When Barack Obama denounced the rhetoric of Jeremiah Wright last week, he claimed that he had never been in attendance when Wright made the type of remarks that have aroused controversy last week.
Well, that may not be necessarily so:
Presidential candidate Barack Obama preaches on the campaign trail that
America needs a new consensus based on faith and bipartisanship, yet he
continues to attend a controversial Chicago church whose pastor routinely refers
to “white arrogance” and “the United States of White America.”
In fact, Obama was in attendance at the church when these statements were made on July 22.. . . Wright’s strong sentiments were echoed in the Sunday morning service attended by NewsMax.
Wright laced into America’s establishment, blaming the “white arrogance” of
America’s Caucasian majority for the woes of the world, especially the
oppression suffered by blacks. To underscore the point he refers to the country
as the “United States of White America.” Many in the congregation, including
Obama, nodded in apparent agreement as these statements were made. [Emphasis added]The sermon also addressed the Iraq war, a frequent area of Wright’s
fulminations. “Young African-American men,” Wright thundered, were “dying
for nothing.” The “illegal war,” he shouted, was “based on Bush’s lies” and is
being “fought for oil money.”In a sermon filled with profanity, Wright also blamed the war on “Bush
administration bulls–t.” Those are the types of statements that have led to
MSNBC’s Tucker Carlson describing Wright as “a full-blown hater.”
And what about the remarks he made after 9/11 ? Are we to believe that the Obama family skipped church that Sunday ?
Update: There appears to be some question that Obama was in fact in church in the day in question in the report linked to about:
The error is in trusting the source without checking.
The truth is that Obama did not attend church on July 22.
He was on his way to campaign in Miami.
(Here is some video evidence.) This was before he signed an agreement forbidding himself from campaigning in Florida.
Personally, I’m more curious about the September 2001 sermon anyway. Where was Barack Obama on the Sunday after 9/11 ?
March 17th, 2008 at 7:38 am
[...] H/T: Below the Beltway [...]
March 17th, 2008 at 11:01 am
[...] UPDATE: See this article on Obama’s church. h/t: Below the Beltway [...]
March 18th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
It bothers me that churches, white and black, use religion as a forum for control and hate. How is Rev. Wright different from the Irish priests who kept the Irish poor by manipulating them with hate-filled speeches towards the English? Yet, in secret these priests were taking money from the English. Rev Wright, by preaching hatred and using scare tactics is really keeping the black community in a negative and angry state, which is unproductive and which ultimately keeps them down. It’s like being caught in a hamster’s wheel. If preachers, black and white, promote love, valuing family and education, and moving forward instead of staying stuck in the past, their congregants would be helped so much more. Same with these white preachers who veil their racist comments in Biblical quotes. We’re not going back–we’re moving ahead with a raised awareness, so get with the program and boot out all the racist preachers making money off the poor.
March 20th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
I am and have been a member of Trinity United Church of Christ for 16 years and very blessed to have had the opportunity to taught by such a Giant as Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright. Trinity United Church of Christ is an African Centered Christion Church which welcomes into its doors ALL of God’s People regardless of race,color,creed,or orientation. Our history and heritage as a Black Church encompasses not only the unversal concern of personal salvation, but also the unwavering concern of communal liberation. I would like to say “do your homework” before characterizing Trinity United Church of Christ. I invite you to consult scholars, experts and clergy who are acquainted with and conversant in the language, culture,and theology of the Black Church. In regards to the issues of Trinity United Church of Christ being racist and have been taught to hate, well, you are wrong. The church unites the Priestly, and Prophetic traditions while authentically expressing ourselves through cultural components which comprise our identity. This tradition has produced clerical competency from a Rev. John Jasper to Dr. Gardner Taylor. This tradition has ben the foundationof intellectual giants from W.E.B. DuBois to Dr. Cornell West. This tradition has set the stage for Sojourner Truth, and Rev. Harriet Tubman. This tradition fuled the passion of Ida B. Wells, and Nannie Helen Burroughs. From this tradition comes spiritual genius of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.. An African Proverb declares that “There are none so blind as those who will not see”. I am inviting you to do diligent research, and see for yourself, and you may want to interview Dr. Julia Speller, is a member of Trinity United Church of Christ with a Ph.D. in Church History from the University of Chicago. Sen. Barack Obama stated “I can no more disown Pastor Jeremiah Wright than I can disown the Black Community” I certainly agree on behalf of Sen. Barack Obama, we don’t disown our love ones because we don’t agree with what is said. The key word is to love them inspite of the disagreements, which Obama has shown his genuine feelings on that issue of not separating himself from Rev. Wright. That is what we must do to get through this difficult time so that we ALL may move forward.
March 20th, 2008 at 11:47 pm
Exactly what was the lie here? Has Mrs. Clinton ever been called a n****r? Do any poor or middle class Hispanics, Asians, black folks or even poor white folks run anything in this country? Of course not. Its just a ploy to bring down a brother who has done something positive with his life.
To Barack I say keep on pushing. To Rev. Wright I say keep on speaking the truth.
March 27th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
It’s sad that the black community approves of the hatred being spewed by ministers like Rev. Wright. I don’t care if it’s a white church, a black church, a mixed church, if your minister is spewing hate, the only way to stop the sad divide is to walk out and go somewhere that doesn’t leave the people divided and hating each other. You can say that spewing hatred is OK because it’s been taken out of some greater context but it’s not! These kind of speeches have no business in any church and we will never be one people as long as this goes on.