If there has ever been any question about the glaring need and important role of Black Media in this country, then CNN’s Black In America Series gave credence to that. Black in America was purported to be nightly documentaries dealing with "The Black Woman and Family" and "The Black Man.” It was supposed to be their insight into Black America, forty years after the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Their focus was to be on “fresh analysis from new voices about the real lives behind the stereotypes, statistics and identity politics that frequently frame the national dialogue about Black America.”
What was bothersome for me was the proclamation of “fresh analysis” For the most part CNN presented a slanted and stereotypical view of African-Americans. To me it did nothing but give fodder to those who are anti-black and further marginalize people of color at a time with Sen. Barack Obama’s historic Presidential run. Issues such as education, single-parent females headed households, black male incarceration and black economics are topics that should be on the table for discussion. But when CNN’s lack of linear connection to the problems of slavery, Jim Crowe, institutional racism and public policy are not researched, examined and explored especially by black academia, then you’ve made the victim (black folks) the problem. It was disturbing that all they did was focus on common themes of perceived black life. Drugs, crime, incarceration, unemployment, absent fathers, HIV-AIDS, blacks in corporate America and oh yes young black men in hip-hop. It purveyed the message that anything black has no value.
“Black In America,” was framed mostly by white producers and journalists from CNN. Soledad O’Brien was the moderator. Where were black producers and journalists? It clearly brings to light the continuing and widening gulf that exists between mainstream and the black media. In my opinion, only Black Media can tell our story better than anyone else.
The role of black media has been to speak from the lens of the black perspective. Since 1827, the black press or media has chronicled the lives of our people to give fair and equitable balance. In other words, tell the truth that the white media dares not to tell. One-hundred and eighty-one years later, African-Americans still struggle to have their perspectives presented in television and radio newsrooms and in mainstream newspapers. Not only just with being hired into these institutions, but most importantly ownership.
In Dr. Kristal Zook’s book, I See Black People: The Rise and Fall of African American Owned Television and Radio Minority Owned Television and Radio; raises the point that the airwaves are public resources; they belong to the people. And yet minorities, who form 33 percent of the population, control only 3 percent of the broadcast media. African Americans own less than 1 percent of all television station in the country. Some have made millions while the vast majority has struggled until being forced out of the industry, contributing to the decline of African American media ownership. To that point Zook details the story of Cathy Hughes.
Hughes is the founder of Radio One and TV-One. Hughes's tenacious rise to power is legendary. She aggressively acquired radio stations, becoming the first black woman to head a firm publicly traded on the stock exchange. However, in 2004, Radio One launched TV-One in partnership with Comcast. While securing its place in the marketplace, the company is now just 20 percent black owned.
In Chicago, we have been blessed with black media outlets such as the Chicago Defender and WVON Radio for years. But despite their struggles they have persisted and have told our story. CNN’s poor attempt to “show black life,” was only possible because of our inability to be able to consistently tell our side of the story on a macro-level.
But crafting our message, talking points and imagery of our culture now takes a more delineated approach. Black newspapers need to use the power of technology. The blogosphere, black news web content and black oriented programming on public television are now necessary in framing the message of the black journey in America.
Also, African-Americans have to very careful not to believe everything that is fed to us through the white controlled media. For example on young black fathers, The Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study, led by researchers from Princeton and Columbia Universities, found that most unwed fathers are involved with the mothers of their children and say they want to be involved in raising their offspring. The study, which started in 1998 and has been funded by the federal government through 2009, is following 5,000 African-American, Latino and white children born in 21 cities, most to unmarried parents under the age of 25. Many of the fathers did not graduate high school.
This research, which is part of the national study, found that the majority of unwed fathers are involved in ways not measured by court-ordered child support. Whether they lacked custody or did not reside with their child, many gave money to their child's mother during pregnancy, visited the hospital after the baby's birth and, when gainfully employed, provided money each pay period to support their children or bought diapers and formula. The strongest predictor of involvement after birth was whether or not the father had a healthy relationship with the mother of his child. When the relationship between the father and the mother collapses, so does the relationship between the father and the child. The men, who are often unemployed, incarcerated or earning poverty-level wages, said they feel that if they can't contribute financially, there is no place for them in the children's lives.
Waldo Johnson, an associate professor in the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago stated, "African-American fathers have been viewed in a monolithic way and, in many instances, become the poster men for non-involved fathers. Too often, [to those]who have become fathers early on, we kind of say, 'If they can't step up to the plate, then write them off,'" Johnson said. "That's entirely the wrong way to think about this. What we find in the more recent research is that the ways in which these low-income fathers are
involved with their kids are not the traditional ways."
