Free at Last?: The Gospel in the African American Experience (IVP Signature Collection)

The words of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech have become enshrined in US history. But after the end of King's generation of leadership, what happened to the African American struggle for freedom?

Like the ancient Israelites, the African American community has survived a four-hundred-year collective trauma. What will it take for them to reach the promised land that King foresaw--to be truly free at last?

In this classic historical and cultural study, Carl Ellis offers an in-depth assessment of the state of African American freedom and dignity. Stressing how important it is for African Americans to reflect on their roots, he traces the growth of Black consciousness from the days of slavery to the 1990s, noting especially the contributions of King and Malcolm X. Ellis examines elements of Black culture and offers a distinct perspective on how God is active in culture more broadly. Free at Last? concludes with a call for new generations of "jazz theologians" and cultural prophets to revitalize the African American church and expand its cultural range. The book also includes a helpful glossary of people, events, and terms.

Ellis writes, "It is my prayer that the principles contained in this book will play a role in building bridges of understanding and facilitating reconciliation where there has been alienation." With a new preface by the author, this groundbreaking book is now available as part of the IVP Signature Collection.

In 1969, Carl Ellis began his ministry as a Senior Campus Minister with the Tom Skinner Associates in New York. From 1979 to 1989, Carl served as the Assistant Pastor of Forest Park Community Church in Baltimore, MD, served on faculty at Chesapeake Theological Seminary, and served as a seminar instructor for Prison Fellowship where he developed and taught “in-prison” and “in-community” seminars for inmates and community volunteers. Between 1986 and 2009, Carl served as an adjunct faculty member at the Center for Urban Theological Studies (C.U.T.S.), and as Dean of Intercultural Studies at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, PA. Carl was recently the Associate Pastor for Cultural Apologetics at New City Fellowship. Dr. Ellis studied under Francis Schaeffer at LÁbri in Hermoz sur Olon’, Switzerland, completed his MAR (Theology) at Westminster Theological Seminary, and holds a D.Phil. from Oxford Graduate School.

He currently serves as Provost’s Professor of Theology and Culture and Senior Fellow of the African American Leadership Initiative at Reformed Theological Seminary