy of religion based upon the idea of oppression, and the
inseparability of theology from the here and now of social conditions
inhibiting the full development of humanity in general and the oppressed in
particular. What this means
pragmatically is that history, consciousness and praxis inform each other in a confrontation
with oppressive structural conditions in the social, political and economic
arenas of our present day society. It
means that liberation (and salvation) can only come through confronting these structures
- directly and forcefully - in a deliberate attempt at their destruction. Cone (1990) directs his confrontation towards
the "white" structures of power as related to the African-American
condition in modern times. His theology
- first articulated in 1969 in his book Black
Theology & Black Power - has created a modern theology which very much
concerns the present, and is centered on an existential concept of the
application of spirituality, not some future glory in the form of an afterlife.
As
Cone's theology was first formulated a number of decades ago, I will
incorporate his principle of bringing things current by applying his idea of
liberation to the 21st century. To do
this, I will utilize corollary philosophies in the tradition of Liberationist Theology
and secular theory, as well as looking at the present day example of the
prison-industrial crisis in America as it relates to full humanity or full
development. This will provide a
context for present day issues of racial oppression, which of course are still
very much alive albeit in much more politically correct forms of articulation.
History Informs The Present: Oppression and Liberation
Amartya
Sen (2000) argues that development "can be seen as a process of expanding
freedoms" (p. 3). Sen's view of
freedom is wide-ranging and all inclusive, focused on political, social and
economic opportunities, as well as transparency in structures of power, and the
freedom for protective security from violence/oppression. This wide-ranging micro and macro view of
freedom leaves no room for oppression, racism or discrimination of any kind -
as they all serve to negate one's humanity.
Freedom is referred to in human-scale (i.e. the individual, micro level)
development as the very essence of being
a fully developed human, or unfolding to our full potential according to Johan Galtung (2010).
It
is the understanding of freedom as inseparable from one's humanity that Cone
utilizes in his historical narrative of the African-American (Cone, 1990). Tying this to the Christian theology of the
crucified Christ, the historical becomes the existential current in that freedom
means becoming free in the present
through shaking off the structures applied externally, from the oppressor's
interpretation of a historical narrative concerning who one is. It is through the reclamation of freedom and
dignity that the African-American casts off the dehumanized objectification
applied to them by a racist society and thus helps the society itself to be
re-born. The oppressed person disavows
the society that has sought to strip their humanity, and through doing so
acknowledges that their own physical being could cease-to-be in the process of
revolutionizing a society that does not allow their full humanity, and
considers their claims to humanity to be a threat (Cone, 1990).
The
historical narrative of the African-American slave as the present target of
racism is the modern-day representation of the historical oppressed
Christ. It is through who Christ was that Cone (1990)
identifies who He is in the present,
and who the professing Christian must now
be if they are to be a follower of the Christian faith.
Given
this understanding of the historical Christ-as-one with oppressed humanity we
recognize that the present day structures of American society dictate Christ
assume the condition of the African-American and become the black Christ. The personification of American oppression in
Cone's time of 1969-1970 as well as today possesses a face of color. Thus, it is only through identification with this
face of oppression that the Christian can hope to exemplify and follow Christ's
teachings (Cone, 1990). The co-optation
of the Christ figure as the oppressor god
traced back to the time of Constantine accounts for His portrayal in
modern America as the white Christ - someone who is un-relatable to the black
condition (Cone, 1990). From the Constantinian
perspective, Christ is viewed as the god who gives justification to the actions
of the nation-state.
In
the face of Constantianism or the religion of the oppressor class, Cone (1990)
uses language similar to Malcolm X in that a religion of oppression is not a
true religion nor one that he will acknowledge.
Cone uses powerful imagery to convey this point, stating that the white
Christ - the god of the racists - must be killed, destroyed, eliminated as a
false god - along with all who follow that god (Cone, 1990).
There
is no room for existential non-dualism or neutral ground in the position of
black theology. Modern versions -
sometimes referred to as prophetic Christianity (West, 2010) - reiterate Cone's
emphasis of choosing sides in situations
of injustice. Everyone from Cornel West
to South African leader Desmond Tutu have made remarks to indicate that
neutrality in unjust contexts means assuming the side of the oppressor (West,
2000). West in particular has followed
in the tradition of Cone by comparing the modern empire of imperialist America
directly to the Roman Empire of Jesus day and its identification as the power
that executed Him (Morrison & West, 2006).
West along with Cone stands against these nation-state empires which signify
oppressive power. This is not to say
that Cone or other black theologians are looking to exclude through dualistic
perceptions of the nature of race relations, but that a challenge is issued to all who are looking to manifest justice
in the face of racial oppression to become
one with the oppressed.
