James H. Evans, Jr., a well-respected African-American theologian, presents his version of "an African-American systematic theology" in We Have Been Believers (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1992). Although the text is compelling, the question is whether or not there is a genuine need for yet another "systematic theology" in Christian practice.
Evans would obviously argue that there is. For him, African-Americans have been forced to accept a "European-American" system of theology, which he, and a number of other African-American theologians, views as being oppressive. And although Evans implies that other non-white, non-European ethnic groups have also been abused at the hands of European theology, he restricts the application of his systematic theology to African-Americans. This may be the single largest flaw in his work.
Evans is certainly correct when he states that "Theological reflection is central to the ongoing life of the African-American Christian church" (p. 1). But theological reflection is central to the life of every Christian church--black, white, Chinese, hispanic, Roman Catholic, Baptist, Pentecostal, Methodist, etc. What Evans deems a "chasm" separating black theologians and the practice of black Christian faith can be resolved by a (his) black system of theology.
Evans "systematic theology," however, is less systematic than polemic. As he maneuvers from "Revelation and Liberation" (Chapter 1) to "The Last Shall Be First" (Chapter 7), he offers a limited number of other African-American theological perspectives, usually left or right extremes, against which he offers a more centrist opinion. What Evans fails to do effectively, or precisely, is present the "European-American" perspectives against which he might build a more universal theology. Time and again, Evans returns to his primary theme that blacks worldwide, but especially African-Americans as descendants of the black slaves of the colo...