Black Liberation Theology, Cultural Criticism, and the Problem of Homosexuality

Abstract

The birth of black liberation and womanist theologies in the United States should not have been unexpected. The theological discourse oriented around liberation arose during a period in which African Americans were wrestling with the question of identity and culture in a society that seemed intractable in its racism, classism, and sexism. This discourse arose in a period when new voices in black life were emerging and not only critiquing and challenging racism and white supremacy but also providing active leadership that challenged the entrenched power structures that supported racism and white supremacy. Further, the emergence of a black theology of liberation was made possible by the nascent critiques of blackness coming out of the black power movement.