William Jewell College presents The Binns Lecture on the Sacred and Secular, and Power and Justice in Society, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, November 10 and 10:15 a.m. Wednesday, November 11, both in John Gano Memorial Chapel on the campus in Liberty, Mo. The public is invited to attend and no tickets or reservations are required.

Guest speaker for the event is Dr. James Cone, the Charles Augustus Briggs Distinguished Professor of Systematic Theology at Union Theological Seminary in New York. Cone's topic for the Tuesday lecture is "God and Black Suffering" and for the Wednesday lecture is "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen."

A theologian, champion of the poor and a speaker of the painful truths of African-American experience, Dr. Cone is known for his insightful work on such critical topics as black theology, issues of violence, and religion. "Blackness opened my eyes to see Afrian-American history and culture as one of the most insightful sources for knowing about God," he writes.

Dr. Cone holds a B.A. degree from Philander Smith College and Master of Divinity degree from Garrett Theological Seminary. He later earned a M.A. and doctorate degree from Northwestern University. He has been conferred eight honorary degrees, including a Doctor of Divinity from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. In addition , he has written 11 books and more than 150 articles and has lectured at more than 1,000 universities and community organizations throughout the United States, Europe, Africa, Asia, Latin American and the Caribbean. He is best known for his ground-breaking works, Black Theology and Black Power, A Black Theology of Liberation and God of the Oppressed.

The presentation is part of the college's "Perspectives on the Common Good" lecture series, which incorporates the Walter Pope Binns Lectures. Dr. Binns served as president of William Jewell College from 1943 to 1962. A pastor, writer, counselor and educator, Dr. Binns epitomized the compatibility of intellectual curiosity and uncompromising Christian commitment. The lecture series was endowed in 1980 by the Fuller E. Callaway Foundation of Georgia to enhance intellectual inquiry within the Christian tradition at William Jewell. The lectureship brings to the campus annually an eminent scholar to share research and experience with students, faculty, staff and interested community members.

William Jewell College is committed to bringing together talented students and gifted faculty mentors within a vibrant community sparked by a rigorous and intentional liberal arts curriculum. A full range of personal and professional development experiences are presented by the selective national liberal arts college's location within the Kansas City metroplex of 2 million.

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