This
unity of the spiritual with the existential is where space can be found to
insert the non-dualism of love into a theology that demands identifying with a
particular side. It is also the place
where I can claim Black Liberation Theology as part of the universal nature of
my own spiritual thinking. For it is through love that we become fully human,
and the ultimate example of love in Black Theology is the Christ example of
becoming one with oppression in order to transcend it in the achievement of a
non-dualistic humanity for all. At the
moment of claiming liberation for the black person in America - not merely
approving of it, but becoming the liberating aspect - we are fully realized
spiritual and existential beings. Cone
(1990) quotes Marx in this respect in that "freedom is the essence of
man...it is not something outside one who freely is, it is the specific mode or
structure of being" (p. 89).
The Responsibility of Consciousness
By
truly recognizing freedom as an intrinsic part of our human nature, we have no
choice but to side with the oppressed, and this is true whether we consider
ourselves Christians or not. It is at
this point that the historical narrative of African-American oppression through
slavery, Jim Crow and the modern prison system touches consciousness as an awareness of these structural conditions
demands a response. Once we can clearly
see the racism in our society, we must seek to destroy it, or risk our own
humanity by continuing to participate in this racist society, thus giving
validation to its existence as an oppressive entity that inhibits development. Later, we will explore how this consciousness
is being challenged in the modern day through the denial of continuing racist
structural conditions.
Much
of what I've been saying is not only central to an understanding of Cone, but
applies equally to the more secular liberation theory of people such as Paulo
Freire (2007). While Freire would not
use language involving Christ, I would argue that the difference between his
philosophy and Cone's is semantic. In
books such as Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Freire
(2007) discusses love and universal humanization in parallel to Cone's Christ
and the assumption of blackness.
Freire's philosophy is the more general description of the contextual
Black Liberation Theology in modern day America. Philosophies such as Freire's and Cone's mix
so well because they all point to the same universal truth and unity that I
express as the ultimate divinity or love.
Cone (1990) would seem to make allusions to people such as Freire as effectively
being Christian in action through scriptures
such as Matthew 25:31 which shows the surprise on the part of those welcomed
into heaven by a Christ who commends them for identifying with "the least
of these". In other places, Cone continues
this thread of theology by confronting the modern Western conception of
Christianity and its focus on codes of morality and theological intricacies at
the expense of engaging and living the life of Christ through loving action
(Cone, 1990).
Praxis Through Identification
From
a development standpoint, the full unfolding of humanity as described by
Galtung cannot exist in a dualistic setting of dehumanization. Freire (2007) emphasizes that humanity is not
something that one can determine for another, or something that can be assigned
or taken away from a person as it is the essence of being. It is the oppressed themselves that must be
conscientious of the structures they are under, even though this awareness can
produce fear in the responsibility it carries.
But it is this responsibility, I believe, that provides the full opportunity
for self-actualization and agency. Both
Cone and Freire describe this awareness which by nature leads to the praxis of
revolution as an expression of love towards the humanity that has not only been
denied to the oppressed revolutionary, but to the oppressor as well through
their warped worldview.
The
possession of the humanity of the oppressed is not something that the oppressor
can own and yet remain human themselves. Humanity is only available to the
individual as self-humanity. It is not
something that one can "own" from another and still retain their own
humanity. The two do not mix, for the
process of owning creates a commodity and takes away the spiritual element of
our human condition. The oppressor may
possess and even kill the physical body, but the humanity itself is something
that they have no control over. Cone
(1990) would say that this is where God is evident in Black Liberation Theology,
and particularly in the Godly concept of freedom. We are each the possessor and along with God,
the only possessor of our humanity. The
key is awareness of this fact, and what it requires of us.
We
are now beginning to see how history, consciousness and praxis are so
intertwined that it is very difficult to talk about one without including
all. The historical condition of "being
black" in America gives the black person alone the ability to obtain
freedom from racism for all of us through the conscious awareness and praxis of
liberating revolution. However, it is
not enough for those of us whose historical narrative is not identical to the
African American to simply show support without active involvement. The black American is the only one able to
obtain a society liberated from racism through revolution - Black Liberation
Theology states this as a fact tied directly to the meaning of liberation in
the life (and death) of Christ (Cone, 1990).
