Dream with Me: Race, Love, and the Struggle We Must Win

by John M. Perkins

black theology also has a different—or at least another—emphasis when it comes to justice. Old Testament justice laws aren’t just about punishing sin; they’re also about preventing oppression. They’re about making sure that each person in the community is cared for and given an opportunity to flourish. Instructions about gleaning (see Lev. 23:22) and the year of Jubilee (see Lev. 25:8–55), for instance, demonstrate God’s desire that the poor should have ways to feed themselves and chances to get out from under debilitating debt. We often refer to this type of justice as social justice, and this is something that has been important to the black church in America. This is the type of justice I’ve frequently spoken and written about—it’s a social and economic concept that moves people in a community toward mutual concern and both individual and collective development.