Individual Submission Summary
Share...

Direct link:

Black Power, Black Faith and Black Jesus: The Rhetoric and Theology of Rev. Albert Cleage, Jr.

Thu, March 17, 9:00 to 10:15am, Omni Charlotte Hotel, Salon A

Abstract

The paper will explore the development and trajectory of the rhetoric and theology of Rev. Albert Cleage, Jr. Cleage was a religious and political leader who cultivated the theology which has come to be known as Black Christian Nationalism. This theology was rooted in the Black Power movement of the 1960’s. While (re)merging radical black political and religious philosophies as well as attempting to restructure the theology of the black church to reflect a more Garveyite platform, Cleage controversially renamed Detroit’s Central Congregational Church (as known as Central United Church of Christ) to The Shrine of the Black Madonna. Cleage (who subsequently changed his name to Jaramogi Abebe Agyeman) would become founder of the Pan-African Orthodox Christian Church in America. This essay seeks to critically examine the ideals, principles and prophetic persona that Cleage posited and seeks to situate Cleage as a necessary person of study for all those interested in black religious and political studies in the 21st century.

Author