Rev. Jeremiah Wright on Bill Moyers: Context is Everything

There was a time in the United States of America that people had a voice but did not have the freedom to use it. There was a time when oppression ran so deep that it killed the soul and stifled the spirit. There was a time when merely hoping for equality could bring death to men and women.

Not everyone was a part of that time. That section of history was reserved for a color of skin, for a descent that was not European. And now, while that time is over, tremors still resonate through the African American community. Hurt is still alive and well. African Americans still recall a time when lynching was a method of justice and water fountains were around the back of the building, separate from the "white" water fountains. African Americans still remember Jim Crowe, and the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., whose only crime was instilling a sense of hope in a community that had none. There are many in this country that get to take for granted the rights and liberties that were given by our forefathers. Yet, there are also many people who have had to fight for every right that they received. Nothing was given. It was a hard fought battle, and the scars from that battle will carry on through generations to come.

The Reverend Jeremiah Wright was a witness to the oppression and indignity of the African American community. He saw the shame on the faces of his congregants as they looked to him for hope and for a sense of understanding. They wanted to know why the world had turned out the way it did for them. Why would God allow so much human suffering for one race, while allowing another race to get off seemingly free? How could Christian people degrade African Americans and treat them as if they were less than human?

When Reverend Wright began preaching at the Trinity Church, it was a small congregation of eighty-six people. Over the years, as his message spread, he managed to get over 6,000 members of the church. Wright did not gain all of those members by preaching a somber message to his congregants. Wright delivered a message of hope, but also a message of why things happen the way they do. He condemned a country and a government that did not work for the African American people. He condemned the killing of innocent people and war in general. He admonished the American government, and many Christians, for seeking revenge in the hopes of making sense of events.

Jeremiah Wright appeared with Bill Moyer on PBS to discuss his views and the controversy surrounding the sound bites that have been aired of his sermons. In order to understand Reverend Wright, one must understand where he came from. It needs to be understood that he served next to other Christians who believed in lynching. He prayed with Christians who believed that blacks should not be in the same restaurants. He observed a kind of Christianity that was bad for the soul. This, however, did not make him hate. Wright did not grow hard and decide that he wanted to break away from the white people in America and become an isolationist of sorts. No, instead it gave him empathy toward human beings and a desire to bring about change. Even if the change was not popular, Wright saw a need for it and was willing to fight to get it.

Wright does not believe in the mentality of an eye for an eye. He does not believe in taking out frustrations on those who were not involved. He believes that we must be held accountable for our actions, as a government and as people.

Wright did condemn America in one of his sermons. It was not a statement of American hatred, though. He was attempting to explain that the American government can be corrupt. Governments lie, cheat and steal. Citizens need to question their government and hold it accountable. Do not love a country unconditionally.

Wright also spoke of the attacks of September 11. He had a view of the attacks that was unpopular to many. He felt that America's "chickens had come home to roost." Wright's explanation was that American's had been terrorist themselves. They had yanked the Native Americans off of their land and put them on reservations. Yet, when terrorism occurred on American soil, the government was incredulous.

Between Reverend Jeremiah Wright's appearance with Bill Moyer and Barack Obama's speech on race, this issue should now be buried. Wright proved himself to be a passionate man, but not a racist. He believes that African Americans and whites are different, but not in an inferior or superior way. He loves God, not a country, but he is not a traitor. He proved himself to be an intelligent, charismatic man who wants change, just as his congregant, Barack Obama.