Abstract
Since the appearance of the phrase “Black Theology” in the late 1960’s, J. Deotis Roberts has been one of its chief advocates. He was one of the editors and contributors of the volume Quest for a Black Theology (Pilgrim, 1971) and the sole author of Liberation and Reconciliation: A Black Theology (Westminster, 1971). He also has written many articles and book reviews on the subject. Because I have been involved in the development of Black Theology and have discussed this subject with Professor Roberts, I am pleased to have this opportunity to register my appreciation of his efforts to make Black Theology relevant to black people’s struggle of liberation in America and throughout the world. Whatever criticisms we may make about Roberts’ version of Black Theology, we must not fail to express our appreciation for the risk he has taken to do theology in the light of black people’s fight for freedom. In this regard, black theologians in particular and black people generally are in his debt. Unless we have black theologians who are willing to try to make sense out of what it means to be black and Christian in the Euro-American context of racism, then we have no right to criticize the black church for its failures in the black liberation
struggle.