What this means for the rest of us is that we must assume this same
"black identity" or be on the side of the oppressor. In this sense, blackness is freedom,
blackness is a calling to be "Christ-like" in modern America. Blackness in America equals liberation precisely because of its oppressed
nature (Cone, 1990). If we are going to
be serious about the development of all on a global scale, then we must start
at home, and we must do so by being aware that our identity as humans is
inextricably tied into all of us "becoming black". This then will restore humanity to all so
that domestic development can truly begin in a unified liberated communal
structure of freedom rather than oppression.
Modern Racial Dialogue
One
of the biggest threats to consciousness that I have observed in personal
experience is the masterful re-articulation of post-racial colorblindness
combined with racial fatigue in many people, both white and black. I have black friends who recognize and
acknowledge racism, but I have just as many who are ready to move past the
rhetoric in the age of Obama and are honest in saying that they are tired of
the debate. This makes it very difficult
for me as a white man to engage in dialogue concerning issues of race with my
black friends. It is a bit unnerving as
well in that this can create issues of uncertainty as to the proper role for those
of us who are white and concerned about total human development in America.
For
me, this has become especially true over the past few years as my awareness has
increased in that individual freedom is contingent upon universal freedom. It is an all or nothing approach to freedom
as expressed in full human development that has been brought to me through the
knowledge that my own human development has come out of personal trauma and the
concomitant responsibility that I have seen placed on me as a result. This awareness showed me how de-humanized I
had allowed myself to become by too closely identifying with and being a part
of a system of excess which obtains its benefits through oppressing others, and
particularly African Americans in the United States. The structure of racism in the existential
sense is current, but the current condition is only possible through the
historical narrative, which continues to point to the fact that this country
was built on the shoulders of black slave labor.
Racism
has become incredibly well integrated into the complex structures of modern
American society and rhetoric, and it is often difficult to recognize since an
open expression of racial bias is taboo in the present day. Many who think like me want to believe that
this scourge is gone from our present day structures, but the statistics -
particularly in rates of African American incarceration - show otherwise
(Alexander, 2010). The elimination of
widespread openly racist language would be
welcome in a different context, but considering that the racism itself has not
disappeared with the rhetoric, this lack of overt racism is dangerous in that
it evades the issues and allows ignorance to the fact of continued racism. Better to have racism out in the open - even
if it is openly offensive - so that we can know what challenges need to be met,
rather than having to deal with a structural oppression that works quite
effectively because the exact structures are so intelligently disguised.
American
society has gained a consciousness of denial through justifying its declaration
of post-racial conditions by pointing to the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
(honored by a holiday/national monument) and the election of a half-black
President. It is a phenomenon that is
similar, and in fact very closely tied to the spirit of dissatisfaction with the
oppressive structures of Capitalism that became a global revolutionary movement
in the 1960's, and then faded into obscurity as it came close to overturning
but ultimately succumbing to the power of global Capital and its continued
exploitation of the poor. From my
vantage point, it would appear that Capitalism gained a societal currency and
justification in its defeat of communism.
As communism was the portrayed great evil and enemy, the sins of
Capitalism were much easier to ignore and bury.
In
the case of racism, Capitalism simply assimilated and introduced small tokens
to justify its new "recognition" of past injustices by providing
programs such as affirmative action and outlawing segregation and overt
legalized discrimination of African Americans (Alexander, 2010). Yet Michelle Alexander (2010) has illustrated
just how much of a smokescreen this illegality of discrimination has become by
pointing to several legal precedents, such as the Supreme Court case Alexander v. Sandoval in 2001 that effectively
eliminated the opportunity to challenge criminal convictions on the basis of
racial bias.
Modern Racism as Incarceration
Alexander's
book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration
In The Age Of Colorblindness (2010) is a concrete useful analysis of racism
in the midst of a complex modern America.
In the present day, structural components of racism are perhaps stronger
than ever, but their strength lies in their interconnection, not as individual
elements. It is because of the
interconnectedness of modern structural racism that it so difficult to isolate
components of the larger system in an attempt to eliminate or even identify
them (Alexander, 2010). This makes constructive dialogue surrounding
racist issues frustrating in our time as we are often hard pressed to define
specific examples of what racism looks like.
Racism
has been so integral to the existence and origin of America (e.g. elimination
of the Amerindians as a threat and a people combined with black slave labor in
the colonies), that the historical narrative of the nation is impossible to
discuss without reference to the Indian or the black person. One of the factors in covering up the
atrocities in the national consciousness - I believe - is that the narrative
has presented itself in the past tense, dealing with racism as a topic which
time itself has eliminated. The skillful
manipulation of rhetoric and presentation of the glorious American narrative
has allowed it a mythical status comparable to the Bible in the minds of many nationalists
(and as such, it is a topic that is not to be challenged). Therefore, since racism is woven into the
Indra's Net construction of all that we call "American", it is
inextricably a part of everything that involves tangible national
dialogue. It is no longer necessary to
discuss race precisely because it is
so ubiquitous. The lack of dealing with
racism is not a matter of apathy, it is a subconscious matter of survival to
the nation as we know it. To properly
deal with racism would require the unraveling of a national narrative and the
reconstruction of a new honest one. In
fact, from the very beginning of our
nation, The United States has been living a lie. Martin Luther King has famously called
America to account for not living up the creed of its founders (King, 1992),
which of course states that all are created equal.
