John Perkins in conversation with other Black theologians: Towards a model for deconstructing 'racialization' and dismantling racism in the Evangelical church

This dissertation presents the work of John Perkins in conversation with other Black theologians in order to lay the groundwork for developing a theological model for deconstructing "racialization" and dismantling racism within contemporary American Evangelical theology and practice. "Racialization" is a worldview that, in spite of biological evidence to the contrary, organizes humans into racial groupings purportedly based on biology---rendering some "racial" groups inferior to others. In this dissertation, I argue that the racism that still exists today within contemporary Evangelicalism is a byproduct of a "racialized" worldview. Moreover, I argue that although the efforts of major nineteenth and twentieth century Black thinkers and theologians---such as Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. DuBois, James Cone, Gayrud Wilmore, and J. Deotis Roberts---have managed to establish the ground for racial integration, their work has not adequately addressed the root problem of "racialization''. In conversation with these thinkers and theologians, I argue that John M. Perkins' work provides a theological and practical framework that not only addresses the problem of racism, but also deconstructs "racialization" and works towards reconciliation and community development among a range of cultural and ethnic groups within the Evangelical church.