Our fourth and final source for black theology is the social and analytical tools needed for prophetic thought and practice. In other words, the tools that enable us to see the situations of oppression and speak truth to power. It is the social analytical tools and political praxis of prophetic Christian thought given by Cornel West (yes the dude with the fro from the Matrix) that provide what is needed to examine oppression and its causes. This is crucial for black theology because we need to know what we are being liberated from if we are going to talk about liberation. They also expose the interconnectedness of race, gender, age, and sex discrimination with class oppression. Although West’s endorsement of progressive Marxism may not be the one true answer to the problem of capitalist oppression he does provide foundational principles to realistically tackle oppression locally and globally. His identification of Christianity and Marxism’s commonality in their progressive and prophetic wings as possessing a “commitment to the negation of what is and transformation of the prevailing realities in the light of the norms of individuality and democracy”1 gives a guiding framework for changing the system that oppresses African Americans and others worldwide.
