Rev. Wright Sermon Flap an “Attack on the Black Church”
(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., pastor of Chicago’s Trinity United Church of Christ and former pastor of Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., addresses a breakfast gathering at the National Press Club in Washington, Monday, April 28, 2008.
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By NEIL H. SIMON, Media General News Service
Published: April 28, 2008
WASHINGTON--Sen. Barack Obama’s former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, called the month-long debate over portions of his past sermons an attack on the black church Monday and repeatedly accused the media of taking his words out of context.
After weeks of looped videos showing Wright saying, “God damn America” for killing innocent people, and another sermon, during which Wright quoted a U.S. ambassador to Iraq saying 9/11 was America’s chickens “coming home to roost,” Wright started his own media blitz.
“The most recent attack on the black church – it is not an attack on Jeremiah Wright, it is an attack on the black church – just might mean that the reality of the African American church will no longer be invisible,” Wright said, before an audience of mostly black religious leaders at the National Press Club.
How long do you let someone step on your faith tradition, he asked.
To anybody who thought he’d stay quiet throughout the uproar, Wright said, “you’ve got another thing coming.”
On whether his public appearances – including one Sunday night at which Wright mocked the voices of Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson – were hurting Obama’s presidential candidacy, Wright appeared unconcerned with his political impact.
“I’m not running for office,” Wright said, then added with a smile, “I’m open to vice president.”
Twice he said Monday that on election day and inauguration day, he’ll still be a minister.
Obama has agreed the pastor being in the news is not helping his campaign.
To critics who have called Wright unpatriotic, he quickly mentioned his own six years of military service. “How many years did Cheney serve?” Wright said to a round of applause.
He said his “God damn America” remarks were meant to show that God blesses acts of peace and kindness, but God damns acts of war and violence. He talked of slavery, racial segregation and poverty as condemnable acts.
And referring to the U.S. government, he said, blacks are still owed an apology for slavery, and said he’s told Obama, if he’s elected November 5, “I’m coming after you.”
The event at the press club is Wright’s third major appearance during a weekend media campaign that started with a public television interview and carried through an NAACP convention in Detroit.
Given chances to explain past sermons, he chastised journalists who called his religious rhetoric controversial and told them to watch his speeches in their entirety.
“Black preaching is different from European and European-American preaching. It is not deficient. It is just different,” he said. “It is not bombastic or controversial. It is different.”
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Posted by ( Anny ) on May 03, 2008 at 7:59 pm
Obama said Wright was his friend. Wright said something bad about America. Then Wright said something bad about Obama. Obama turns around and says Wright isn’t his friend.
Now, is Obama no longer friends with Wright because he bad-mouthed America? or is it because Wright bad-mouthed Obama?
Posted by ( ARGH ) on May 03, 2008 at 11:22 am
Reply to QuestionAuthority: You sound as ignorant as J Wright. It is a fact that Islam has declared war on us. Iraq, etc is a response to that threat. Thanks to people like you it’s not PC to address it correctly. The point of this whole wright thing is that he and Barak HUSSEIN Obama are both on the side of Islam. As a true Christian I find both them and their statements etc. offensive. Wright is not preaching the true Gospel of Christ. Christ never once said anything about hating someone for any reason. Wright is clearly preaching hatred. Bets friend and mentor of BH Obama - he’d no sooner get my vote than David Duke.
Posted by ( barnun ) on May 02, 2008 at 3:06 pm
QA- it was proven the bush Administration did not out Plume. It was proven that Libby’s charge for not answering a question really had nothing to do with Plume. Global warming is debated equally by scientists around the world. We had this thing a while back we called the ice age. The earth has been warming up non stop since that time. If you do your research, Methane gas is the single biggest factor on our ozone and that comes from beef. So to really make you happy, the world would have to turn vegetarian. Guantanamo was there long before Bush. would you prefer to see these prisonor released into our general population prisons like folsom. I would. It would be far worse for them than waterboarding.
As far as Mr wright goes, I think Obama’s whole campaign was to bring popularity to Rev Wright. They worked on this for 20 yrs.
