Black Theology and the unheard cry for impilo of people living with disabilities

Abstract

This article aims to address the importance of Black Theology of Liberation mainly focussing on the unheard cry of people living with disabilities. Black Theology in its origin is linked to communities of black oppressed beings; its task is to seriously consider the experiences and situation of those who reside in the zone of non-being. In this article, people living with disabilities represent those who reside underside modernity and history, which simply entails that people living with disabilities lack the quality of being recognised as human beings, but as sub-humans who are lifeless. Some scholars of Black Theology eloquently wrestles with the lifelessness fruit which the empire continues to bear by arguing that the Black Theology of Liberation is a theology that aims to give life to victims of lifelessness. It is argued that people living with disabilities in black communities experience a lack of accessibility to transportation, the health sector, education, and building infrastructures in South Africa. The lack of accessibility to opportunities and resources for people living with disabilities portrays a denial of human rights and equality; it instead, promotes the state of lifelessness to people living with disabilities. Contribution: The article adopts ‘The Cry for Life’ declaration which stresses the affirmation of life to all human beings despite their disabilities. The cry for impilo [life] by people living with disabilities is what makes Black Theology an epistemological tool that is derived from below in the search for impilo.

Keywords

• disability
• black theology
• impilo
• lifelessness
• vuyani vellem
• experiences