Eminent Black Theologian James Cone to Lecture at Princeton Seminary
—Thursday, November 16 lecture titled “Strange Fruit: The Cross and the Lynching Tree”—

Princeton, NJ, November 1, 2006–Dr. James H. Cone, the Charles H. Briggs Distinguished Professor of Systematic Theology at Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York, will deliver the Geddes W. Hanson Lecture at Princeton Theological Seminary on Thursday, November 16 at 7:30 p.m. in the Seminary’s Miller Chapel.

A theologian, a prophet, a champion of the poor, and a speaker of the painful truths of African American experience, Cone is known for his honest and insightful work on such critical topics as black theology, violence, and religion. His latest book, Risks of Faith (1999), brings together his international experiences and expertise through his critique of theological belief and social practice.

Cone was called to the ministry at age 16, became a pastor at age 17 when he began his undergraduate degree at Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Arkansas, and continued serving several small churches throughout his education there. He received his M.Div. from Garrett-Theological Seminary, and the M.A. and Ph.D. from Northwestern University. He has been conferred eight honorary degrees.

With the rise of the Civil Rights movement came critical insight for Cone’s understanding of Christianity. He began searching for a “Christian theology out of the black experience of slavery, segregation, and the struggle for a just society.” He started writing his race critique in the aftermath of the 1967 Detroit riots. With the book Black Theology and Black Power (1969), he began naming and identifying the racism in theology and in the church in order to bring about liberation and empowerment for African Americans. He continues to envision the actuality of equality among people, challenging white and black churches alike to recognize U.S. capitalism’s oppressive character throughout the world.

He is the author of eleven books and more than 150 articles and has lectured at more than 1,000 universities and community organizations throughout the United States, Europe, Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean. He is best known for his groundbreaking works, A Black Theology of Liberation (1970), God of the Oppressed (1975), and Martin and Malcolm and America: A Dream or a Nightmare? (1991). He has been awarded such academic honors as the American Black Achievement Award in Religion given by Ebony magazine, the Theological Scholarship and Research Award from the Association of Theological Schools, and the Fund for Theological Education Award for contributions to theological education and scholarship.

The Hanson Lecture, a biannual lectureship established at Princeton Theological Seminary in 1992 by the Association of Black Seminarians, was named to honor Geddes W. Hanson, the Seminary’s first African American faculty member, in recognition of his outstanding academic and spiritual guidance to the students of Princeton Theological Seminary.

Hanson, who earned his Ph.D. from the Seminary, joined the faculty in 1969 to teach in the areas of administration and ministry, specializing in religious groups as complex organizations and in ministry as leadership within such groups.  In 1996, he was named the Charlotte W. Newcombe Professor of Congregational Ministry.

The lecture is free and open to the public. For more information, please contact Cleve V. Tinsley, IV at cleve.tinsley@ptsem.edu or visit www.ptsem.edu.