Another example of white media bias has been the Presidential Election. If black media had balanced access to the market through fair and equitable ownership, There possibly may not have been the attack on Barack Obama regarding Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright to the level of what we saw. With fair black media ownership and market access there may have not been a need for Obama to repudiate Wright nor leave his church. While white media supposedly exposed the truth, black folks already new what the deal was.
But the white media must be willing to accept black media as a trusted and valued source of news and opinion, otherwise they will continue to present a generalized caricature of black people. However, the power of black media should never be taken for granted. For it was black radio station in Chicago that pushed the idea of Harold Washington, a black man becoming Mayor of Chicago in 1983. We should never forget that. But it’s always time to build upon that.
I can just imagine hearing the great Lu Palmer with “Lu’s Notebook” watching CNN’s charade, saying his famous closing hook-line, “It’s enough to make a Negro turn Black.”
Pass It On….
Copyright 2008 © Algernon H. Penn
The African-American Public Square
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
A Change Done Come…
Senator Barack Obama is the Democratic Nominee for President of the United States. For the first time in United States history, an African-American became the nominee for President of either political party. After 54 primary and caucus contests, Obama has performed the impossible. He has beaten the Clintonian machine of name recognition, money and party support. He has run one of most efficient campaigns in modern history. The first term Senator from Chicago defied all expectations by earning and keeping a sizable delegate lead in the weeks after Super Tuesday. They said he was too young, too inexperienced in Washington and most of all he was going against the Clinton brand. But with his campaign theme of “Change,” Obama has galvanized Democrats across the country as voters came to the polls in record numbers to support his campaign.
As I watched the television at home last night, I reflected to some of the things that my parents always told me. “You can be anything you want to be.”It was encouragement beyond their sights and realistic expectations. It was historic. It was moving. It was also hard to believe.
With his splendid debonair demeanor before a crowd of 21,000 supporters in St. Paul Minnesota, Obama said, ”You decided that change must come to Washington; because you believed that this year must be different than all the rest; because you chose to listen not to your doubts or your fears but to your greatest hopes and highest aspirations, tonight we mark the end of one historic journey with the beginning of another - a journey that will bring a new and better day to America. Tonight, I can stand before you and say that I will be the Democratic nominee for President of the United States."
This moment was not just Obama’s, but it was a moment of black pride and national pride. This moment was one that the entire world watched. To now say that a black man has a better than 50-50 shot at the Presidency is something that many of us would never believe would happen in our lifetimes. This is the type of moment for those who have passed on, but left us with the hope of possibility of a better America. This is a moment for those who could see very little beyond their individual black experiences. This is the second part of faith called the evidence of things not seen. It is the kind of unseen evidence that urged our ancestors to continue forward without any resolution in sight that would change the hearts and minds of those who didn’t want to change.
Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Nat Turner, Frederick Douglas, Booker T. Washington, Shirley Chisholm, Dick Gregory, Martin Luther King all had seen an America in a very conflicted light. The all saw the very worst that America was giving while at the same time seeing the very best of America’s hope and promise.
Obama’s meteoric ascension though historic, is not complete. He is only the Democratic nominee. From now until the election, his status as the nominee will present a constant litmus test for the country to move towards its best promise.
As well, Senator Hillary Clinton has left mark on the presidential trail as the first viable woman candidate. Thankfully she has decided to knock at the door of party unity and has decided to fully support the election of Senator Obama as President of the United States in November.
While there is a lot work to be done to repair the strain that has exited between the Obama and Clinton camps, one thing is truly obvious, America has taken a giant step forward in the quest for change. Race still matters in America. Its legacy and horror of the treatment of citizens that are people of color has never been reconciled. America’s movement towards change has come at a marathon pace. But if America continues its quest to cross the finish line and not surrender to fatigue halfway into the race, then a change done truly come.
I’m reminded of my grandmother’s wisdom of why she felt that tomorrow always presented new possibilities. She reminded me of her faith in God and His promise. She said that He is a man that cannot lie. That what man meant for evil, God meant for good. She also reminded me that when the greater good presents a challenge we must be quick to embrace that good. For the longer we ponder the consequence of good change, the likely the possibility of losing the race for good change. Grandma Ola would say, “ I’m running this race trying to see what the end ‘gone bring. I’m going on ninety-nine trying to make a hundred.”
