Margins
Said I Wasn't Gonna Tell Nobody book cover
Said I Wasn't Gonna Tell Nobody
The Making of a Black Theologian
2018
First Published
4.53
Average Rating
204
Number of Pages

"As Martin Luther King said, we must learn to live together as human beings, treating each other with dignity and respect, or we will perish together as fools. There is no other choice. I choose life." James H. Cone is widely recognized as the founder of Black Liberation Theology—a synthesis of the Gospel message embodied by Martin Luther King, Jr., and the spirit of Black pride embodied by Malcolm X. Prompted by the Detroit riots and the death of King, Cone, a young theology professor, was impelled to write his first book, Black Theology and Black Power, followed by A Black Theology of Liberation. With these works he established himself as one of the most prophetic and challenging voices of our time. In this powerful and passionate memoir—his final work—Cone describes the obstacles he overcame to find his voice, to respond to the signs of the times, and to offer a voice for those—like the parents who raised him in Bearden, Arkansas in the era of lynching and Jim Crow—who had no voice. Recounting lessons learned both from critics and students, and the ongoing challenge of his models King, Malcolm X, and James Baldwin, he describes his efforts to use theology as a tool in the struggle against oppression and for a better world.

Avg Rating
4.53
Number of Ratings
373
5 STARS
63%
4 STARS
30%
3 STARS
5%
2 STARS
1%
1 STARS
1%
goodreads

Author

James H Cone
James H Cone
Author · 13 books
James Hal Cone was an advocate of Black liberation theology, a theology grounded in the experience of African Americans, and related to other Christian liberation theologies. In 1969, his book Black Theology and Black Power provided a new way to articulate the distinctiveness of theology in the black Church. James Cone’s work was influential and political from the time of his first publication, and remains so to this day. His work has been both utilized and critiqued inside and outside of the African American theological community.
548 Market St PMB 65688, San Francisco California 94104-5401 USA
© 2026 Paratext Inc. All rights reserved