It seems surreal for the first time ever in America history, an African-American is making a real vie for the highest, most prestigious, and most influential office in the free world. Indeed Barack Obama may well be on his way to becoming the president of the United States of America. For me, this is truly remarkable considering that when my father was a teenager the majority of African-Americans couldn’t even vote, let alone run for president. Had you asked me a just a year ago if I thought an African-American, or any non-white male, had a real shot at becoming the president, I would have chuckled and said no. Now, judging by the looks of things, it seems as though I was wrong. Surely, the Obama-mania that is sweeping the country is good evidence that America has come a long way in the area of race relations. It might even lead some to suggest that Obama’s nomination is a sign that America is now a post-racial, perhaps even colorblind, society. But, the recent furor surrounding retired pastor Reverend Jeremiah Wright (Obama’s former pastor) and his controversial remarks remind us that America is still a racially polarized society.
Wright’s racially charged and inflammatory statements have been called everything from "racist" and "anti-American" to "the unadulterated, prophetic truth on American society." Still, regardless of one’s opinion on the issue (and I must admit the issue is far more complex than the media’s prima facie treatment of it), they give us an opportunity to have a dialogue on race that could help bring unity and healing to the church and the rest of the America.
It is for this reason and in an attempt to quench the conflagration of controversy that threatens to destroy Obama’s bid for the presidency, that Obama has made one of the greatest and most accurate speeches on race in America, of any presidential candidate since JFK. His speech was poignant, honest, and direct, and if we look at just a few of the key points in Obama’s speech we may glean some critical insight into the context of our racially divided past, our much improved but still racially divided present, and we may find hope for a more unified, multicultural future.
In his speech, Obama emphasized that we cannot nor should we ignore the issue of race; and I agree. We can’t pretend that we live in a colorblind society and as good as the whole colorblind theory sounds, it simply is not grounded in reality or history. Just look around and you can see profound segregation almost everywhere, from neighborhoods and schools, to churches and social clubs, to the cafeteria here at Trinity. But to fix this we shouldn’t pretend we don’t see it; we can't pull the cover of so-called “colorblindness” over our eyes so that we don’t see de facto segregation in our closet. We me must understand that we live in a racialized reality and, as Obama reminds us, “understanding this reality requires a reminder of how we arrived at this point.” Only then will we be able to explain our current racial disparities and begin to address them. We do this not to stir up old wounds, though it will be uncomfortable, but as Obama’s opening quote from the preamble indicates, we do so “in Order to form a more perfect Union”, not just in America but in the church.
Obama also reminds us of what Billy Graham first lamented in 1950 and what Martin Luther King Jr. later reiterated: “eleven o’clock on Sunday morning is the most segregated hour of the week.” This reality should be offensive for Christians who believe that the Gospel transcends racial divisions and believe that Christ wasn’t kidding when he prayed that we would be one. For Graham and King, the Gospel of Jesus Christ was the most unifying force in the universe. But is our passive acceptance of segregation saying to the world that the division of the church down racial, economic and other lines is stronger than the redemptive power of Christ? I know many non-Christians who think so.
Wright’s racially charged and inflammatory statements have been called everything from "racist" and "anti-American" to "the unadulterated, prophetic truth on American society." Still, regardless of one’s opinion on the issue (and I must admit the issue is far more complex than the media’s prima facie treatment of it), they give us an opportunity to have a dialogue on race that could help bring unity and healing to the church and the rest of the America.
It is for this reason and in an attempt to quench the conflagration of controversy that threatens to destroy Obama’s bid for the presidency, that Obama has made one of the greatest and most accurate speeches on race in America, of any presidential candidate since JFK. His speech was poignant, honest, and direct, and if we look at just a few of the key points in Obama’s speech we may glean some critical insight into the context of our racially divided past, our much improved but still racially divided present, and we may find hope for a more unified, multicultural future.
In his speech, Obama emphasized that we cannot nor should we ignore the issue of race; and I agree. We can’t pretend that we live in a colorblind society and as good as the whole colorblind theory sounds, it simply is not grounded in reality or history. Just look around and you can see profound segregation almost everywhere, from neighborhoods and schools, to churches and social clubs, to the cafeteria here at Trinity. But to fix this we shouldn’t pretend we don’t see it; we can't pull the cover of so-called “colorblindness” over our eyes so that we don’t see de facto segregation in our closet. We me must understand that we live in a racialized reality and, as Obama reminds us, “understanding this reality requires a reminder of how we arrived at this point.” Only then will we be able to explain our current racial disparities and begin to address them. We do this not to stir up old wounds, though it will be uncomfortable, but as Obama’s opening quote from the preamble indicates, we do so “in Order to form a more perfect Union”, not just in America but in the church.
Obama also reminds us of what Billy Graham first lamented in 1950 and what Martin Luther King Jr. later reiterated: “eleven o’clock on Sunday morning is the most segregated hour of the week.” This reality should be offensive for Christians who believe that the Gospel transcends racial divisions and believe that Christ wasn’t kidding when he prayed that we would be one. For Graham and King, the Gospel of Jesus Christ was the most unifying force in the universe. But is our passive acceptance of segregation saying to the world that the division of the church down racial, economic and other lines is stronger than the redemptive power of Christ? I know many non-Christians who think so.
Obama reflected on how the great Civil Rights activists sought "to narrow that gap between the promise of our ideals and the reality of their time." Perhaps we, as the church, should seek to narrow that gap between the promise of our faith and the reality of our time.
Akele Parnell is a first year masters of divinity student at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.
2 comments:
I was sad to see that the editorial featured a response that did not seem to grasp the heart of your article: confronting racial division that still persists.
I have to wonder whether this is not one of the greatest challenges to the church's credibility in the US. And if so, how seminarians like us will be trained to confront it.
I hope that our curriculum, chapel worship, and community might begin to reflect the need to engage this very critical issue of our day.
Thanks for posting!
thanks for posting man I'm sorry it has taken me three days to respond, but yeah I was afraid that someone would sett the issue aside and try to just talk about Obama or his pastor or something as if I was supporting everything pastor wright says or Obama.
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