Michelle
Alexander (2010) has used this underlying component of racism in our national
narrative to help explain why the new Jim Crow is the disproportionate
incarceration and resulting demonization of African Americans. In her book, she walks us through the various
stages of the penal and justice systems, showing how money, legal precedents,
national rhetoric and most importantly, the war on drugs all add their own
layers to the system of containment that surround the African-American both
figuratively and literally (Alexander, 2010).
As
Alexander (2010) herself states, it is impossible to examine all the ways that
racism is tied into the structures of American society in an abbreviated
fashion, but the war on drugs is a particularly illustrative example. In major American cities, up to 80% of young
African American males have criminal records directly tied to their use or
possession of drugs (Alexander, 2010).
This is despite the fact that the rate of drug use among African
Americans is no higher and sometimes less than that of whites. Yet 80-90% of people incarcerated for drug
use are African American (Alexander, 2010).
If this alone doesn't cause suspicion at the injustice and racism of the
system, it's hard to imagine what it will take to convince the willfully
blind.
But
the incarceration of African Americans is not the worst part of what we call
the "criminal justice system" in America. Once a person has been labeled a felon (and
in some states - including Nevada, my home for ten years - even marijuana
possession is a felony), they are stuck with that label for life. So one joint, one smoke in the presence of a
police officer has the potential to effectively ostracize a person from being
able to function as a self-sufficient individual for the rest of their
lives. The label of "felon"
bars people from employment, college loans, voting, housing and numerous other
areas that are essential to day to day existence and long-term human
development (Alexander, 2010). It
doesn't take a great deal of critical thinking to realize that when a person is
left with little or no choice to feed themselves or obtain money, then they are
much more likely to return to crime, particularly if they have already
committed similar crimes in the past. Given
these facts, issues surrounding the prison system as it relates to African
Americans is far from being irrelevant to development questions. It is at the very heart of what it means to
develop modern American society into its full potential.
This
is also the case when considering - as Tim Wise does in his book Colorblind (2010) - the continued
discrimination against minorities in the workplace. Using multiple studies, Wise points to the
fact that 600,000 African Americans annually experience blatant discrimination
that directly affects their ability to find gainful employment (Wise,
2010). These studies do not even take
into consideration the challenges faced by former felons (the study only
tracked applicants with non-criminal records), nor do they identify the
indeterminate amount of informal application processes where it is impossible
to gauge the factor that racism plays.
The Cross Of The Modern Black Christ
Having
spent my younger years growing up in the Christian church, the depth of the
sacrifice that Jesus made was constantly emphasized to us by the fact that
crucifixion was reserved for only the worst of criminals in the Roman Empire. In other words, it was the most degrading
punishment and form of death that one can imagine. Jesus chose to become the lowest and most
ostracized of human beings - even in death - in order to assume a liberation
that would give freedom to all.
Understanding
this nature of the death of Christ, what do we find when we combine it with a
foundational theology rooted in the black experience, and articulated by James
Cone, Cornel West, Martin Luther King Jr, and even Paul Freire and Malcolm X
among others? Keeping in mind that Black
Liberation Theology places a great emphasis on the here and now tangible, flesh
and blood application of Christianity, I
put forth the argument that the cross of the black Christ in modern day
America is the prison. No other structure has such power in
stripping away the life and humanity of an entire community of people. No other structure creates such disdain for
its inhabitants and effectively marginalizes them and makes it socially
acceptable to hate and avoid them. Jesus
was despised at the time of His death by the powers and society that He was a
part of, yet it was through this that He transcended all and obtained a
liberation for those who identified and continue to identify with Him.
Alexander
(2010) has stated that the most damaging aspect of the justice system is the
permanent stigma placed on the convicted felon.
It is not hard to understand why, for not only does it bare the person
from employment in the face of an already discriminatory system as stated
above, but it increases the chances that the felon will become a repeat
offender simply to survive. In addition,
the chances of the person turning to drugs and/or alcohol as a means of
escapism from an existential nightmare is substantially increased. Thus, the former felon once again risks
arrest for possession and use of illicit substances in the senseless and
cyclical "War on Drugs". Of
course their poverty continues as well in that they find it harder and harder
to make money through legal employment.
