Excerpts from Obama’s Speech on Race and Politics
March 18, 2008
“I have brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles, and cousins, of every race and hue, scattered across three continents, and for as long as I live, I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible.”
“We saw racial tensions bubble to the surface during the week before the South Carolina primary. The press has scoured every exit poll for the latest evidence of racial polarization, not just in terms of white and black, but black and brown as well. And yet, it has only been in the last couple of weeks that the discussion of race in this campaign has taken a particularly divisive turn.”
“I can no more disown (Wright) than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother- a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in the world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe. These people are a part of me. And they are a part of America, this country that I love. ”
“The fact is that the comments that have been made and the issues that have surfaced over the last few weeks reflect the complexities of race in this country that we’ve never realy worked through- a part of our union that we have yet to perfect. And if we walk away now, if we simply retreat into our respective corners, we will never be able to come together and solve challenges like health care, or education, or the need to find good jobs for every American.”
“Segregated schools were, and are, inferior schools; we still haven’t fixed them, fifty years after Brown v. Board of Education, and the inferior education they provided, then and now, helps explain the pervasive achievement gap between today’s black and white students. Legalized discrimination- where blacks were prevented, often through violence, from owning property, or loans were not granted to African-American business owners, or black homeowners could not access FHA mortgages, or balck were excluded from unions, or the police force, or fire departments- meant that black families could not amass any meaningful wealth to bequeath to future generations. that history helps explain the wealth and income gaps between black and white, and the concentrated pockets of poverty that persists in so many of today’s urban and rural communities.”
“For the men and women of the Reverend Wright’s generation, the memories of humiliation and doubt and fear have not gone away; nor has teh anger and the bitterness of those years.”
“The fact that so many people are surprised to hear that anger in some of Reverend Wright’s sermons simply reminds us of the old truism that the most segregated hour in American life occurs on Sunday morning.”
“But the anger is real; it is powerful; and to simply wish it away, to condemn it without understanding it’s roots, only serves to widen the chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races.”
“Most working- and middle class white American’s don’t feel that they have been particularly privileged by their race. Their experience is the immigrant experience- as far as they’re concerned, no one’s handed them anything, they’ve built it from scratch. They’ve worked hard all their lives, many times only to see their jobs shipped overseas or their pension dumped after a lifetime of labor.”
“So when they are told to bus their children to a school across town; when the hear that an African American is getting an advantage in landing a good job or a spot in a good college because of an injustice that they themselves never committed; when they’re told that their fears about crime in urban neighborhoods are somehow prejudiced, resent builds over time.”
“Just as black anger often proved counterproductive, so have these white resentments distracted attention from the real culprits of the middle class squeeze- a corporate culture rife with inside dealing, questionable accounting practices, and short-term greed; a Washington dominated by lobbyists and special interests; economic policies that favor the few over the many. And yet, to wish away the resentments of white Americans, to label them as misguided or even racist, without recognizing they are grounded in legitimate concerns- this too widens the racial divide, and blocks the path to understanding. This is where we are right now. It’s a racial stalemate we’ve been stuck in for years.”
“In the end, then, what is called for is nothing more, and nothing less, than what all the world’s great religions demand- that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Let us be our brother’s keeper.”
Jeremiah Wright Can Be a Problem or Opportunity for Obama
March 18, 2008
By GWEN RICHARDSON
There is an adage that the most segregated hour in America is at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday morning. Therein lies the difference in reaction to the recently released videos featuring provocative statements by Sen. Barack Obama’s pastor for the past 20 years, Dr. Jeremiah Wright.
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Most African Americans who view these video snippets know that they are taken out of context and can be taken with a grain of salt. Sermons by Black pastors are often filled with hyperbole, colorful language and cultural cadences. In an average year, Wright probably delivered at least 50 sermons on a variety of topics.
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Meanwhile, the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, which Wright pastored for 35 years until he retired in February, continued to be a beacon of light to people in the surrounding community, providing drug and alcohol recovery, marriage counseling, prison outreach and other community services. As in most Black churches, the members of Trinity engage in the Christian rituals of baptism and communion, as well as baby dedications and rites of passage ceremonies. The church’s Afrocentric focus, which teaches the principles of self-reliance and self-determination that conservatives claim to embrace, is designed to build its members’ self-esteem and solve some of the intractable problems within the African-American community.
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Wright himself spent six years in the military, has four earned degrees and has been the recipient of eight honorary doctorates. He is the author of several books, including two titled What Can Happen When We Pray? and Good News!: Sermons of Hope for Today’s Families. He was born in 1941, came of age during the crucible of the Civil Rights Movement and, as do many Black pastors, speaks to the pain and suffering many African Americans feel from the nation’s legacy of slavery, Jim Crow and discrimination.
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Unfortunately, because few non-black people have spent any time in black churches, the recent video clips of Wright shown on cable news channels conjure up fears and anxieties that are, quite frankly, unwarranted but understandable. These video clips were first promulgated several weeks ago on Fox News by commentators Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly. One can only guess at their motivations, but it appears that they want to sully Obama’s image by tying him to Wright and implying that Obama shares the same attitudes that the videos portray. If successful, this could be enough to frighten the bejesus out of enough White voters to deny Obama the nomination and/or the presidency.
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Among the remaining presidential contenders, all have had challenges with religious leaders who have made shocking statements. Texas televangelist John Hagee, who endorsed John McCain last month, has described Catholicism as a contributor to Hitler’s anti-Semitism and a “false cult.” On Feb. 26, McCain appeared at a rally with the Rev. Rod Parsley, an Ohio minister who is notable for suggesting that the United States should be at war with Islam. Hillary Clinton, for her part, belongs to a Methodist church that has decided to perform ceremonies joining homosexual couples.
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However, since race is one of the most powerful motivators in American society, the image of a Black minister who makes inflammatory racial statements is more intoxicating than the others. For Obama, this is not an issue that will go away, nor can it be ignored.
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It has been in Obama’s best interest televise nationally the march 18 Pennsylvania speech on race and politics. Similar to the speeches made by John Kennedy in 1960 regarding his Catholicism, and Mitt Romney about his Mormon faith, Obama has tackled this issue head on. He has been open and honest about his background, his motivations and his vision, as transparent as he was in his memoir, “Dreams of My Father.”
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Obama’s supporters, and those who would like to support him but have questions about how influential Wright has been regarding his spiritual journey, got the opportunity to hear directly from the candidate, not campaign spokespersons.
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Because of Obama’s parentage, he is not a product of generations of American slavery. He is identified as black because American society operates by the one-drop rule: If a person has one drop of black blood, he or she is considered black by American standards. But because of Obama’s heritage, he is in a unique position to talk to the nation from both sides of the divide. He can actually share the points of view of both blacks and whites.
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Going on the offensive regarding Wright’s remarks has been the best way for Obama to put this issue to rest. Otherwise, it might have simmered beneath the surface for the remainder of the campaign, rearing its ugly head and diminishing his message of hope, change and unity.