Depictions of Jesus from the Harlem Renaissance literary movement are evidence of a Christian theological voice that speaks from a lived reality on the underside of what W.E.B Du Bois described as the color line. A targeted investigation of the intersection of race and religion during the urbanization of black life from the farm field to the factory, and the larger investigation of black identity on a global scale after World War One, demonstrates evidence of theological sensibilities embodied in daily life of hope in oppression, and only accessible outside of the traditional, dominant academic modes of articulating theology, and understanding Christ. Dominant, traditional modes of interpreting Christ have historically worked to promote an idealized white humanity and human community, and to reinforce the subjugation of people of color. Sources of non-traditional theological inquiries from the Harlem Renaissance are the nascent moments of a theology of civil resistance, that demonstrate the humanity of black people in a racist world.