She would turn on her old radio to hear the late great Sam Cooke. As I watched her descend into her rocking chair, she would throw her head back slowly to the methodical mood of Cooke’s voice. She would lose herself from the drudgery and the dread of being a black woman in Mississippi. As I watch her close her eyes, I know she has gone to a different place that only her imagination can take her to. She may not get there, but she knows that time is on her side. Grandma said “Time changes everything…It can heal old wounds.”
I can hear her distinct off key voice clearly as she sings over Cooke’s voice….
I was born by the river in a little tent
And just like that river I've been running ever since
It's been a long time coming
But I know a change is ‘gone come, oh yes it will
It's been too hard living, but I'm afraid to die
‘Cause I don't know what's out there beyond the sky
It's been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change is ‘gone come, oh yes it will
And then I go to see my brother And I ask him to help me please
And he just winds up knockin’ me Back down on my knees
There were times when I thought I couldn't last for long
But now I think I'm able to carry on
It's been a long, been a long time coming
But I know a change is ‘gone come, oh yes it will
The old heads know what I’m taking about…America is at ninety-nine. Let’s see if she’ll make a hundred…
A change done truly come….
Pass it On...
Copyright 2008 © Algernon H. Penn
As I watched the television at home last night, I reflected to some of the things that my parents always told me. “You can be anything you want to be.”It was encouragement beyond their sights and realistic expectations. It was historic. It was moving. It was also hard to believe.
With his splendid debonair demeanor before a crowd of 21,000 supporters in St. Paul Minnesota, Obama said, ”You decided that change must come to Washington; because you believed that this year must be different than all the rest; because you chose to listen not to your doubts or your fears but to your greatest hopes and highest aspirations, tonight we mark the end of one historic journey with the beginning of another - a journey that will bring a new and better day to America. Tonight, I can stand before you and say that I will be the Democratic nominee for President of the United States."
This moment was not just Obama’s, but it was a moment of black pride and national pride. This moment was one that the entire world watched. To now say that a black man has a better than 50-50 shot at the Presidency is something that many of us would never believe would happen in our lifetimes. This is the type of moment for those who have passed on, but left us with the hope of possibility of a better America. This is a moment for those who could see very little beyond their individual black experiences. This is the second part of faith called the evidence of things not seen. It is the kind of unseen evidence that urged our ancestors to continue forward without any resolution in sight that would change the hearts and minds of those who didn’t want to change.
Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Nat Turner, Frederick Douglas, Booker T. Washington, Shirley Chisholm, Dick Gregory, Martin Luther King all had seen an America in a very conflicted light. The all saw the very worst that America was giving while at the same time seeing the very best of America’s hope and promise.
Obama’s meteoric ascension though historic, is not complete. He is only the Democratic nominee. From now until the election, his status as the nominee will present a constant litmus test for the country to move towards its best promise.
As well, Senator Hillary Clinton has left mark on the presidential trail as the first viable woman candidate. Thankfully she has decided to knock at the door of party unity and has decided to fully support the election of Senator Obama as President of the United States in November.
While there is a lot work to be done to repair the strain that has exited between the Obama and Clinton camps, one thing is truly obvious, America has taken a giant step forward in the quest for change. Race still matters in America. Its legacy and horror of the treatment of citizens that are people of color has never been reconciled. America’s movement towards change has come at a marathon pace. But if America continues its quest to cross the finish line and not surrender to fatigue halfway into the race, then a change done truly come.
I’m reminded of my grandmother’s wisdom of why she felt that tomorrow always presented new possibilities. She reminded me of her faith in God and His promise. She said that He is a man that cannot lie. That what man meant for evil, God meant for good. She also reminded me that when the greater good presents a challenge we must be quick to embrace that good. For the longer we ponder the consequence of good change, the likely the possibility of losing the race for good change. Grandma Ola would say, “ I’m running this race trying to see what the end ‘gone bring. I’m going on ninety-nine trying to make a hundred.”
She would turn on her old radio to hear the late great Sam Cooke. As I watched her descend into her rocking chair, she would throw her head back slowly to the methodical mood of Cooke’s voice. She would lose herself from the drudgery and the dread of being a black woman in Mississippi. As I watch her close her eyes, I know she has gone to a different place that only her imagination can take her to. She may not get there, but she knows that time is on her side. Grandma said “Time changes everything…It can heal old wounds.”
I can hear her distinct off key voice clearly as she sings over Cooke’s voice….
