BlackPerspective.net
Discussing the Diaspora as seen through an internal Black lens
Barack Obama’s Speech on Race, Church and Former Pastor
March 18th, 2008
I listened to the entire speech live and took notes as I listened. I’ve written up this review in the hour or so since the end of the speech and may make corrections and addition when I can either get transcripts or a recorded version that I can rewind and pauses, as I’m no professional transcriber, so I couldn’t get every word down that I tried as I listened and typed.
Obama delivered his speech on race today at the National Constitution Center, across the street from Independence Hall in Philadelphia, where the U. S Constitution was written, and the Declaration of independence was signed.
The Senator started with a quick recap of the dichotomy of slavery and constitutional pronouncements of freedom, that this nation was birthed into.
He continued, that to secure the rights of all “what would be needed is American’s in successive generations willing to do their part, to narrow that gap between the promise of our ideals, and the reality of their time…This was one of the tasks we set forth at the beginning of this campaign”
He talked again of having a Black farther from Kenya and a white mother from Kansas saying that it doesn’t make him a conventional candidate, but it “seared into my genetic makeup that this nation is more than the sum of its parts.”
He spoke of how through the process of this campaign, the American people are building a “powerful coalition of all races”; while “the press has scoured every exit poll for the latest evidence of racial polarization”; a point that I just augured and debunked in a piece two nights ago.
He addressed the Geraldine Ferraro comments, on multiple occasions actually, first saying that we have heard recent comment that his campaign amounted to nothing more than “wild eye-liberals trying to purchase racial reconciliation on the cheap”.
He soon then after turned to his former pastor Jeremiah Wright, who’s comments have been pushed to the light in the past week, prompting this speech at this time. “I’ve already condemned in unequivocal terms the statements of Rev. Wright”, Obama said.
Obama rhetorically asked, “did I know him to be a fierce critic of American foreign and domestic policy, yes”; but said he’d never heard in person Wright be so inflammatory. He then went on to say that Wrights views expressed in the video snippets on racism and why 9/11 happened were “profoundly distorted”.
We Gonna Have to Disagree on Wright’s Perspective
He called Wright wrong on 9/11 characterizing Wright’s comments to something of the effect as blaming the wrong people and our allies in Israel; and countering that the motivation for the attacks simply came from extremism. He then moved on to say that Wright was wrong, by characterizing Wright as believing “that white racism is endemic” and saying that “reverend Wright’s words weren’t just wrong, but divisive.”
This is where I get into commentary. Yes Wrights words were divisive, because hard truths are often like that. People who don’t want to hear and deal with the truth divide against it even being spoken, and this is how truth dies; by slandering and demonizing those who dare to speak it.
While Martin Luther King was hailed today in the pre-Obama speech, by his announcer as the standard bearer, it was King who said “I can no longer speak against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today — my own government”; and he then, much like Wright now, despite the media and popular culture pretending to love MLK now, was excoriated by the mainstream media and Black folks who didn’t want to lose their position with White’s, alike.
The Washington Post even declared that MLK had “diminished his usefulness to his cause, his country, his people” and Time Magazine called him “irresponsible demagogue”; all because he spoke truth the American psyche didn’t want to hear. And low these 40 years later America has not dealt with, or resolved it’s domestic violence problems nor it’s foreign aggression temperament; yet has done nothing but repeat the same aggression that King spoke against then.
Further, I vehemently disagree with Mr. Obama saying that white racism isn’t endemic, if not endemic it would not be so long lasting and enjoy the breath and scope and depth that it does so pervasively throughout American society. That while things have “improved” as you say, things have much stayed the same as you also demonstrated. Understanding how racism and latten white supremacy driven ideology is in the fabric of our social and political institutions is necessary to finally rooting it out.
On Disowning Wright
Obama would then rhetorically ask, “why associate with reverend White in the first place”? Senator Obama answered himself saying that if Pastor Wright was nothing more than the clips shown on t.v. the past few days and that if he and “Trinity (his church) conformed to the caricatures of some commentators” then he wouldn’t. Obama went on to elaborate how they are much more than those caricatures. He delineated the numerous ways in which the church community engages in social uplift from housing the homeless to AIDS support; finishing by describing his former pastor as having “led a church that serves the community by doing God’s work here on Earth”.
Obama sought to bring cross racial understanding of his church community’s complexity saying, “Like other black churches Trinity embodies” the black experience, reeling off a list of dichotomies, finishing with saying they contained both “the love and yes the bitterness and biases that make up the Black experience in America”.
After harsh criticism of Wrights perspective, which he largely attributed to being generational, Obama would not disassociate himself from Wright saying, “as imperfect as he may be, he’s like family to me; he strengths my faith. He contains within him the contradictions, the good and the bad, of the Black community. I could no more disown him than I could disown the black community. I could no more disown him than I could my white grandmother who…sacrificed again and again for me…[yet who] uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe.”
