Obama’s Church Fires Back
File; Barack Obama with Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. (AP Photo)
The Chicago church attended by Barack Obama is fighting back against media coverage of its controversial pastor, issuing a statement on Sunday, saying reports on the inflammatory remarks by Rev. Jeremiah Wright are an attempt to attack “the history of the African American church.”
“Reverend Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.’s character is being assassinated in the public sphere because he has preached a social gospel on behalf of oppressed women, children and men in America and around the globe,” the leaders of Trinity United Church of Christ wrote Sunday in a statement distributed to the media.
Claiming that Wright’s 36 years as pastor of the church — the largest United Church of Christ congregation, with 8,000 members — is being demeaned, Rev. John H. Thomas, UCC general minister and president, said, “It saddens me to see news stories reporting such a caricature of a congregation that has been such a blessing to the UCC’s Wider Church mission … It’s time for us to say ‘No’ to these attacks and declare that we will not allow anyone to undermine or destroy the ministries of any of our congregations in order to serve their own narrow political or ideological ends.”
Neither Wright nor Obama was present at the church on Sunday, but all of talk news has been on the subject of the pastor, whose many sermons have been captured on video and replayed across television and the Internet over the past few weeks.
Some of the more flamboyant sermons have included statements saying that the U.S. created the AIDS virus to kill African Americans and that the United States was asking for the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks because it had supported “state-sponsored terrorism” against black South Africans and Palestinian
Obama’s campaign has tried to distance the candidate from his Wright, the man who coined the phrase “the audacity of hope” that became the title of Obama’s bestselling book.
Speaking in a conference call on Sunday, Obama’s advisers acknowledged that the pastor was supposed to appear at the announcement of Obama’s presidential campaign last year, but was cut from the program in part because they knew he was controversial and didn’t want him to become a target or distraction, both of which he nows appears to be.
But even as attention is focused on Obama, Hillary Clinton’s supporters have refrained from pouncing on the opportunity to link Obama to his 20-year-long spiritual adviser.
“I mean, as you know, I prefer Senator Clinton for a whole lot of reasons, but I don’t cast aspersions on Senator Obama for what somebody else said,” Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told “FOX News Sunday.”
Calling Trinity’s social justice and outreach programs “inclusive and global” Moss added that not much has changed since the era of Martin Luther King’s sermons for equality. He claimed that African American churches, “born out of the crucible of slavery and the legacy of prophetic African American preachers since slavery” continue to treat marginalized victims of social and economic injustices in the face of prejudice.
“This is an attack on the legacy of the African American Church which led and continues to lead the fight for human rights in America and around the world,” he said, adding “The African American Church community continues to face bomb threats, death threats, and their ministers’ characters are assassinated because they teach and preach prophetic social concerns for social justice. Sunday is still the most segregated hour in America.”
Click here to read the Trinity United Church of Christ statement.
FOX News’ Caroline Shively contributed to this report.
I haven’t seen anyone try to demean any group, church, or faith.
What I have seen is people pay attention to the words of a man whom a presidential candidate has claimed to care for and respect, a man he claims to have listened to nearly every week for many years, and a man who this candidate took into his campaign as an advisor.
To expect that the people a candidate for president depends on and surrounds themselves with would not be scrutinized is not a realistic expectation.
As has been pointed out, words have power, but I guess that’s only when they’re spoken by someone named Obama.
I find it hard to believe that in 20 years Obama never heard any of this. We were victims of reverse discrimation in Calif. by a probation officer and a mother who was a retired judge. We did everything to welcome them to our neighborhood and could never break the hatred they had for white people. This is not only a part of Obama’s church but widespread throughout the black community across the country. The Clintons are a good example. We all know how much they have tried to help the black community through the years and look what they got in return. It seems the whites in this country are trying to suddenly prove that they are not discrimating by voting for Obama while the opposite is true with the blacks. I could never vote for Obama after reading how the cigar smoking man in Chicago decided to make him a senator and got Obama credit on issues many of the past legislators were working on years.
