The Cross And The Lynching Tree
In the work of Dr. James H. Cone, The Cross and the Lynching Tree, one is called upon to consider the two most emotionally charged symbols in the history of the African American community. As a theologian and historian, Dr. Cone explores with vivid details these symbols and their interconnection in the history and souls of Black America. Both the cross and the lynching tree represent the worst in humanity, while simultaneously quenching a thirst for liberation that refuses to let the worst determine one’s final meaning. It can be said that while the lynching tree symbolized the unbridled hatred of white supremacy and power which brought "death," the cross symbolizes undying love and divine power which brought "life." For African Americans, the image of Jesus, hung on a tree to die, powerfully grounded their faith that God was with them, even in the suffering of the lynching era. This brief paper is a collection of the reflective thoughts on Dr. Cone’s work.
The cross and the lynching tree are symbols of death and hope which surround the African American’s press for identity, hope and survival in the face of death and adversity, and provide a connection to Christ through which faith bonds can never be truly broken. Whites utilized atrocities, such as slavery, to control the lives of blacks. Eventually, slavery through the letter of the law came to a close. Then for more than sixty years, “lynching” became a necessary evil employed by whites to show African Americans their power and supremacy. Lynching was a symbol of darkness and despair for blacks. Crowds jeered and mocked those murdered unjustly upon a tree…just as they did to Christ centuries earlier.
Lynching had a historical meaning for all races and cultures and was a part of vigilantism in earlier eras, but turned into a form of capital punishment for suspected conspirators against the establishment of slavery towards the end of the 1800’s. It was another form of slavery after the official
The cross and the lynching tree are symbols of death and hope which surround the African American’s press for identity, hope and survival in the face of death and adversity, and provide a connection to Christ through which faith bonds can never be truly broken. Whites utilized atrocities, such as slavery, to control the lives of blacks. Eventually, slavery through the letter of the law came to a close. Then for more than sixty years, “lynching” became a necessary evil employed by whites to show African Americans their power and supremacy. Lynching was a symbol of darkness and despair for blacks. Crowds jeered and mocked those murdered unjustly upon a tree…just as they did to Christ centuries earlier.
Lynching had a historical meaning for all races and cultures and was a part of vigilantism in earlier eras, but turned into a form of capital punishment for suspected conspirators against the establishment of slavery towards the end of the 1800’s. It was another form of slavery after the official
Cited: Cone, James H. "Strange fruit: the cross and the lynching tree". Princeton Theological Seminary, Educational Media, 2006