The objective of the study is to seek to answer the question: If Black people were created in the image of God, why do they suffer? The study focuses, although it is not limited to, the South African context. In asking this question, it became clear that there were problematic aspects of Black suffering that had to be investigated and addressed. It was argued that suffering is a hindrance to the progress of Black humanity. The study explores a new way of confronting the phenomenon of suffering within the Black community. The Christian tradition has useful resources to examine the condition of Black humanity. Moreover, one of the resources within Christianity is the doctrine of the image of God that the study will utilize to formulate a response to Black suffering as a theological dilemma. In this sense, it could be argued that if one takes into account that the doctrine of the image plays a crucial role in developing purpose and destiny in human existence, then it might be useful to consider the doctrine as an essential tool in Black discussions on liberating Blacks from suffering, that is in fact oppression. What arises then is the question of whether the image promotes human well-being or human obliteration. In establishing the foundation of a Black image of suffering in South Africa, the argument within the study is that the suffering image of blackness could be traced throughout Black history. However, the focus of the study will be limited to the development and implementation of the apartheid regime in South Africa. By posing image as a problem, the study attempts to reproduce the concept, by investigating the source and development of the idea. This was later linked to the idea of the relationship between God, humanity, the world and the position of Black humanity within it. It was argued that situating the problem in this timeframe presents one with the opportunity to revisit the historical origins of the problem of blackness. It is important to point out that the focus of the study is an image of blackness as suffering, as a legacy of an oppressive regime that continues even into a democratic South Africa. Although the Imago Dei as a theological concept embodies interpretive problems, it offers Black people a new way of affirming their humanity in terms of dignity and worth. Christ Imago Dei challenges the uncontested stand of image with new possibilities. On this basis, it is imperative that we look for new interpretations of the image. Furthermore, a new understanding of image should respond to the Black image and its continued relationship with suffering.

Key words: Black suffering, doctrine of the image, black theology, black anthropology