How Did James Cone Impact The Civil Rights Movement

Can you imagine living through the Civil Rights Movement in the United States during the 1950’s and 1960’s? A substantial portion of Americans may not have been born till decades after that era, but James Cone was in his twenties during the thick of the movement that saw significant tension and violence overwhelm the nation. However, he also saw the beginnings of greater equality and respect towards African Americans that continues to evolve today. Cone was born in Arkansas in 1936, and found great interest in theology as a young adult. One can only imagine how his life would have been impacted by the emerging black leaders of that time, such as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. Several years after he earned his Ph.D. from Northwestern

Not long ago, black Americans could not vote, use the same facilities as white people, and nor did they have any sort of voice in politics. Cone’s focal points may come across as strong and almost radical, but he is not wrong. While conditions continue to get better for black Americans, structures developed over history that still seem to prevent full equality and respect from ever being achieved. Cone is trying to show the light at the end of the tunnel exists, but this light can only be reached through a black

In fact, we should all be willing to agree that the physical color of Jesus’ skin should really not be of significant concern. It almost seems as though things would be better if Jesus’ skin color were completely unknown, so a world full of different people would have nobody to relate it directly to. Rather, Cone seeks to provide an identity for the historical message of Jesus Christ that relates to the social location of black people. Without this identity, Cone argues that Jesus is not relevant to the black community (Cassidy 151). Cone said, “White conservatives and liberals alike present images of a white Jesus that are completely alien to the liberation of the black community” (Cone 111). What is so shocking is the complete hostility that blacks face for suggesting the idea of Jesus Christ having black skin when Jesus was not even the white American we tend to see in most churches across the United States today. Again, Cone is not suggesting a Jesus with colored skin, but the intense criticism and anger about the thought of Jesus actually being black raises concern. I agree with the author on the idea that African Americans may have nearly nothing to draw from white Jesus other than his message, and Cone argued that this version of Jesus does not show the true message of Jesus anyway. Therefore, his metaphor about Jesus being black begins to make