The Cross
Cone's key reason in writing this text is to explore the connection between two symbols: the Christian cross, and the lynching tree. The cross is perhaps the most well-known symbol of Christianity, and is described by Cone as being a “paradoxical religious symbol because it inverts the world’s value system with the news that hope comes by way of defeat, that suffering and death do not have the last word, that the last shall be first and the first last.” Indeed, the cross is paradoxically a symbol of death and betrayal, but also of death and salvation. Cone explains that the cross has different meanings for different people, and in particular the African American community has a powerful emotional connection with this symbol.
Cone explains that as a child he attended a rural black church, where he "heard a different message," about the cross, "as preachers proclaimed the message of the suffering of Jesus and the salvation accomplished in his death on the cross. I noticed how the passion and energy of the preacher increased whenever he talked about the cross, and the congregation responded with outbursts." As such, in this text Cone explores the complexity of the cross as a Christian symbol, and how meanings for certain groups and individuals have been excluded from the traditional narrative.
The Lynching Tree
At the very beginning of the text, Cone explains that "the cross and the lynching tree are separated by nearly 2,000 years. One is the universal symbol of Christian faith; the other is the quintessential symbol of black oppression in America. Though both are symbols of death, one represents a message of hope and salvation, while the other signifies the negation of that message by white supremacy." The lynching tree is a dark, historic symbol that exists in the collected consciousness of American people, according to Cone. He explains that "it is a memory that most white Americans would prefer to forget. For African Americans, the memory of disfigured black bodies "swinging in the southern breeze" is so painful that they, too, try to keep these horrors buried deep down in their consciousness."
Cone explains that lynching is a very emotional and personal symbol to him, as he grew up in an age where white supremacy reigned. However, until this text, he had "avoided dealing directly with the reality of lynching," due to the fact it brought back "such painful feelings." However, he explains that this "symbol of white supremacy was like a wild beast that had seized me by the neck, trying to kill me." Cone felt a duty to explain the meaning of this symbol, and its connection to the Christian cross. This is because he believed that generally, the symbol of the lynching tree was excluded from theological discussion. In this text, Cone explores the visibility of the Christian cross, with the relative invisibility of the lynching tree in culture and theology: "Despite the obvious similarities between Jesus' death on a cross and the death of thousands of black men and women strung up to die on a lampost or tree, relatively few people, apart from black poets, novelists, and other reality-seeing artists, have explored the symbolic connections." Cone argues that an acknowledgment of the lynching tree as a key symbol in Christian discourse is essential in understanding the full experience of Christian identity in America.
The Ku Klux Klan cross
Although the cross is hailed as the "great symbol of the Christian narrative of salvation," this is inherently ironic. Cone explains that although the cross was allegedly a symbol of hope and salvation, people throughout history have been excluded from this narrative, including African Americans. As a symbol of this, Cone points to the Ku Klux Klan, who used the Christian cross in order to support their violent actions. Cone explains that "During my childhood, white supremacy ruled supreme. White people were virtually free to do anything to blacks with impunity. The violent crosses of the Ku Klux Klan were a familiar reality." As such, the cross of the Ku Klux Klan becomes a symbol for the irony of religion in America, and the Christian cross as a symbol for salvation and hope.
