“Through the Eyes of James Cone: COVID-19, Police Brutality, and the Black Church”

“Through the Eyes of James Cone: COVID-19, Police Brutality, and the Black Church”

Read at: “Through the Eyes of James Cone: COVID-19, Police Brutality, and the Black Church”

Abstract

“This presentation is a critical analysis of COVID-19, police brutality, and the Black Church through an interpretive lens of the works of James Cone. It defines the prevailing climate of police brutality in the United States as an intersectional experience for the Black person. The experience is theological, political, economic and socio-culturally embodied as it considers the historic “amnesia” of American law enforcement toward Black humanity. COVID-19 and the disproportionate death of Black folks, and the intentional acts of police brutality against living Black reflect the historic angst of the “Black Experience.” Amid COVID-19 and police brutality, the Black Church exists as a standard of civility, justice, and refuge. Like the days of slavery and the “underground Church,” the Black Church remains a center of refuge in its strides to provide an anchor to the weary victims of this American dilemma. For Cone, the experience dates to slavery, especially the post-slavery era of White America’s public lynching of Black people ― “the lynching era” from 1880-1968.”

Read at: “Through the Eyes of James Cone: COVID-19, Police Brutality, and the Black Church”