I was born by the river in a little tent
And just like that river I've been running ever since
It's been a long time coming
But I know a change is ‘gone come, oh yes it will
It's been too hard living, but I'm afraid to die
‘Cause I don't know what's out there beyond the sky
It's been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change is ‘gone come, oh yes it will
And then I go to see my brother And I ask him to help me please
And he just winds up knockin’ me Back down on my knees
There were times when I thought I couldn't last for long
But now I think I'm able to carry on
It's been a long, been a long time coming
But I know a change is ‘gone come, oh yes it will
The old heads know what I’m taking about…America is at ninety-nine. Let’s see if she’ll make a hundred…
A change done truly come….
Pass it On...
Copyright 2008 © Algernon H. Penn
Sunday, May 25, 2008
The Sly, The Slick, The Wicked…..
The nomination as all but decided among Democrats. After an historic and lengthy primary season, U.S. Senator Barack Obama will be the first African-American to be nominated for President from either political party. At the present time he is 52 delegates shy of officially securing the Democratic nomination. When his victory becomes assured, it will be a benchmark in time that will be chronicled in American history. Senator Obama’s ascent onto the political landscape has been a remarkable one. He has effectively defeated a Democratic political dynasty in the Clinton name.
Hillary Clinton had the name recognition, superior fundraising capability; husband Bill Clinton as her most public surrogate and the title of inevitability. Political news pundit’s and analysts used conventional wisdom believing that she could not lose the nomination. Clinton agreed.
In a November, 2007 interview with Katie Couric on CBS, Clinton was asked if she didn’t win the nomination would she be disappointed. Clinton responded with this answer, “Well it will be me, but of course I’m ready to support the Democratic nominee whoever it is.” When pressed by Couric on having considered the possibility of losing the nomination, Clinton said, “No, I haven’t.”
But producing an honorable winner in Obama doesn’t mean that Clinton has decided to be a gracious loser. Clinton has decided to continue campaigning through the end of the remaining primary contests.
Clinton has shown that even though her ability to press on even in the face of defeat is admirable. But she has continually shown over that last couple of weeks or so that absolutely, nothing is off limits when it comes to winning the Democratic Nomination for President of the United States of America. So much so, that she has now moved to a candidacy of extreme desperation without pause or concern what it may to damage Obama’s general election campaign or the permanent damage to the Democratic Party.
In the last few weeks, Clinton has made several alarming statements in her contrast to Obama in which she justifies the continuance of her campaign. Clinton in a USA-Today interview stated,“There was an AP (Associated Press) article posted that found how Sen. Obama's support among working, hard-working Americans, white Americans, is weakening again, and how whites in both states who had not completed college were supporting me. I have a much broader base to build a winning coalition on. There's a pattern emerging here."Clinton's blunt remarks about race came a day after primaries in Indiana and North Carolina dealt symbolic and mathematical blows to her White House ambitions.
Then she claimed that she was a victim of sexism. When interviewing with Editor and Publisher she was asked if this had been a particularly racist campaign. Her response,”I do not. I think this has been a positive, civil campaign. I think that both gender and race have been obviously a part of it because of who we are and every poll I've seen show more people would be reluctant to vote for a woman [than] to vote for an African American, which rarely gets reported on either. The manifestation of some of the sexism that has gone on in this campaign is somehow more respectable or at least more accepted. And I think there should be equal rejection of the sexism and the racism when and if it ever raises its ugly head. But it does seem as though the press at least is not as bothered by the incredible vitriol that has been engendered by comments and reactions of people who are nothing but misogynists.”
But racially motivated voting appeared to be more prevalent In West Virginia and Kentucky. Voter exit polls suggested that 2 in 10 white voters said that the race of the candidate was a factor in their vote. About 66 percent of those voters said they wouldn't support Obama in the general election against presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. This is after statements by Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell. “You’ve got conservative whites here, and I think there are some whites who are probably not ready to vote for an African-American candidate.” Senator Clinton was then well behind Obama in the delegate count and needed a big win in Pennsylvania to keep her hopes alive. She never repudiated the comment by Rendell.
The pandering to the racial divide by Clinton been obvious and is hurting Democrats. David Gergen a respected political commentator and presidential advisor to Presidents Nixon, Reagan, Clinton and George H.W. Bush was so disgusted at how Clinton has deftly used and benefitted from racial politics, said, ”She’s been talking about sexism in this race and she’s complained about some in the last 24 hours. You know race is playing an increasing issue. And it also raises the issue in my judgment of whether she shouldn’t say, you know, if you want to vote against him because he’s black, I don’t want your vote. I don’t want to win that way. This has no place in this primary.”
