The Cross and the Lynching Tree
By James H. Cone
The Cross and The Lynching Tree is a powerful book that explores the paradoxical relationship between Jesus’ death on the cross and the horrific history of the lynchings of blacks in America. Cone traces the history of lynching starting after the American civil war, up to the first decade of the twentieth century. Cone exposes what it is like to be both black and Christian amidst a world that questions the dignity of black bodies. The Cross and the Lynching Tree provides a voice for black victims while also speaking to the hope that is found in our Savior Jesus Christ. Cone both painfully and beautifully writes about black suffering, and truthfully speaks about the ugly truth of white supremacy, while pointing to the hope of liberation for all people through the gospel. Cone boldly reminds readers through the connection of the cross and the lynching tree, that death and sin do not have the final word. “No gulf between blacks and whites is too great to overcome, for our beauty is more enduring than our brutality.” The Cross and the Lynching Tree is an important book that calls the Christian to look at the horror of the cross and the lynching tree, while simultaneously reminding us of the hope and reconciliation that can only be found in Jesus.