Posted by ( kgotthardt ) on May 01, 2008 at 9:32 pm
If it weren’t for Obama, no one would even be paying attention to what Wright says or does.
Posted by ( zcxnissan ) on April 29, 2008 at 5:41 pm
A man of God who insults and curses God is no more a man of God. By the way as many news outlets have reported the Rev. Wright grew up in a upper middle class neighborhood, hardly the place to be exposed to racism, and the military when he served was integrated and one of the better places for advancement for minorities. The government has been wiretapping us for decades. Hey all is fair when terrorists torture and kill innocent civilians, soldiers and others. Where do you get your figures of a million Iraqi’s dead from? Does it have a breakdown of how many thousands have been killed by insurgents and Al Qaeda? The individual that outted Plame has already come forward. Libby was just a convenient scapegoat and sacrificial lamb for Democrats. Our military is hardly in ruins, if it were other countries like China, Venezuela, Russia, or North Korea or Iran would have attempted to attack us by now. If anything our troops are battle tested and much more deadly than before. Where are the facts on “Global Warming” other than car companies do need to make more fuel efficient vehicles for the American market. People need to littering and polluting water sources. Time for people to evaluate the gas guzzling SUV’s, the poor driving habits, etc. Ethanol is not the solution in fact according to many studies it is worse than gasoline as well as producing 6 gallons of raw sewage per gallon of ethanol produced. Any country that is producing ethanol is sacrificing the food crop for the sake of fuel production. Why not include China the worst polluter in your tirade? I don’t know about you even though i am a member of the poor to low working class, i find that the rebates given and the one we are about to receive very helpful. It will take a few years to pay off the debt like it did to pay off the Vietnam debt. LOL. Chris Cummings
Posted by ( QuestionAuthority ) on April 29, 2008 at 7:57 am
It is utterly fascinating watching conservatives lose their minds over one black man exercising his freedom of speech while (at best) turning a blind eye to (and at worst cheering on) seven years of outrageous behavior from the Bush administration.
Bush has adopted a policy of torture that has horrified the civilized world. We have tortured innocent people to death. It has just come out that senior administration officials Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice sat in meetings in the White House and specified specific acts of torture to be inflicted on certain detainees...like they were ordering from a takeout menu! In addition to torture, we have denied fundamental human rights to thousands of detainees. Where is the outrage?
Bush started illegally wiretapping Americans months before 9/11 and continues unabashedly shredding the 4th amendment to this day. Where is the outrage?
Bush launched a preemptive against a country that posed no threat to us and had nothing to do with 9/11 or supporting those who carried out 9/11. A million Iraqi’s and 4,000 American troops are dead, 4 million Iraqi’s are displaced, Iraq is in ruin, our military is broken, our reputation ruined. Where is the outrage?
People are STILL living in tents in New Orleans. Where is the outrage?
For years the Bush administration has been censoring government scientists reporting on global warming. We continue to burn the lion’s share of the world’s fossil fuels driving the least energy-efficient fleet of automobiles manufactured anywhere on the planet. Our increasing use of food to make fuel has driven the worldwide cost of food beyond the reach of 100 Million people who stand at great risk of starvation. Our planet is warming, our air is polluted, our children suffer from asthma in greater numbers every year and we’re widening the roads. Conservatives are calling global warming “a religion”! Where’s the outrage?
In a time of war, while running up more debt than all other 42 presidents combined, Bush handed out tax cuts to the rich. You and I got enough back for a couple of pizzas - Bush’s rich friends walked away with millions, and our children will have to pay off all that debt. Where’s the outrage?
When it contradicted their paper-thin case for Saddam’s WMD’s, the Bush administration retaliated against Ambassador Joe Wilson by “outing” his wife, Valarie Plame and compromising an entire CIA operation monitoring the Iranian nuclear program! Scooter Libby obstructed the investigation into this incident and after being convicted, had his sentenced commuted by Bush himself. Where is the outrage?
When it comes to committing outrageous acts, the Reverend Wright can’t hold a candle to Bush, Cheney and their corrupt and immoral administration. Support HR333!