In the forty years since the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. the theologically informed social justice credentials of African American clergy have been a bit shaky. Of course, Black clergy have been engaged in protest, politics and prophetic preaching. But, to be sure, it seems the marriage of deep theological reflection and prophetic social agitation experienced a separation of sorts. If this is true, the evident “outing” of the Black pulpit’s prophetic edge in recent coverage of the Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright of Trinity United Church of Christ and public exploration of Black Liberation theology by mainstream, armchair theologians has caused or contributed to a forced reconciliation.

In recent weeks, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) announced finalists for its revered, vacant national presidency. Among the three candidates is the Rev. Dr. Frederick Haynes III. Haynes, interestingly enough, is co-chair of the Samuel Dewitt Proctor Conference,…