On race, it

By Weekly Archive On Mar 26, 2008

Nearly 150 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, is there still a problem with race in this country? Absolutely. And Barack Obama showed a lot of courage by tackling the issue in a thoughtful and powerful speech at Philadelphia’s National Constitution Center.

Of course, Obama had little choice. When incendiary comments by his longtime former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, threatened to sink his presidential campaign, Obama had to respond and did so, forcefully. His speech went a long way toward putting the preacher flap behind him, but didn’t bury it entirely.

There’s no way to defend Pastor Wright’s comments. He accused the United States of sponsoring state terrorism, practicing genocide, and deliberately infecting people of color with the AIDS virus. And he preached from the pulpit that, on September 11, America got what we deserved: "Because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back into our own front yards. America’s chickens are coming home to roost."

Granted, the United States isn’t perfect. There are many things in our history to be ashamed of. There are a lot more to be proud of. But not for Pastor Wright. For him, it’s all hate America, all the time: "The government gives them the drugs, builds bigger prisons, passes a three-strike law and then wants us to sing God Bless America? No, no, no. Not God Bless America, God damn America! That’s in the Bible, for killing innocent people. God damn America for treating our citizens as less than human."

Obama reversed his earlier denial and now admits having been in the pews at Chicago’s Trinity United Church of Christ when Wright made some of his incendiary statements. But, speaking in Philadelphia, Obama strongly condemned the preacher’s anti-American comments as more than just controversial. "They weren’t simply a religious leader’s efforts to speak out against perceived injustice. Instead, they expressed a profoundly distorted view of this country — a view that sees white racism as endemic, and that elevates what is wrong with America above all that we know is right with America."

But, as Obama pointed out, the issue is much broader than the rantings of one black preacher in Chicago. The firestorm generated by Pastor Wright serves to remind us, once again, that there’s a persistent problem of racism in this country that must be dealt with. We can no longer deny it, nor sweep it under the rug. We have to confront and get beyond it someday — and, with an African-American leading in the Democratic primary, now’s as good a time as any. Putting racism behind us requires a better understanding on the part of both whites and blacks: whites, to understand the frustrations and legacy of discrimination experienced by the black community; blacks, to understand the worries and fears, albeit imaginary, felt by many in the white community.

It was a historic speech, an eloquent exposition of race in this country that only Barack Obama could deliver. But it still left several unanswered questions: Why did he wait 20 years before repudiating Jeremiah Wright? Would he have done so were he not running for president? And why expose his daughters to such rubbish?

After Obama’s speech, these are questions most Democrats are now willing to ignore. But not Republicans. There’s no doubt that if Obama becomes the Democratic nominee, Republicans will make Jeremiah Wright a household name. Guilt by association, after all, is one of the oldest, dirtiest and most successful political tricks in the Rovian playbook.

Obama’s speech was near-perfect. The one place where I disagree is Obama’s suggestion that anti-Americanism is just the way it is in African-American churches. That’s certainly not what I discovered in my own spiritual journey.

Fresh out of the seminary, I joined San Francisco’s Glide Methodist Church, under the dynamic leadership of the Rev. Cecil Williams. In Los Angeles, I regularly attended First AME Church, led by Pastor Chip Murray. I was attracted to both churches by their lively worship services, their great work in the community and their inspiring sermons about the beneficial presence of Christ in our daily lives.

Never once at Glide or First AME did I hear "God damn America" from the pulpit. If I had, I would have stormed out — as Barack Obama should have done, years ago.

Bill Press is host of a nationally syndicated radio show and author of a new book, "Trainwreck: The End of the Conservative Revolution (and Not a Moment Too Soon)" You can hear "The Bill Press Show" at billpressshow.com. His email address is: bill@billpressshow.com. His Web site is: www.billpressshow.com.