Scholar Presents 'The Cross and the Lynching Tree' at Elmhurst College

Submitted by Elmhurst College.

With two seminal works, Black Theology and Black Power and A Black Theology of Liberation, James Cone won recognition as a powerful and important theological voice. His work provided a reconsideration of Christianity from the perspective of the black community in America.

On Thursday, March 19, Cone will present The Cross and the Lynching Tree as the keynote speaker at the Fifth Annual Niebuhr Forum on Religion in Public Life at Elmhurst College.

James Cone is the Charles A. Briggs Distinguished Professor of Systematic Theology at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. His work, in the words of critic Stanley Kurtz, insists on “an authentic Christianity fully identified with the poor and oppressed.”

Professor Cone received a Master of Divinity degree from Garrett Theological Seminary and later earned an M.A. and Ph.D. from Northwestern University. He has been conferred 13 honorary degrees, including a Doctor of Divinity from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary and the Institut Protestant de Théologie in Paris. He has lectured at more than 1,000 universities and community organizations throughout the United States, Europe, Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Cross and the Lynching Tree, Cone’s latest work and the subject of his discussion at Elmhurst College, was published in 2011. Cone’s talk will begin at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 19, in the Founders Lounge of the Frick Center (190 Prospect Ave., Elmhurst, www.elmhurst.edu/campusmap). Professor Cone will be available to sign books after the lecture.

Admission is $10 for the general public and free for Elmhurst College students, faculty, staff and alumni. Tickets are available by visitingwww.elmhurst.edu/tix. For more information, call (630) 617-3390.