Milwaukee, Wisconsin
2021
To explore the cross of Christ in African American Christian experience as motivation for piety, political engagement, and social protest by researching spirituals, narratives, sermons, and other resources that highlight the importance of the cross of Christ for notions of freedom and the unity of humanity in the church's public witness.
Researcher(s): Demetrius K. Williams
Academic Discipline: New Testament and Christian Origins
Project Summary
My project explores the cross of Christ in African American Christian experience as motivation for piety, political engagement and social protest. The black church accepted the cross as atonement for human sin but expanded the concept to include political motivation for social change and as the foundation for human equality. Research will engage the spirituals, slave narratives, sermons, conversion/spiritual narratives and other resources to highlight the importance of the cross of Christ for notions of freedom and the unity of humanity. This exploration in Pauline studies and African American Biblical hermeneutics serves Christian worshiping communities by highlighting how the cross of Christ has been used in the church's public witness.
What questions have you asked about worship in the past year?
1) How might the African American Spirituals be incorporated more regularly as a part of worship? Is there a theological continuity between them and Gospel music and/or that of the contemporary Christian music sung in African American churches?
2) How does music shape, inform, encourage discipleship and public witness? Why does theology matter when composing lyrics for Christian worship? How did the Spirituals/Gospel music inform and inspire activists in the Civil Rights movement and public witness?
3) How might the powerful conversion experiences recounted in the narratives of the formerly enslaved that reference the cross of Christ be incorporated in worship, singing, and preaching? How might they inform a theology of the cross that contextualizes the African American experience? How might they be used to develop responsive readings, litanies, and moments communal of reflection?
In what ways has or will your project strengthen the worship life of congregations?
Reading the spiritual narratives and freedom narratives of the late 18th and early 19th centuries included several moments of lament. The formerly enslaved authors/narrators (some verbally related their stories) offered deep reflections upon the human condition and the inhumanity experienced in the world/society but they also, like the Psalms of lament, ended in many cases with steadfast hope in God in the face of unbelievable tragedy. In addition, there are many examples of extending forgiveness and seeking reconciliation with those who had done great emotional and bodily harm. The experiences of hundreds of individuals who expressed faith and trust in God should not be confined to the realm of scholarly research and examination, but carefully, liturgically, and thoughtfully brought back to life for contemporary worshipping communities.
What have been your greatest challenges (or challenging opportunities)?
My greatest challenge has been time! I wish there was more time off from teaching responsibilities to explore the wealth of materials for this project. I have some other research opportunities that will develop from this project but I'm not certain what form they will take (articles? another book?
What advice would you like to share with other Teacher-Scholars?
I would share with the Teacher-Scholars that having the support to pursue our passions is a wonderful privilege and blessing. Utilize the time for your project wisely, making sure prioritize its importance.
What products will emerge from your project?
Having already written a Lenten Study ("The Cross of Christ as the Power of God for Spiritual and Social Transformation" 2021) and discovering the breath and depth of material for the worship life of the church, I have given serious thought to seeking funding and collaboration with other scholars of African American religion, Bible, musicians, ethnomusicologists, etc. to creatively explore the collection of narratives in the online database, Documenting the American South, to create and develop worship and teaching materials for African American churches and the church universal. My book in process (The Cross of Christ in African American Christian Religious Experience: Piety Politics and Protest) will be the second product to emerge from this research.