Race, faith and the campaign
Joel Connelly of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer writes:
Out of the 207,000 minutes that the Rev. Jeremiah Wright preached while building Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ, a handful of fiery sound bites have fueled a media frenzy and been used to inject race into the center of our 2008 presidential race.Wright's words have been dubbed "hate speech" by pundits and preachers of the political right, themselves masters at twisting the truth to arouse resentment.
In a Philadelphia speech Tuesday, Sen. Barack Obama tried to a) put some distance between himself and his former pastor's rhetoric, b) hold onto his self-respect while c) seeking to honestly evaluate the roots of racial anger in America.
Read it all, including quotes by Bishop Greg Rickel.
Meanwhile, in the Newark Star Ledger, Jeff Diamant pursues a similar story:
Obama's speech has sparked discussions throughout the country, inspiring many pastors to ponder ways to broaden discussion of race relations from the pulpit. For some pastors, race remains a political, not a religious, issue.
The Rev. Elizabeth Kaeton, pastor of the Episcopal Church of St. Paul in Chatham, said her church is likely to hold a discussion forum after Easter on Obama's speech, and that his words may become discussion fodder at future church observances of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day."When I was listening to Obama's speech, I thought: 'Oh my goodness. This is a speech that political science students are going to be studying ... for generations to come,'" Kaeton said.
Read it all.
See, too, the comments of our own Chuck Blanchard, and those of Brian McLaren.
And to keep up with how John McCain's campaign is handling religious issues, have a look here.
After attending anti-racism training put on by our diocese (Southern Ohio) a couple weeks ago I now have a much better appreciation for the attitudes of many black folks and other minorities. Never having been aware of "white priveledge" until that day I was truly enlightened and now believe that all persons in leadership positions in our parishes need to go through it for a better understanding of some of what's wrong in America relative to race relations and why the races don't see eye to eye. Rev. Wright's remarks are understandable by minorities and uncomfortable for white folks, many of whom don't think they are racist but also don't understand what "white priveledge" is, how pervasive it is in our society and how it makes non-whites feel. We have a long way to go.
- Richard Warren
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March 20, 2008 5:36 PM