Wow!
I have to admit that I am saddened and have mixed emotions about the news that Barack Obama has decided to leave Trinity United Church of Christ after over 20 good years as a member there. He came to the Christian faith, was baptized and married there, and saw his beautiful girls baptized there as well, but ultimately what he did today was the best thing for him in his pursuit of a national agenda at a pivotal time for the United States of America.
Regardless of what anyone else thinks, I have also been a longtime fan of Dr. Jeremiah Wright and Father Michael Pfleger and understand why a brother like Barack, in a city like Chicago, would find them to be good friends and supporters. Like Barack, I had never heard much of what Dr. Wright has said that is now played over and over on the news, but knew him to be a bold and creative leader during times that needed bold, creative leaders. The same is true for Father Pfleger.
However, and I know that many of my Afrocentric buddies, as well as my friends that attend Trinity may not understand this, but leaving Trinity was the right thing for Barack and the Obama family to do at this point in time. He is a national leader attempting to bring together a diverse cross-section of people and Trinity, for better or worse, is a very Black, very culturally-focused church that alienates huge portions of the American populous. In a society where racism is still real and still felt by many, churches with a culturally theological slant are still important, but mixing them with national politics is like mixing oil and water.
Barack may not say it, but I also think that he did this to alleviate the constant pressure and scrutiny off of the church he loves. A church like Trinity (or any church for that matter) should not have to worry about the political consequences of every word uttered from the pulpit. With Barack as a member of Trinity, every word, every article, every church bulletin was going to be looked over and analyzed with a fine tooth comb. Those days will soon be over and Pastor Otis Moss, III will be able to be the great pastor and leader that he was brought there to be.
I think Barack has a great chance to be a once-in-a-lifetime President for this nation (and for the world) and this move shows me that he is willing to make hard, personal decisions to position himself as a leader for all people.
Your thoughts?
:::UPDATE: (12:09am) Barack confirms that he left, in part, because of the outrageous scrutiny the church was under…including reporters contacting sick and shut-in members…wild!
{ 7 comments }
Hotep Shaun,
I do think that the move by Obama is shrewd, politically expedient, and needed given his goals. But I don’t think I would call it courageous. Courageous would have been standing with and beside Dr. Jeremiah Wright when the media crucified him. Courageous would have been Obama saying “I may not agree with this or that, but I think 90% of what he says is right.” Courageous would have been Obama saying, “This is who I am, take it or leave it, but I am not going to change who I am nor sacrifice my self-identity simply because I am running for president.”
Again, I understand what Obama did and why he did it. We all know that Obama is playing the game; and that is ultimately the problem. We don’t control the media or have our own powerful media outlets, so Black America can’t frame the issues in a way that serves our community’s needs. We are always in back-pedaling mode when it comes to any controversial statement. That is a failing that needs to be addressed and corrected.
Truth is often unpopular and not PC; it ain’t today and it wasn’t back in Galilee. I think Obama agrees with Jeremiah Wright otherwise he wouldn’t have stayed in his church for 20 years. Yes, Obama is trying to win the game, so this is the correct move for the game. My problem ultimately lies in the game itself: that Black people are subjected to a white supremacist construct with little media power to challenge and put forth to the world the way we define who we are (especially when that definition is outside of the box that what socially created for us). But if you read Jeremiah chapter 45 in the Bible, you find an interesting prophetic word that may well be applicable to Obama…
Now the thing is, this is something that Father Pflegar understood. Alot of white people do not subscribe to this white supremacist construct because they see how evil it is and how it limits America’s potential greatness. Whites like John Brown, Thaddeus Stevens, the Quakers, abolitionists, Gerald Massey, and Father Pflegar are a few who have been courageous in speaking truth to power and called for liberation, transformation, and reconciliation, just as Rev. Wright preaches is the central tenet of the prophetic tradition of the Black Church. I think, like Jesus said, that to some degree the question remains: “What good does it do to gain the whole world and to lose your SOUL?”
courageous?
hardly.
politically wise?
very.
he only left because it hurt his chances of winning. dollars to donuts he still drinks the Rev. Wright kool-aid.
