Black Preachers, Then and Now

By DON ROLLINS

A relative upstart in the great pantheon of global nation-states, America has nonetheless given rise to some of the greatest orators the world has ever seen. Armed only with truth and words, those loquacious spiritual giants have seen us through trouble and trauma on a grand scale: revolutions, civil wars, economic armageddons, world conflicts, political implosions and constitutional crises. And we should perish the thought of an America without their often inconvenient truthtelling.

This living history of prophetic prowess is most traceable in the dominant Black church tradition. Grounded in four centuries of ancestry, sanctuary, solidarity, and activism, no single institution or vocation has so advanced the struggle against systemic racism.

As with any historical narrative written by the oppressor, far too many of the earliest visionary Black preachers have been lost to history. There is clear evidence African American pastors were serving Black congregations as early as the 1780s (when free-born Rev. John Marrant assumed a pulpit in Boston), but even as today’s historians dive deeper into the Black church in colonial times, tracing often itinerary Black ministers remains a challenge.

Less difficult to discern is the theology preached, prayed and sung in the congregations they served — a theology oft described as threefold: perseverance, redeemed suffering and trust in the loving God of the oppressed. Seen in its fullness, theirs was not the luxurious theology of the privileged; it was the lived experience of faith despite legalized brutality from fellow human beings.

Centuries removed from these crystalized statements of faith under duress, a host of progressive Black thinkers and preachers are once again calling for clarity of theology in the face of oppression. Putting forth a systematic, but grounded approach, African American educator, author and pastor James Evans describes what a revitalized post-civil rights Black theology might look like. He begins with an unflattering take on the less activist wing of today’s Black churches:

“Today the African American church is confronted with historical tensions that are structurally similar to that of the past century. The gospel of wealth has been repackaged as the “prosperity gospel” even as the gospel of cultural pride is submerged in and co-opted by a materialistic culture…” (“Reflections,” Yale Divinity School, 2020)

Drawing from early African American liberationist thinkers, such as W.E.B. Dubois and Booker T. Washington, Evans next asks how the post-civil rights Black churches can move beyond self-interest and lack of accountability:

“There are two major emphases that should guide the prophetic witness of the African American church (and, I would add, all Christian communities in the United States) in the 21st century. The first is a ‘consistent theology of liberation’ and the second is a ‘consistent ethic of empowerment’…

The key here is that groups may come to share a commitment to liberation for themselves and for others, whether or not they experience oppression in the same way. A consistent theology of liberation would not be bound by the narrow and occasional moralities of a privileged and powerful minority, but would call us beyond our own social locations, personal preferences, and group allegiances…”

Evans’ is a universalist, focused approach to understanding oppression. Sin against one is sin against all. Preachers are to urge an end to the silos of the suffering masses.

Second, Evans wants Black churches to offer a theology of empowerment grounded in a faithful reading of a gospel:

“The church must be more than the occasion for empty ritual “having the form of religion, but no power.” A consistent ethic of empowerment would keep the church at the forefront of the battle for the salvation (reconciliation) of all people, and its historical manifestation (the kingdom of God).”

Here, Evans has no patience for a casual Black faith, in turn administered by a casual Black ministry paradigm. Own your agency. Use your power.

In the end, Evans’ is a strength-based quarrel with Black churches and their leaders, daring them to think inclusively while acting boldly. Given the present moment, it’s a conversation of great import for all concerned.

Meanwhile, White progressives will be enriched if sometimes pained to learn more about Black clergy in America, then and now. It’s a living tradition full of struggle and cruelty, rising and overcoming. It’s a narrative too long in the telling.

Postscript: God’s rest for C.T. Vivian, patrician-prophet and Dr. King’s favorite preacher.

He was the impetus for this column.

Don Rollins is a Unitarian Universalist minister living in Hendersonville, N.C. Email donaldlrollins@gmail.com.

From The Progressive Populist, September 1, 2020

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