A Fall From Grace

So, I have been thinking and reflecting on the whole Rev. Wright situation for awhile. I have been trying to get to the root of my bewilderment at America's reaction to his 'volatile' words, which were merely truth wrapped in passion and prophetic praxis. For over 200 years the Black church 'movement' in America has partnered in the struggle against oppression.

The very first Black church in America (First African Baptist Church established in 1788), and Black churches since then, worked against slavery, opposed Jim Crow, and actively participated in the Civil Rights Movement. Black Christians, among others, were attacked by dogs, fire hoses, and nightsticks. Black Christians and their preachers marched on Selma, Montgomery, and Washington, DC, as well as other acts of civil disobedience. The most charismatic advocate of peace, civil and human rights, and social justice in American history was a product of the Black church. This praxis of faith, prophecy, and grace espoused by preachers and theologians such as Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Jeremiah Wright, Cornel West, and James H. Cone is also known as Black Liberation Theology.

It just seems odd to me that America is surprised by the emotion and spirit of men who have pledged to do God’s work on earth, fighting evil. Let’s not forget that most of these men have had first-hand knowledge and experience of oppression and racism in America. Oppression is an evil and all Christians should be on the side of the oppressed…God is.

Anyway, just when I came to grips with the whole Rev. Wright affair, along comes Fr. Michael Pfleger and his sermon at, guess where...Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. That’s right, the same church of the infamous Rev. Wright and Sen. Barack Obama. At first glance this may seem innocuous; a white Catholic priest and senior pastor of St. Sabina parish in Chicago speaking at a historically Black church. This is an attempt to move Trinity church back into the mainstream after the Rev. Wright debacle…not!

What you don’t know is for 27 years Fr. Pfleger has been preaching at a predominantly Black church. Saint Sabina Catholic Church is in a historically Black neighborhood in Chicago and his parishioners affectionately refer to him as ‘blue-eyed Black soul’. This man has been an advocate of social justice for most of his life and career with the Catholic Church. He is well known in and around Chicago for his social activism and has worked with many prominent activists of our time: Jesse Jackson, Cornel West, and even the Hon. Minister Louis Farrakhan, to name a few. This man has studied the Bible and used his life to work in the trenches for God’s prophecy . He gets it…

So, during his sermon (you can check it out on my blog page to the right) at Trinity church, he was preaching (yes, he can preach) about the impact of White supremacy and racial oppression on today’s generations. His sermon focused on White folk’s responsibility to own up to their privilege and work to dismantle the system of oppression. He was not in anyway saying that Hillary Clinton was a bad person. He was using her actions and statements during the campaign to illustrate an extreme reaction out of a sense of entitlement, as it relates to White privilege. He was on point in theory, although his delivery may have been a little too radical for liberal mainstream media (if such a monster still exists). Unfortunately, mainstream White Americans don’t want to be reminded of their privilege, and most certainly don’t want to be called out on it. Even worse are the Blacks in collusion with those liberals; the Blacks who want to maintain their purse-string relationships.

It is a very awkward situation, to say the least, for Sen. Obama. As a result of the latest turbulent event, combined with the Rev. Wright situation, he decided to leave the church which sparked his Christian life. If you listen to the media, they report that he could no longer associate himself with such wayward goings-on. While I think there was some drag on his campaign, in no way did it stick. People are not as dumb as the media would have them be. While they may have been able to lay Rev. Wright at Sen. Obama’s doorstep, there is no way they could push Fr. Pfleger on him. Simply because he is a White man.

If you read Sen. Obama’s statement, you will see that what he did, he did mostly for Trinity United Church of Christ. He felt that his campaign was bringing far too much scrutiny to the church and was a great hindrance to their mission. While he may disagree with the delivery, his exact words, “I'm not denouncing the church and I'm not interested in people who want me to denounce the church. It is not a church worthy of denouncing," indicate that he is not upset or in complete disagreement with the principles espoused in the church. He also goes on to say, "Rev. Moss and the church have been suffering from the attention my campaign has visited on them.” It appears that his motivation is to allow the church to continue doing its work in social justice and activism that attracted him in the first place.

We all knew that the first serious Black candidate would have to give up some of his or her ‘Blackness’ to make it to the White House. Let’s pray that by letting go of his church, he can claim the prize and effect greater change. Then the next one won’t have to sacrifice as much. In the end I just hope Sen. Barack Obama doesn’t have to change his name to some Americanized moniker like ummm…Clarence Thomas.