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ABSTRACT
Rev. Albert Cleage’s contemporary and counterpart, Dr. James Hal Cone, emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s as a premier academic voice in Black theology. Cone and Cleage’s collegiality is complicated. Yet, their works on Black theology and Black power complement each other when read in contrast. This essay looks intently at excerpts from Cleage’s sermons, “Brother Malcolm,” and “Dr. King and Black Power” and puts them in conversation with excerpts from Cone’s book “Martin and Malcolm in America.” This work shows the variance in perspectives and theological convictions, as well as the rhetorical strategies employed by Cleage and Cone to make their case for the most faithful engagement to Malcolm and Martin’s contributions to civil rights, Black power, and Black theology.
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Correction Statement
This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.
Notes
1 Cone, Martin and Malcolm and America, 2012.
2 While these sermons have been printed in Cleage’s book The Black Messiah, in this work they will be referred to as sermons to denote the context by which they were originally presented. I contend that the context of preaching (even when the sermon is written) is different in scope than the context of writing for general publication in a book or article.
3 See Cone, Black Theology and Black Power, 2008.
4 Ibid., 2.
5 Sunnemark, Ring Out Freedom, 14.
6 Cleage, The Black Messiah, 9.
7 Grant, 4.
8 Ibid., 4.
9 Lincoln, Race, Religion, and the Continuing American Dilemma, 134.
10 Ibid., 4.
11 Ibid., 16.
12 TBM, 9.
13 Cone, Martin and Malcolm and America, 16.
14 See, Cleage Jr., Black Christian Nationalism (originally published in 1972).
15 See Cleage’s sermon, “An Epistle to Stokely,” in The Black Messiah, 35–47.
16 See Aslan, Zealot.
17 TBM, 4.
18 Ibid., 186.
19 Ibid., 186.
20 Cone, Black Theology and Black Power, 39–40.
21 Ibid., 40.
22 Ibid., 42.
23 TBM, 187.
24 Ibid., 187.
25 Cone, Black Theology and Black Power, 51.
26 This speech was given at the Northern Grass Roots Leadership Meeting, an event heavily orchestrated by Cleage and the Group on Advanced Leadership (GOAL). See Cone, 114 and Joseph, Waiting ‘Til the Midnight Hour, 88–92.
28 Cone, Black Theology and Black Power, 114.
29 Ibid., 202–4.
30 See, Howard-Pitney, The African American Jeremiad, 2005. UofM Libraries, EBSCOhost (accessed July 5, 2018).
31 Clay, “A Black Theology of Liberation or Legitimation?”
32 See, Nunley’s book, Keeping it Hushed.
33 Ibid., 52.
34 Ibid., 153.
35 Ibid., 153.
36 What I mean by theo-rhetorical construction is the way religious language is used to describe and develop our understanding of God and the iconography, images, and ideas associated with it. Broader and more rhetorically and theologically intentional than anthropomorphism, theo-rhetorical construction seeks to build an understanding, a rhetorical exchange, between a speaker and their audience which intends to establish a set of values that are projected onto a deity or deities and the people who worship, affirm, and embrace that deity or deities.
37 TBM, 190.
38 Ibid., 190.
39 Cone, Black Theology and Black Power, 57.
40 TBM., 192.
41 Ibid., 192.
42 Ibid., 192.
43 Ibid., 193.
44 Cone, Black Theology and Black Power, 5–7.
45 Ibid., 19.
46 See, Mills, Black Rights/White Wrongs.
47 TBM, 201.
48 Cone, Black Theology and Black Power, 20.
49 Ibid., 78.
50 TBM, 201–2.
51 Cone, 303.
52 Ibid., 202.
53 Cone, 129.
54 Ibid., 128.
55 See Weaver, The Nonviolent Atonement.
56 See Finlan, Problems with Atonement.
57 TBM, 205.
58 See, Hendricks, The Politics of Jesus.
59 TBM., 205.
60 Ibid., 205.
61 Ibid., 203.
62 Ibid., 205–6.
63 Ibid., 206.
64 Cone, 193.
65 Echoing an earlier point made regarding sequencing, it is worth nothing that while initial presentations were structured with Martin proceeding Malcolm, when Cone engages in discussion of their transitions into a more relatable or aligned posture, Cone presents Malcolm first, then Martin. This inversion furthers my assessment that, for Cone, Martin is the standard by which Malcolm is supposed measured and not vice versa. Yes, Cone sees them as complimentary and necessary to the Black freedom struggle. That said, Malcolm is presented as directly identifying with and moving towards Martin, almost immersed into Martin’s philosophy. However, Martin is presented as reluctantly embracing parts of Malcolm’s message and moving towards separatism, but never fully melding into Malcolm’s nationalism. Malcolm’s influence on King is associated primarily with the rise of Black Power (and not the philosophy of Black Nationalism, per se). Here, Cone couples Malcolm with other figures like Stokely Carmichael when describing the elements that lead to Martin’s militancy. Yet, Martin stands heads and shoulders above the rest as the primary (if not the sole) influence in Malcolm’s choice to join the fight for civil rights.
66 Cone, 192.
67 Ibid., 225.
68 TBM, 206.
69 Ibid., 208.
70 Ibid., 208.
71 Ibid., 209–10.
72 Ibid., 210.
73 Ibid. 210.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Earle J. Fisher
Rev. Dr. Earle J. Fisher is a native of Benton Harbor, Michigan. This preacher, professor, writer and social advocate graduated from Benton Harbor High School in 1996, earned an Associate Degree in Liberal Arts in 1999 from Lake Michigan College, a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Computer Science in 2003 from LeMoyne-Owen College and a Masters of Divinity Degree in 2008 from Memphis Theological Seminary. Rev. Dr. Fisher is a dually ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and Missionary Baptist Church denominations. Dr. Fisher received his PhD in Communications from the University of Memphis in 2018. Dr Fisher serves as Adjunct Instructor of Religion and Humanities at several local colleges and universities. He is also the Senior Pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church in Memphis, TN and founder of #UPTheVote901 – a nonpartisan initiative which gives more political power to people and pushes to increase voter turnout in Memphis and Shelby County. He is the 2019–2020 Henry Logan Starks Fellow at Memphis Theological Seminary. Most of Dr. Fisher’s research focuses on the intersections of rhetoric, “race”, and religion with an emphasis on Black prophetic rhetoric and the personality Albert Cleage, Jr. Dr. Fisher is married to Denise Lloyd-Fisher and has one son, Jalen Fisher.