By now it is no secret that a whole new wave of political activism is sweeping through the black communities of the United States. The black political renaissance is largely the result of the Reagan-era onslaughts that have hit black America especially hard. So far the most visible manifestations of this new era for black politics have been electoral: the election of black mayors in Chicago and Philadelphia, the unprecedented black voter turnout in the 1982 congressional elections, and most recently the Jesse Jackson presidential campaign.
Outside the view of the mainstream media, however, black activists and intellectuals are doing some hard thinking and having intense discussion about the direction this new political ferment will take after November. They are discussing what strategy is appropriate for the black freedom struggle in the 1980s and what new social vision the black movement can offer for the United States as a whole.
This month's two lead articles, by James Cone and Vincent Harding, are part of that ongoing discussion. They both first came to our attention as addresses presented at a conference on "'The Black Church, the Third World, and Peace" held last fall (see "People of Color, People of Peace," Sojourners, January 1984). Cone and Harding both present sketches of the black American future that are deeply rooted in the African-American religious heritage but fill out to envision the fundamental reshaping of U.S. society.
In planning this issue, our staff discussed whether this magazine, with a majority-white readership, was an appropriate forum for these articles, since they were addressed first to the black churches. We decided Sojourners' readers are a proper audience for Cone's and Harding's messages for a number of very convincing reasons.
First, as Cone points out, his vision is explicitly black and Christian, but it is also a vision for a "black future that is linked to the future of all humankind." If we believe the teaching of Scripture that God's desire for people of faith is often seen most clearly from the perspective of the oppressed, then it is important both for our political discernment and spiritual health that we listen closely to prophetic voices from the black church.
Also, as Vincent Harding reminds us, the black freedom struggle has historically been the political and spiritual spark that ignites broader movements for social change in this country. As black America enters a new phase of struggle, every reason exists to expect that pattern to hold true.
Publishing these two articles in the closing month of this presidential campaign also holds a certain historical "rightness" because the campaign has been lined with rhetoric about an American future rooted in traditional moral values. All of that campaign talk has been superficial, some of it dangerously nationalistic or exclusivist. At the same time, in the ongoing heritage of the black freedom struggle, a vision for America exists that is plainly and undeniably rooted in the moral values that spring from the biblical tradition. That vision reaches out to offer redemption and liberation to both the oppressed and their oppressors. It is also a vision that embraces the other peoples of this earth as brothers and sisters, rather than one that builds walls and missiles to keep the rest of the world from our gates.
For white Christians, this vision should be a reminder of the call that is upon us to combat racism in ourselves and our institutions. It is U.S. society's fundamental racism that, in addition to inflicting immediate suffering on people of color throughout the planet, also places severe and dehumanizing limits on the national and human possibilities available to us all. We will never adequately face the many-headed crises before us unless we first face that fact.
Danny Collum was an associate editor of Sojourners magazine when this article appeared.
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