Cone, James H.
1938-2018 · Contribution: 1969-2018
Systematic theologian; AME minister
Systematic theology; founded Black liberation theology, arguing that the Christian gospel is centrally about God's identification with the oppressed; author of 'Black Theology and Black Power' (1969), 'A Black Theology of Liberation' (1970), and 'The Cross and the Lynching Tree' (2011)

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Quick facts
- Born
- 1938, Fordyce, Arkansas
- Active since
- 1969
- Category
- Religious & Spiritual Leadership
- Best known for
- Founding Black liberation theology
Impact on the world
Cone reoriented American religious thought around the experience of the oppressed, insisting that a gospel indifferent to Black suffering was no gospel at all, a claim that reshaped seminaries and pulpits across the world.
Sources
- NPR
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