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This study argues that Black liberation theology influenced the development work of the PIM during Malawi´s colonial era. Firstly, the influence of Joseph Booth in mentoring the founder of the PIM should be taken into consideration. Joseph Booth´s vision was based on the impact of the socio-economic imbalance of colonial rule on Black Africans. Secondly, regarding the PIM´s engagement with the issue of race, Chilembwe and the African-American Missionaries from the National Baptist Convention, NBC at the PIM taught that human colouring is influenced by the climate from which an individual originates. This practical focus on natural pigmentation causes was a deliberate effort to reverse the trend of thinking that had come to influence society in Malawi in that period that Black people were by nature inferior to Whites. Thirdly, economic growth was determined by and primarily benefited White settlers as they had come to own profitable land. This study therefore explores how the Providence Industrial Mission utilised early forms of Black theology as a basis for Black economic empowerment.

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Thandi Soko is a Malawian currently studying towards a Masters in Theology and Development at the University of KwaZulu Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. She divides her time between studies and active blogging; particularly in raising issues about Malawi that are not portrayed through popular media´s bias towards negative reporting.

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