[MCP] About the Rev. Jeremiah Wright

Thu Mar 20 10:59:57 EDT 2008

Obama is not a projection of the Black community. The mainstream  presented him upon the stage and has treated him pretty fairly up until  now. The Black community only came to Obama once it thought that he had  a chance to win. He never couched specific appeals to the Black  community. If the larger society decides to reject him that is  something we cannot control. I try not to get too swept up into the  melodramatic ups and downs of this never-ending campaign. The whole  thing seems to be a big diversion from other things taking place that  we should be paying attention to.

LaShawn Williams <Lashawn.Williams at slcc.edu> wrote:        .hmmessage P  {  margin:0px;  padding:0px  }  body.hmmessage  {  FONT-SIZE: 10pt;  FONT-FAMILY:Tahoma  }          I think this is intriguing and all the more telling that  some members of our white population don't want to see Obama as a  "black" man, yet seem to feel like black folks are forcing Obama to  choose via talking about his affiliation with a black minister. 

  I think the difficulty with issues like this is that  it's okay for Bill Cosby to bash black people for their "failures"...  whites will jump to his defense... yet if Rev. Wright uses Christianity  as a way to empower blacks and to recognize the systems of power that  whites have used to historically oppress blacks and others by  providing a false sense of superiority for whites and inferiority for  blacks and other ethnic minorities, it's not okay. What is Rev.  Wright going to do to Obama that turns the country upside  down? Make Obama work for blacks only? Give reparations?  enforce affirmative action? clean up the ghettoes and provide decent  housing? jobs? what's the underlying fear??? that's what I don't  understand. 

  I've heard comparison that this is similar to the  questioning Mitt Romney got about being LDS and how much of an  influence his church would have on him, knowing the very few stances  that the LDS church has taken on social issues such as race and sexual  orientation.... maybe similar to JFK being asked about being Catholic?  In a way, this isn't really about religion, though... it's still a  cover for race by talking about Obama's "blackness" and his support or  lack thereof of other blacks' via one church in one city in one state  in the U.S. 

  It will be interesting to see how this pans out. Amazing  how quickly the fear of a black person stating historical facts of  oppression in a way that makes whites uncomfortable, causes this kind  of backlash. I'm not sure who the "black leadership" of America is that  Stephan is expecting to step up and defend Rev. Wright, though.... at  least not any leader with any kind of credibility that will ease the  fears whites are expressing without realizing it. Jackson and Sharpton  seem to be pretty tuned out of white america's ears... aren't they seen  as "race baiters"?

  other thoughts?

---------------------------------

  From: mcp-bounces at edchange.org on behalf of John Lindsay
Sent: Sun 3/16/2008 4:10 PM
To: McPavilion; awp_project at yahoogroups.com; sarn; SpeakingOutAgainstRacism at yahoogroups.com
Subject: [MCP] About the Rev. Jeremiah Wright

-------------- Forwarded Message: -------------- 
From: "Stephan Broadus" <stephan.broadus at gmail.com> 
Subject: About the Rev. Jeremiah Wright 
Date: Sat, 15 Mar 2008 20:21:31 +0000

  I’m  extremely disappointed that Black Leadership around the country has  allowed the media to smear this brother without uttering a word in his  defense. Have we become so brainwashed, afraid for our jobs, or  comfortable that we have forgotten where we come from? Does hearing the  truth bring back too many painful memories because we believe we have  risen above all of that? I personally can’t find anything wrong with  what I have heard on the videos and sound bites that have been playing  on every TV and radio station around the clock the last few days; and  if I had been in Brother Wright’s congregation listening to those  sermons, I would have been giving him a standing ovation too! We all  know that Sen. Obama is being forced to condemn a man that he loves and  respects. And if he could do so without torpedoing his campaign, he  would tell America the truth. I’m sorry America is shocked by Rev.  Wright’s words but if the shoe fits

....?      Stephan

  About the Rev. Jeremiah Wright
  By The New York Times and The Associated Press

  The Rev. Jeremiah Wright speaks at the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago.
The  Rev. Jeremiah Wright, 66, retired last month as pastor of Chicago's  Trinity United Church of Christ, whose motto is "unashamedly Black and  unapologetically Christian."

He  is a beloved figure in African-American Christian circles and a  frequent guest in pulpits around the country. After arriving at Trinity  in 1972, he built a 6,000-member congregation. His preaching melds  detailed scriptural analysis, Black power, Afrocentrism and an emphasis  on social justice.

Wright's  most powerful influence, said several ministers and scholars who have  followed his career, is Black liberation theology, which interprets the  Bible as a guide to combating oppression of African Americans.
He  attracts audiences because of, not in spite of, his outspoken critiques  of racism and inequality, Dwight Hopkins, a professor at University of  Chicago Divinity School, said last year.

Wright's defenders said the statements that have been playing this week are taken out of context, and he is not anti-white.
The  United Church of Christ, the denomination of the Chicago church, is  overwhelmingly white. And Wright is an equal-opportunity critic, often  delivering scorching lectures about Black society, telling audiences to  improve their educations and work ethic.

"I  can remember Jeremiah saying in probably half his sermons: Everyone  who's your color ain't your kind," Richard Sewell, a church member,  said last year.
On  Friday, the United Church of Christ (UCC) issued a 1,400-word statement  defending Wright and his "flagship" congregation. It lauded Wright's  church for its community service and work to nurture young people and  the pastor for speaking out against homophobia and sexism in the Black  community.

"It's  time for all of us to say no to these attacks and to declare that we  will not allow anyone to undermine or destroy the ministries of any of  our congregations in order to serve their own narrow political or  ideological ends," said John Thomas, UCC's president.

    Stephan A. Broadus
Assistant to the Publisher
New Pittsburgh Courier
315 East Carson Street
Pittsburgh, PA  15219
Office: 412-481-8302 ext. 129
Fax: 412-481-1360
Cell: 412-337-0819

  "If you live each day as if it was your last, 
  someday you'll most certainly be right."

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