Senator Obama declared that, “race is an issue that we cannot afford to ignore right now.” He said that the current row over Wright’s words and people’s reactions to it “reflect the complexities of race in this country that we have never worked out, and if we walk away now, “if we retreat into our respective corners”, we will never come together to figure out health care, jobs, ect.
Longstanding Racial Divide Issues Not Fixed
Obama went into a narrative explaining still standing Black disenchantment with the level of racial disparity in American society, saying in part “segregate schools are inferior schools; we still haven’t fixed them 50 years after Brown vs Board of education”. He then did a good job of explaining the wealth gap having to do with blacks not being able to access business loans and job loans in the past, accounting for a wealth basis that larger segments of the white community has been able to pass down; that hasn’t been there in any significant portion of the Black community.
The erosion of black families he partially blamed on welfare policy. He said those economic and family erosion problems “all helped create a cycle of violence, blight, and neglect.” He went on though, “what is remarkable is not how many failed in the face of segregation, it’s how many that succeeded.” He stated that even for those who did make it, “questions of race continue to linger.”
And speaking of lingering anger in the Black community Obama said that “to condemn it without understanding its roots, just serves to widen the chasm.”
He also spoke of disenchanted portions of white society, and those whites who don’t feel their race has given them advantages in life. He said that we can’t diminish white concerns as merely racist if they express concern about crime in urban areas.
Spoke of resentment of whites who have come to believe “your opportunity comes at my expense”, saying the “anger over welfare and affirmative action fueled the Regan coalition”; and noted to applause that politicians and commentators have made whole careers exposing false racism while at the same time dismissing real racism for their own benefit.
Barack’s No Fool
“Contrary to my critics claims, both black and white, I have never been so naive as to think that we can get past racial divides in one presidential cycle, or because of one candidate.”
Obama extolled the need for mutual understanding of one another’s plights. He even spoke, as he has before in recent weeks that farthers in the Black community have to be held more accountable to their children. He spoke of self sufficiency as a component to continuing to rise, which I as a Carter G. Woodson/Marcus Garvey/Malcolm X disciple totally applaud (as they were strong teachers of such ideology).
He returned to Pastor Wright one more time. He said that self-help was “a principle, yes a conservative principle” that was part of Wright’s sermons, but that Wright had somehow, I didn’t get his logic, missed the boat because Wright didn’t realize that self-help didn’t come without opportunity in society, or something. I’ll have to go review that part.
He said that we can play Wrights comments on every channel all day and try to gin up anger, and referred to Ferraro’s comments again, taking a generous position that we can continue to attributed biased to a “gaff” (it wasn’t a gaff Barack, it was repeated publicly by Ferraro before it was finally reported, then she piled on top of it, in what is a continuous campaign that can be demonstrated).Anyway, he said we can continuous this, and keep on with the distractions “and nothing will change”! Then 4 years from now will be talking about another distraction..
He finished on a note that progress “requires all Americans to realize that your dreams don’t have to come at the expense of my dreams.”
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10 Responses to “Barack Obama’s Speech on Race, Church and Former Pastor”
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Yobachi Boswell is creator and publisher of BlackPerspecitve.net. I’m a writer, activist and political watcher based in Nashville, Tennessee. I’ve also been know to do some spoken word and MCing in my day.
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You and I both know the USA was built on and its institutions and war machine and prisons are based on fascist ideology and race. The lawyers, the soldiers, the politics and the prisons and the neighborhoods are based on race and American and Wall Street white superiority.
The Constitution is a pretty piece of paper, but the interpretation and 3/4 of a man is racist! The only difference is the USA has more population and a bigger war machine than Nazi Germany, and they will kill you slowly instead of using gas chambers, because they know how to make money at it and capitalize!
Yobachi, you give a remarkable analysis of the speech. I enjoy your point-by-point reaction to what Obama was saying. I think he did an outstanding job in tone, temperent and content for this speech. Quite frankly, he looked presidential.
He did three things that he needed to do (a) explain the Pastor Wright connection, (b) open dialogue on race relations in America, and (c) focus on why his campaign can help our nation heal itself and move towards ‘a more perfect union’.
I can tell I’m getting old … as I had a tear coming down my eye when he told that story at the end about the old Black guy and the young white woman in South Carolina.
If you have time come by and share your thoughts on the speech with my blog readers.
peace, Villager
and besides, the slave owners keep you fighting among yourselves and killing each other, and the rest just turn a blind eye. Its the American way!
I mean you got gang bangers (white) running the government, you got gang bangers (white) running the prisons, you got gang bangers (white) running the military, and you got gang bangers (white) running Wall Street and the Federal Reserve, and you even have gang bangers (black) running the gang bangers running the inner city with their own economy, and then you have the elite gang bangers (white) CIA with other (white) presidential gang bangers banging everything in sight including the gang bangers! The USA is one big gang bang!
