Stories of Transformation: African Immigrants to the USA and the Dark Night of John of the Cross

Abstract

This chapter engages the stories of African immigrants, whose migration journey brought them to the United States of America (USA). Their presence is hardly visible due to the manner in which society in the USA relates to racial categories. This invisibility hinders both pastoral outreach to African immigrants and theological reflection on their experience of migration and settlement. This research project among African immigrants makes their experiences visible as a source of theology. The experiences of African migrants to the USA are considered as contemporary experiences of liminality and St. John of the Cross’ poem and commentary on The Dark Night is considered as a source from the theological-mystical tradition that addresses experiences of liminality “as experiences of God” and of spiritual development. The results of the correlation between narratives of African migrants to the USA and the narrative of The Dark Night offers insights in God’s transformative presence during the liminal stage between the experiences of loss of what was known while a new life is still developing. This leads to a theological understanding of both experiences as a transformation of identity and faith.