Setting The Captives Free
In
looking for answers in dealing with modern issues of race, we have come full
circle in our discussion of history, consciousness and praxis. Racism has been deeply embedded in America by
way of European culture, colonialism and institutionalism over a process of
centuries. It will not be dismantled
simply from a couple of decades of intense activism and legislation in the mid
20th century. In the post-counterculture era of carefully chosen rhetoric and
politically correct public personas, the lack of discussion has created a cover
for perhaps the most dangerous manifestation of racism to date as it
intertwines itself through structures culminating in the prison system. Each individual component is visible from
afar, but is very difficult to identify as we try to look closely at it. This is true - as both Tim Wise (2010) and
Michelle Alexander (2010) inform us - in the way that the police (legally)
place undue emphasis upon monitoring "poor urban" (read: "black")
communities looking for drug offenders as it is in judges imposing
disproportionate sentencing guidelines based on race.
For
those of us in modern day America, the road is a long and difficult one, but it
is attainable through a continued emphasis on history, consciousness and praxis
in all areas of human development. This
means that we must be aware that racism is a part of our national fabric, that
it is this racism and the human objects of it that hold the very keys to
liberation, and that any praxis of development which doesn't identify directly
with the oppressed - the African American and other minorities - will be a
futile spiritual and existential exercise.
Concluding Thoughts: How Will We Answer The Call?
For
the Christian and those of other love traditions, the challenge articulated by
Cone cannot be ignored. What will we do
when made conscious of the oppressed African American? Our consciousness is an awesome
responsibility. In my own life, my
political and social awakening created a restlessness in me that culminated in
the ending of a career for a life of activism and peacebuilding. The more conscious I became, the more I was
unable to ignore the spiritual nature of the call upon my life. While I would not identify it as coming
strictly from Christ, I wouldn't disavow the Christ-like nature of the
call. Cone is another of those authors
who has effectively articulated what I have long sensed in my own being - that
is to say that there is unity in the
natural order of all that exists, and that the free nature of existence is only
as strong as its weakest member, which is why we find liberation to achieve
full human development and the key to obtaining it for all at the very place
where oppression exists and in the actions of those who are subject to it. We can then begin by fully identifying with
the oppressed as possessing the same humanity we find in ourselves (by not
doing so we in fact become oppressed ourselves) and re-igniting the national
consciousness and dialogue surrounding issues of race. We have to not only re-start the racial
dialogue, but re-frame it for those who are racially fatigued. Fatigue could be looked at as another
component in the perpetuation of racist cultural dynamics, and is an effective
tool in the oppressor's hands in the fight against racial equity.
How
we overcome racism will require some creative revolutionary thinking in
addressing centuries old problems. The
system as it now stands will need to be reconstructed or at the very least
re-storied. We must develop a new
national narrative and dialogue that properly accords issues of race its place
in history. As we trace racial dynamics
back to the founding of the country, and follow their path through our history,
perhaps then we can recognize how the historical has informed the present and
created the structures that we have today.
If necessary, and if we have the will, those structures may have to be
completely destroyed and rebuilt again in order for the country to survive. The future of America depends upon full human
development which cannot be attained until we achieve full racial liberation
through identifying and realizing what it means to be the least of these in our
society.
References
Alexander, M. (2010). The new jim crow: mass
incarceration in the age of colorblindness. New York: The New Press.
Cone, J. (1990). A black theology of
liberation: twentieth anniversary edition. Maryknoll: Orbis Books.
Cone, J. (1997). Black theology and
black power. Maryknoll: Orbis Books.
Freire, P. (2007). Pedagogy of the
oppressed. New York: Continuum.
Galtung, J. (2010). A theory of
development: overcoming structural violence. Oslo: Transcend University
Press.
Jr., M. L. (1992). I have a dream:
writings & speeches that changed the world. New York: HarperCollins.
Sen, A. (2000). Freedom as
development. New York: Random House.
West, C. (2010). Brother west: living
and loving out loud, a memoir. New York: Smiley Books.
West, C. (1999). The cornel west
reader. New York: Basic Civitas Books.
West, C., & Morrison, T. (2006,
August 26). Toni morrison & cornel west in conversation. Retrieved
April 2012, from You tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjifj_PZONo
Wise, T. (2010). Colorblind: the rise
of post-racial politics and the retreat from equity. San Francisco: City
Lights Books.
X, M. (1965). Malcolm x speaks.
New York: Grove Press.
