Overview

“Unless we look honestly at our past, it is unlikely that we shall know what to do in the present for the shaping a creative Black future.”—James H. Cone

Originally published in 1984, James Cone’s For My People remains an important landmark in the development of Black Theology. While tracing the origins of the movement, its relation to the Black Church, its engagement with other liberation theologies, and the emergence of Womanist theology, Cone also offered telling reflections on the path ahead.

As scholar C. Eric Lincoln observed: “For My People spares neither kith nor kin, but addresses itself to the whole range of factors in North American religion which make for the traditional black church/white church dichotomy, and the spiritual and social consequences which attend it. For My People is a strong commentary on both the role and the vitality of black theology, as well as on the pervasiveness of the problems which sustain the need for it.”

In a new introduction, Josiah Young, who finished his PhD with Cone at Union Theological Seminary and now teaches at Wesleyan Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., reflects on the significance of this work within the corpus of Cone’s writing, and assesses the ongoing relevance of this work for the life of the Black Church, the ongoing project of Black and Womanist Theology, and the liberating application of the Gospel to our world today.

James H. Cone (1938-2018) was Bill and Judith Moyers Distinguished Professor of Systematic Theology, Union Theological Seminary, NYC. Widely regarded as the father of Black Liberation Theology, his many books include Black Theology & Black Power and a modern classic, The Cross and the Lynching Tree, winner of the 2018 Grawemeyer Award in Religion.

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