Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope

by Esau McCaulley

ON APRIL 12, 1963, EIGHT CLERGY—two Methodist bishops, two Episcopal bishops, one Roman Catholic Bishop, a Rabbi, a Presbyterian, and a Baptist—wrote a letter addressed to the citizens of Alabama. This was their second such proclamation. Their first, written nearly three months earlier on January 16, was named “An Appeal for Law and Order and Common Sense.” It called for an end to violence surrounding civil rights protests in Alabama and implored those on both sides of the divide regarding the civil rights of African Americans to trust the court system. Although it said that “every human being is created in the image of God and is entitled to respect as a fellow human being with all basic rights, privileges, and responsibilities which belong to humanity,” it made no strong stand against segregation. It was the epitome of moderation. Some three months later this group of eight composed another letter. This one contained a not-so-veiled criticism of Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Council (SCLC) whom they characterized as “outsider agitators” whose actions did not further the cause of peace.1 They questioned the efficacy of the political witness of Rev. Dr. King and others. They pointed out the fact that “such actions as incite to hatred and