Of the spiritual strivings of Black Lutherans: the legacy of Dr. Albert "Pete" Pero

Currents in Theology and Mission, June, 2004 by Richard Perry

But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by
the blood of Christ. For [Jesus] is our peace, who hath broken down the
middle wall of partition between us.--Eph 2:13-14 KJV

In the mid-1970s, the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago made one of the most important decisions ever in Lutheran theological education. It called the Rev. Dr. Albert "Pete" Pero to the faculty. I believe that this was a Spirit-led decision for the "flagship" seminary of the Lutheran Church in America, because this bold step removed a "middle wall of partition between" the African American community and Lutheranism.

Pero's arrival on the faculty accomplished something else. It began a process of the institution's valuing the right of African American people, along with every other racial/ethnic community, to think critically about the nature of their faith in God and Jesus Christ. By calling Pero to the faculty, LSTC expanded the theological table within Lutheranism. Theological education would look and feel different because an important invisible voice was now visible.

Before launching into the theological and ethical legacy of Pero, I want to make several observations. First, this essay is written by a person who, like Pete, was raised in the Lutheran Church. The same forces shaped us. We both have experienced racism in the church and society. We both have been educated within the Lutheran college and seminary system. We served as church executives. We both served African American Lutheran congregations. We are kindred souls in our journey within Lutheranism.

Second, this essay constitutes, no doubt, the first of many attempts by the second generation of African American Lutheran teaching theologians to build on the contributions of our elders. We face the challenge to more fully understand, articulate, and embody the vocation of an African American teaching theologian in a white denomination. Pete may not have resolved all of the issues involved in being an African American Lutheran theologian. That would be too much to expect of any one person. However, he brilliantly cut a path for the next generation. I thank God for his witness and faith in a God and Jesus who stood by him over the last 28 years in this place. Therefore, I write this essay about a person who played a significant role in my formation as a pastor and teacher in the church.

I want to focus on Pero's theological and ethical legacy. The essay begins with Pero's own declaration that "theology must develop in context." (1) Following that brief excursion, I look at how Pero conceptualizes the African American Lutheran experience. The final dimension will be an ethic that flows, I believe, from Pero's legacy. My goal is to unveil some of the challenges Pero's theological and ethical legacy presents in developing an African American Lutheran Black Theology of Liberation for the 21st century.

The spiritual strivings of African American Lutherans

In the critically acclaimed book The Souls of Black Folk the great scholar/activist W. E. B. Du Bois declared that the central problem facing America in the 20th century would be the color line. (2) Echoing the biblical witness, Du Bois identified what would occupy his scholarly and activist work for the next sixty years. Embracing the metaphor of "the Veil," Du Bois laid bare what life was like for people of African descent on the North American continent. (3) Du Bois's prophecy came true. The 20th century was fraught with many problems emerging from America's and the religious community's denial of its race problem. At the same time, Du Bois was interested in presenting the "gifts of Black folk" as a hedge against the denial that anything good came out of Africa and the diaspora.

History records the racist treatment of Africa's children on the North American continent. It also records the spirit of Africa's children to construct an ethos and worldview that empowered them to not only survive but to thrive. Yet, people of African descent still today experience racial terrorism in the form of racial profiling and subtle forms of racism expressed through code language (e.g., "safety concerns"). There is still great disparity between the income earned by African Americans and the white community. Our young people still lag behind in education despite the government's intention to "leave no child behind." While there have been some advances, many African Americans feel as Marian Wright Edelman, "It is utterly exhausting being Black in America--physically, mentally, and emotionally.... There is no respite or escape from your badge of color." (4) Many people of African descent have been baptized into this reality by the African American community and by the larger society. Moreover, this badge of color is a strong element in the theology and ethics of Pero.

Over the years, it has been my privilege to sit at the feet of Pete and hear the stories of his journey in the Lutheran Church. I gained much wisdom about how to navigate my existence and the existence of African Americans in this church. The most profound stories relate to his theological training. One laments when one hears, for example, how the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod treated African American men (there were no women seeking the pastoral ministry at that time) who responded to God's call to preach and pastor. In the age of "separate but equal," the LCMS sent African American males to Immanuel Lutheran College and Seminary in Greensboro, North Carolina, for "training" in the pastoral ministry. That institution was designated as the place to send people of African descent. Although the 1954 United States Supreme Court Brown vs. Board of Education decision banned "separate but equal" in public education, it wasn't until after 1962 that people of African descent could attend the "regular" seminary. Now Lutherans had been "saved." (5)