Black Ecumenical Movements: Proponents of Social Change

Abstract

Since the black consciousness movement of the 1950s and '60s nearly a dozen black ecumenical movements have come into existence, ranging from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to the Congress of National Black Churches. A matrix of such movements is developed which suggests two paradigms: a Black Cosmos/Social Activism paradigm emphasizing black selfdevelopment through political and economic institution-building, and a Universal/Theological Reflection paradigm emphasizing systematic development of black theology as a medium for dialogue and coalition- building with the white church. The dialectic of these two paradigms, which defines "black ecumenism, " has as its primary objective black empowerment and liberation, toward the end of participation as an "equal among equals " in a pluralistic American society and in an inclusive Universal Church comprised of culturally-defined particularities. A little-noted phenomenon of the 1960s and 1970s was the emergence in the United States of a number of black ecumenical movements. These movements-all decidedly oriented to changing existing societal configurations-represent a significant development in the history of the Black Church. The intent of this paper is to present basic descriptive information regarding these movements, and to suggest a typology based on their respective functions and objectives.