In this book, Cone lays out the historical tragedy of lynching, as roughly 5,000 African American men, women, and children were openly murdered. Reading this book during the season of Lent underscored the connection between the mobs who called for Jesus to be hung on a cross and the mobs that hung innocent human beings from trees.
While the history of lynching is shocking in its own right, what struck me most in the book was the silence of church leaders. From the most prominent national theologians to local pastors, the white church either said nothing in the midst of lynching, or, even worse, offered legitimacy to the dehumanization and slaughter of people created in God's image.
This led me to wonder, how does the church today continue to deny the humanity of our brothers and sisters? When are we silent in the face of injustice? How can we, as the church, learn from the failures of our past to live more faithfully in the present and the future?
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