Lawrence & Adam,
While the two of you come from two very different perspectives, you both agree that this was a purely selfish, political move on the part of the Obama family.
Lawrence, what would have been “shrewd” and “politically expedient” would have been to do this six months ago or even three months ago.
I think Barack did indeed stand his ground a great deal and celebrate the fact, through his “speech on race” and many interviews that he has loved this church deeply for two decades. That was courageous and risky as well. He has stuck by the church while also making it clear that Rev. Wright is not even the pastor there any more.
However, I think both of you are underestimating the fact that Barack did this out of his love and respect for the church that was so central in shaping him and his desire to see the new, young pastor succeed.
I think it was a hard move for him.
Shaun,
I do think Obama’s actions can be rooted in an abiding love for that congregation and the new pastor, so I wouldn’t say that it’s a purely selfish motive. But, come on, it is more politically motivated than anything. He wouldn’t be leaving if he wasn’t running for president. I’m just thinking that if you want to attach the word “courageous” to this particular action, then that’s where I disagree.
What was courageous was when Rev. Wright spoke and presented America with a chance for a dialogue. Indeed his point to America was: “Look, here is the viewpoint of many who have been deemed invisible since chattel slavery.” He repeatedly said “Different is not deficient.” That’s where my problem with Obama comes: by publicly denouncing himself from Wright, he is in essence saying we can only come to the table by ignoring our differences or wearing masks (ala Paul Laurence Dunbar), basically that different is deficient.
It was courageous when Rev. Wright tried to put the dialogue before us. Wright stated:
“Maybe now as the dialogue begins, the religious tradition that has kept hope alive…will be understood, celebrated and even embraced by a nation that seems not to have noticed why 11:00 on Sunday morning has been called the most segregated hour in America…Maybe now we can move the black religious tradition from the status of invisible to the status of invaluable. Not just for some black people in this country, but all the people in this country. Maybe this dialogue on race–an honest dialogue that does not engage in denial or superficial platitudes–can move the people of faith in this country from the various stages of alienation and marginalization to the exciting possibility of reconciliation.”
It would have been courageous for Obama to focus on those remarks by Wright. Instead, he ended up denouncing Wright and in doing so, he lost that window for reconciliation WITH transformation as opposed to reconciliation WITHOUT transformation. I don’t want to come and sing “Kumbaya” when I have to deny my self-identity and self-definition. If unity is predicated on rejecting my identity then it is not unity, it is assimilation and accomadation. When Obama denounced Wright, that was when he lost courage.
The move to leave Trinity was predicated on the decision to denounce Rev. Wright and even the political right can see it. What would you say if Peter in the bible said, “I love my church but I denounce Jesus”? Oh wait, that’s pretty close to what Peter did when he denied Jesus. If we all agree that Peter lost courage when he denied Jesus (a prophet), then what do we say about Barack denying Rev. Wright (a prophet)? And now denying his church?
With all that said, I still support Obama because I know he his playing the game and I don’t hate the player, I hate the game. I do care about what his presidency would mean for the psychology of Black children along better foreign policy and greater access to healthcare and education for all Americans. My position is that we shouldn’t have to play this game in the first place. And the fact that he is playing the game means that we still have a long way to go.
It saddens me to think that anyone could feel the pressure that this man has felt the entire time of his campaign. I too wish he had stayed with his church. His God will always be there for him but if he becomes president it would have been nice for him to go “HOME” and be surrounded with people that loved him.
America wants to devide Church and State until it suits them other-wise. Elections tend to bring out the best and “Worse” in human beings.
I have to add I am a Hilary supporter but I have respect for Obama and will in the end cast my vote for him.
You’re right mom. The pressure that Barack is under is insane. I can’t even imagine what it must be like!
The media has enjoyed discussing “part” of the reason Obama left Trinity… That is, they speak about the language and statements that he does not agree with, but he also left Trinity because the love he has For Trinity! The media does not want to acknowledge the role they played in driving him away from this church (Shaun as you already mentioned the scrutinizing of everything Trinity), and more importantly the racist individuals who are making constant bomb threats on the church. Obama also had the people of Trinity in mind when he left…. Shaun I love the this site, keep speaking truth to power!!!!