“The only difference is the USA has more population and a bigger war machine than Nazi Germany, and they will kill you slowly instead of using gas chambers, because they know how to make money at it and capitalize!”
LoL, good point EuroYank
Thanks Villager.
“I think he did an outstanding job in tone, temperent and content for this speech.”
I agree, it was presidential, profound and forthright.
He did a great job of starting a real dialog on race.
I am white. There are things I don’t like about white people. There are things I don’t like about black people. This goes for asians, jews and mexicans too.
But, there are many things I do like about each of these races.
I didn’t particularly like Reverend Wright’s tone. I didn’t agree with everything he said, but I didn’t disagree with everything he said. For example, America is on the whole ran by rich white people. The key word here is rich, not white. It would have been better if he would have said rich people.
Although I think I can understand black anger and frustration, not being black myself, I will grant that I might fall short of being fully empathetic. But, I have tried to feel what it would be like to have a foreigner come to America, and put chains on me, and enslave and abuse me and my loved ones. I am sure I would be furious. Anyway, I can understand where Reverend Wright is coming from for the biggest part. And I think he is probably a very good man, and I would trust him.
I was homeless once. I had the most surprising experience as a homeless person. I found that when I lived on the streets, that it was black people who were the kindest and most accepting. I came in contact with white people in white churches that were willing to hand me a few groceries, but they averted their eyes from me when they shook my hand, and made me feel small and worthless. On the other hand, the black churches I attended treated me like a brother in Christ.
I was angry at white churches at first. But I have came to understand that they simply lacked the breadth of human experience to understand what it means to be homeless. Even though Jesus specifically instructed them to clothe the naked and feed the poor if they wish to serve him, they are just too ignorant to understand any experience outside of their own. They confused handing out a few groceries with the badly needed spiritual hunger, which people that are homeless are in dire need of. A hunger that can only be satisfied with respect of each person’s spirit and the understanding that their experiences and spiritual path, as set out by God, may be different than their own.
I think it is this lack of understanding of each other’s experience that leads to the problems. I think we all need to cut each other more slack. After all, Jesus willingly let the Romans and Jews crucify him and he asked God to forgive them. Of course, that’s very hard to get our petty little minds around, but that is fact.
My point is there comes a time when we have to put things behind us and move on. I think that time has come and hope black, white, red, and yellow Americans can join arms and take this country back from the small group of rich powerful people who have usurped power from the citizens and continue to play us off against one another so they can remain in control.
I pray this In Jesus Name
Amen
Your friend,
John the White Man
John, he DID say that, and I quote “Barack Obama knows what it means to be a Black man, living in a culture and a country controlled by rich white people”.
This is what really frustrates me about people. Folks hear what they want to hear, and then pretend that they aren’t being biased.
Here’s a clip, where he says “rich people/folk” about 5 different times: www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAYe7MT5BxM&feature=related
I agree with the point I think you are highlighting that there is a great common issues of all races in America (and in world society for that matter) which is the common man versus the power elite. Corporate interest is so often favored against the common interest, and there are certainly intersections between race and class.
Nonetheless, class issues do not make race issues void; and we can’t just move on until we honestly deal with the issue for once, ever. That’s like trying to move on from a bullet wound with a band aid. Barack tried yesterday to lay the ground work for such a discussion, and you’ve got a bunch of folks talking about he didn’t run over his pastor enough; so it’s not good enough for me. He put out and olive branch, acknowledging even the racial concerns of white people, and a bunch of white folk are swatting it away.
He showed that he valued white people’s perspective on race and public policy, but too many white folks are refusing to value the perspective of a grand swath of the Black community in return.
That’s not going to fly.
I wish people would stop using America, it’s not the “American Way” to do those things. We, blacks are American, and it’s not our way to perform these atrocities. America is an idea and not a group of elitist. It’s the elitists you have problems with and they exist throughout the world and operate under the guise of America and other countries. I’m certainly not going to let anyone take the title of American from me, when I know it was the sweat of my ancestors, and the sweat of the working class that truly made this country. I’m glad the forefathers wrote the constitution, because if they hadn’t we would still believe in slavery.
I do get tired of hearing all the negatives about this country as if nothing good exists. Fox News paints Jeremiah Wright as a one-dimensional demagogue, but he is so much more than these speeches, and so is America. There are so many things that can be better, but there are so many things that work. After the 911, I was so amazed. I saw what I feel is truly America, and I saw white people help blacks and blacks help whites just for the sake of humanity and for the simple fact that we are all Americans. It’s one thing to stand up for injustice, but it’s another thing to continue the legacy of division. Jeremiah wright has done so much more to help blacks, and now his legacy is going to be tarnished by something whites can’t understand.
Placing the blame on whites, is not going to get anything accomplished whether or not you believe it’s true, because most whites don’t see it and won’t see it, so stop beating them over the head with it. You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. The key is to find a way to help the horse to drink.
I know we should agree to disagree, but sometimes I want to know what you think is right with this country…