Prophetic Theology of the Black Church

historians, ethicists, professors of the hebrew bible, hermeneutics, and historians of religions, those scholars will join in with sociologists, political analysts, local church pastors, and denominational officials to examine the african-american religious experience and its historical, theological, and political context. the workshops, the panel discussions and the symposium will go into much more intricate detail about this unknown phenomenon of the black church than i have time to go into in a few moments we have to share together. i would invite you to spend the next two days getting to know just a little bit about our religious tradition that is as old as, and in some instances older than this country.

this is a country which houses this religious tradition that we all love and a country that some of us have served. it is a tradition that is in some ways like ralph ellison's "the invisible man." it has been here in our midst and on our shores since the 1600's but it was, has been, and in far too many instances, still is invisible to the dominant culture. in terms of its rich history, it's incredible legacy, and its multiple meanings. the black religious experience is a tradition that at one point in american history was called the invisible institution. as it was forced underground by the black codes, the black codes prohibited the gathering of more than two black people without a white person being present to monitor the conversation, the content, and the mood of any discourse between persons of african descent in this country. africans did not stop worshiping because of the black codes, africans did not stop gathering for inspiration and information and for encouragement and for hope in the midst of discouraging and seemingly hopeless circumstances, they just gathered out of the eye sight and earshot of those who defined them as less than human. they became invisible in and to the eyes of the dominant culture. they gathered to worship in brush arbours,