Freedom in America INCLUDES “free speech”.
It doesn’t matter WHO you are, or WHO you represent…. IF you exercise your right to speak freely….. and ESPECIALLY on a pubic platform…. you become SUBJECT to critiicism of the pubic… of WHAT you say and HOW you say it.
THAT is the PUBLIC exercising “THEIR RIGHT” to speak.
The “DIXIE CHICS”… had a lot to say about America and our leader… and they “CRIED”… we don’t like the criticism …. “I thought we had free speech”…. YOU DO HAVE FREE SPEECH…. AND SO DOES EVERYONE ELSE.
If Wright’s church, or Wright himself doesn’t LIKE what people are saying.
TUFF…. TOLERATE IT….. EVERYONE who is speaking criticism…. HAS A RIGHT TO DO SO.
The entire church can “SAY NO” to what they call “attacks”….
TOO BAD….. People have a “RIGHT” to speak, and a “RIGHT” to express an opinion, and a “RIGHT” to investigate the outrageous claims the church has made.
People have a “RIGHT” to be concerned of ANYONE who is promoting
the DAMNING ( which is condemning or call for the ruin ) of America.
And people SHOULD be VERY concerned if this is the views of this church and the INSPIRATION which has shaped the life of someone who is trying to secure the highest position in America.
No one plays the race cards quite like a black church!!!
Fox is the only station running this crap every five minutes. Barack can beat Mccain that why you guys keep running this.
The good news about this issue is that the existence of black racism has finally been brought to the forefront. The double standard that has existed for far to long may finally be opened to the light of day. Having heard Mr. Wrights’ Christmas sermon in its entirety, the most I can say for it is I would never have thought such un-Christian comments and beliefs would ever be so forcefully conveyed in a Christian house of worship.
The focus of that sermon may not be representative of his entire career at the pulpit, but the fact his beliefs have had an affect on his congregation may have been demonstrated by the wife of Sen. Obama who has litte good to say for or about our nation, its people or traditions. The fact her husbands rise to power is the one thing for her to be proud of says volumes.
you know, im white but from a white point of view, the black race is a bunch of WOE IS ME people. all they do is harp on slavery that we people of this era had nothing to do with. and besides that, they dont consider that their own people sold them out to be slaves for money, they were betrayed by their own people,so why dont they get mad at their side of the story.they are RACIST against whites . full of hate.its sad really. and also they dont consider the price their anscstors paid so they can enjoy a life in usa. or else they would still be in the bush, living in hatch houses. and naked. i pray that this is published here.
It’s is not an attack on his church. Even though in this day and time we shouldn’t have a church that separates itself. It is about his rantings. 9/11, the aids virus, whites, and jews. What he said about Bill and Hillary Clinton. I don’t care what anyone says this man hates our country and has intense dislike of white people in general. I am a minority and was applaud by what he said.
I am concern about Senator Obama’s spiritual relationship with the Rev. Wright. I can not believe Senator Obama has explain why he won’t denouse the Rev Wright for preaching such destructive sermons. We the American People need to really take a serious look at this relationship and comments. It’s time to remove the HOPE for a moment and learn the truth.
Umm…Geee..Nobody put words in Wright’s mouth. Nobody did a fake voice-over. White America didn’t conspire and drug him and hypnotize him before his sermons.
Honestly, when I heard his speakings I felt nauseous and wanted to vomit. This guy is keeping his folks down with sick conspiracy hate filled theories just like Frakkhan. Only by going to HIS church and pay attention to HIM they can find out the TRUTH. And this reflects on the sort of person Obama IS. It’s no wonder Barak wants to create “unity”. Look at the world view of his divisive pastor who preaches DIS-unity.
Suggestion: Obama, start at home and end the racism endemic in your provincial community before venturing out into America with false & empty promises.