In Speech, Barack Obama Says Wright was Wrong
Barack Obama's Speech Points Out the Issues America Still Grapples With
Like it or not, America is a racially charged country. Mention any race in a negative light and you are sure to pay for your statement. There are many statements that are made in the church pulpit that could be denounced as anti-Semitic, racist, or intolerant. Many Americans can relate to situations where they have been in church and heard the pastor say things that they don't agree with ( if you are a regular churchgoer who has always agreed with your pastor/priest/spiritual leader's statements, you probably don't pay keen attention every sermon).
It is going to happen. Frankly, I am surprised that the religious conservatives would not celebrate the fact that he goes to church regularly, is a great family man, and an active community leader. This is the kind of person they have been crying out for. Barack Obama pointed out that America is still dealing with racial issues that can only be changed by us coming together as one nation. It is long overdue.
I think younger people understand this better than anyone else. Unity builds strength. We can't fight terrorism as a divided country and win. We can't build health care systems that work without bridging racial and ethnic divides. Our differences make us stronger. Barack Obama focused on this and noted that until we start to work as a unit, we will continue to view the world in fragmented pieces.
Obama brought up the point that his grandmother brought him up and he loved her dearly, but she made statements that were blatantly racial (we all know people across color lines who make racial/ethnic comments). It would not make sense to disown her as she was still the grandmother he loved. Disowning Reverend Wright would not make sense either.
He has been an important part of the Obamas' lives and, though Reverend Wright said some things that should make us all angry, Obama has a mind of his own and can think past inflammatory statements. At the end of the day, the media can harp on Wright and his statements and try to make correlations that don't exist, but, realistically, if we were to do that, we would have to scrutinize John McCaine's relationship with Rod Parsley and John Hagee, both of whom have endorsed him and have made what some would consider hateful and inflammatory statements(an eye of the beholder issue). Obama handled the issue with the strength and character befitting a president--a president who can handle controversy and focus on the issues hidden within the controversy. He didn't let the media dictate his next move. He just took his next step forward. We need more leaders like that!
Published by Shirlene Alusa-Brown
A registered dental assistant, freelance writer, active entrepreneur, and exuberant mother, Shirlene has built a parenting site, runs a multimedia-marketing company, and writes for several different sites an... View profile
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8 Comments
Post a Commentwutup obama how y'all doin brotha!
Barack Obama's recent March 18 speech on race relations in America was one of the boldest and most relevant things to come from an American politician in years. Take a listen to my satire, in which I condensed a 40 minute speech down to 2. Mr. Obama urges a revolution on Washington and says the current administration should be taken to prison. I would love to see people's reactions. A little satire never hurt anyone!
Excellent piece. What more can Obama say? What more can he do? He denounced Wright's words, just as he did with Farrakhan. Wright did not make this speech week after week. I also would comment readers to an excellent piece by Momie Tullottes.
I am so tired of all this racial mumbo jumbo. I am pretty much like Obama when it comes to have multi cultures in myself and throughout my family and yet, I still do not agree at all with what Rev. Wright had said. I claim to be Mexican and White mainly because it is easier to say what I am mostly made up of but in the end I am still who I am. Great article.
You did a great job on this. I linked to you here: http://thehomeschoolingmommy.blogspot.com/2008/03/watch-this-video-of-barack-obama-race.html
I am white and I know that racism is alive and kicking in this country so I do not find Rev. Wright's comments offensive in the least. Only people who want to hide from the truth find them unsettling.
I think in one of his statements he drew parallels between black and white and showed how issues are not quite as different or separate as we think. His point that it is time to talk about issues that surround race is legitimate and relevant, even if we want to turn a blind eye to it. It's time to stop pretending that the country doesn't talk around race. Clinton's camp brings up race and it's not stated that they are playing the race card. I think we need to get past this racial focus and try to work together.
How was this different from his other stump speeches? It addressed a new topic in the same way he's draped everything he discusses, in generalities and hyperbole. Nowhere did I hear a suggestion of taking responsibility for supporting and even exposing his children to the divisive beliefs of Rev. Wright for 20 years. In a campaign he himself has framed around judgement he refuses to acknowledge how bad a decision it has been for him to stand by those who propagate radical racial views.
Sen Obama can preach about ending divisiveness all he likes now but his failure to address it in his life and with the congregation he spent most of his adult life in speaks volumes about how deep his convictions are. If he refused to tackle the very issue he claims to hold paramount to all others in his community why would anyone believe his speech today? Sen Obama simply uses race and high ideals as tools to serve his political interests. This speech was just another creative use of playing the ra