Cultural Trauma and Religio-Cultural Identification in James H. Cone’s The Cross and the Lynching Tree

Abstract

While James H. Cone gives a vivid account of how the African American community is haunted by lynching in his The Cross and the Lynching Tree, he also offers an interpretation of the lynching tree as the crucifix, recycling the lynching tree as a multifaceted symbol of suffering, liberation, and reconciliation. The intersecting interpretations of the lynching tree explode in images that, in Cone’s reasoning, connect to the crucifixion – a move to reiterate themes of his black liberation theology while condemning American racism. Considering Cone’s text as a cultural text, not a theological one, I intend to examine how the lynching tree is turned into an authenticating symbol in African American memory, which represents trauma work on a cultural level. From this perspective, the tree proves a central symbol in his memory work, connecting multiple discourses (cultural, religious [Christian and non-Christian] memory, etc.) to establish religio-cultural continuity for the contemporary African American community.