Getting to the Promised Land

Black America and the Unfinished Work of the Civil Rights Movement

Kevin W. Cosby

• Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9780664265458
• eBook ISBN: 9781646981977
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Civil Rights in Politics
• Index: Politics & International Relations

Too often, all oppressed people in America are lumped together under the moniker "people of color, " as if each group's experience under the yoke of systemic racism has the same economic and social repercussions. But the American Descendants of Slavery (ADOS) hold a unique claim to economic and reparative justice: for ADOS, after all, is the only group whose ancestors were forcibly brought to America, enslaved, built much of the wealth of the country, yet continue to be specifically excluded from the same social, political, and economic rights of other Americans. To that end, Rev. Dr. Kevin W. Cosby lays out the first theology of the ADOS movement, turning the traditional lens of Black liberation theology from Moses leading escaped Hebrew slaves in Exodus to other biblical leaders like Solomon, Daniel, and Nehemiah. A Jew born in exile, Nehemiah landed a somewhat privileged position in the Persian king's court. After learning about his people's dire situation in Jerusalem, Nehemiah wept and was moved to lead efforts to rebuild the wall around the city with money (reparations) obtained from the imperial government.

In the stories of Nehemiah and other biblical leaders, Cosby finds inspiration on how to rebuild Black America including the necessity of government reparations for ADOS. Cosby calls all Americans to move from a place of relative nonengagement and detachment to a place of active support of ADOS's efforts for justice and healing.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Praise for the Book
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Foreword by Cornel West
• Preface
• Introduction
• 1.   Replace the Exodus Hermeneutic with a Postexilic One: Regain a Singular Focus
• 2.   Solomon: No Coalitions with the Mighty Until We’ve Lifted Weights
• 3.   Daniel: Put on Ethnic Armor and Reject the Illusion of Inclusion
• 4.   Cyrus’s Decree: No Liberation without Reparation
• 5.   Ezra: Lineage Alone as a Call to Specificity for ADOS’s Unique Justice Claim
• 6.   Esau: A Good Lesson from a Bad Example
• 7.   Hanani’s Mission to Expose Pseudo Innocence: Most of Us Ain’t Movin’ On Up
• 8.   Nehemiah Wept: ADOS Leaders Must Weep and Speak Up for Our Community
• 9.   Nehemiah’s Leadership: Mobilizing ADOS to Take Care of ADOS Business
• 10.   Servants, Not Celebrities: Nehemiah, Ella Baker, and Exemplary Leadership for ADOS
• Conclusion: Beginning to Name Tenets of ADOS Theology
• Acknowledgments
• Notes