Gergen also added, “My sense is that the race card is being played more heavily today than it was in the beginning of the campaign. And that there is somehow now an increasing sense of the culture almost legitimizing racial comments by opponents. I mean, there were things like this back in New Hampshire, but there were some ugly incidents in places like Pennsylvania. And Barack Obama didn't even campaign in Kentucky and West Virginia in part because I think he faced some of these barriers. I do think that racism is starting to rear its head in ways we haven't seen in the campaign. I think it's important to take it on. And I think it's important for the Democratic Party to take it on. You know, race has been a big issue in our politics through our whole history. And we're seeing it play out in some parts of the country. This is not a racist country. I do think these are pockets of racism, but I think it's there and it's -- if it casts a shadow over this race, it's going to be really tragic in many ways.”
This past week alone Clinton produced a back handed slap at the Democratic Party when she used a desperate attempt to compare the disputed votes from the Michigan and Florida primaries to the fraudulent elections in Zimbabwe. “It is wrong when people go through the motions of an election only to have them discarded and disregarded. We're seeing that right now in Zimbabwe," Clinton explained. "Tragically, an election was held, the president lost, they refused to abide by the will of the people, so we can never take for granted our precious right to vote.”Clinton told the crowd of senior citizens at a retirement community in south Florida. But Clinton added an additional dig to Democrats who don’t support her stance.”If Democrats send the message that we don't fully value your votes, we know Senator McCain and the Republicans will be more than happy to have them. The Republicans will make a simple and compelling argument. Why should Florida and Michigan voters trust the Democratic Party to look out for you when they won't even listen to you?”
This kind of rhetoric is indicative of what Clinton will do to win the nomination. At least I thought it was. Then she said something that I could not just believe. I just couldn’t believe my eyes. Then I just couldn’t believe my ears. Then I just couldn’t bear to see and listen to Hillary Clinton at all anymore.
Senator Clinton in a meeting with the Argus-Leader News editorial board said this about staying in the race. "My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California. I don't understand it." This is after former Republican candidate Mike Huckabee’s comments last week about Obama ‘ducking gunfire.”
To imply that Obama may be assassinated as a reason to continue is low, disrespectful, scurrilous and despicable. Clinton apologized. And of course Obama took the high road. But there has been a whispering conversation about the safety of Obama in his quest for the White House. His secret service detail was increased after numerous death threats.
Senator Clinton as well as former president Bill Clinton has shown they have no respect for those who have stood by them in the past but have moved on to a more practical choice to lead their country. If they have no respect for African-Americans and others who have made Barack Obama their choice for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States, then I’m sure that John McCain and the Republican Party will be more than happy to have them.
What's really being shown is the true nature of the Clinton's. it was all about poseesing power than being of service to the American people. If they were not many of these remarks and actions would have never have been there. They felt entitled to the White House while not being obligated to all of the people.
If I were a fly on the wall, I would love to be in the meeting on May 31st with Senator Clinton and the Democratic National Committee and hear her cock and bull story explaining how she’s going to plan to bring the party together. But remember, she said she would. She’s not going to get the nomination.
Do I believe her? No.
Do pigs fly? No.
Pass it on….
Copyright 2008 © Algernon H. Penn
Hillary Clinton had the name recognition, superior fundraising capability; husband Bill Clinton as her most public surrogate and the title of inevitability. Political news pundit’s and analysts used conventional wisdom believing that she could not lose the nomination. Clinton agreed.
In a November, 2007 interview with Katie Couric on CBS, Clinton was asked if she didn’t win the nomination would she be disappointed. Clinton responded with this answer, “Well it will be me, but of course I’m ready to support the Democratic nominee whoever it is.” When pressed by Couric on having considered the possibility of losing the nomination, Clinton said, “No, I haven’t.”
But producing an honorable winner in Obama doesn’t mean that Clinton has decided to be a gracious loser. Clinton has decided to continue campaigning through the end of the remaining primary contests.
Clinton has shown that even though her ability to press on even in the face of defeat is admirable. But she has continually shown over that last couple of weeks or so that absolutely, nothing is off limits when it comes to winning the Democratic Nomination for President of the United States of America. So much so, that she has now moved to a candidacy of extreme desperation without pause or concern what it may to damage Obama’s general election campaign or the permanent damage to the Democratic Party.
In the last few weeks, Clinton has made several alarming statements in her contrast to Obama in which she justifies the continuance of her campaign. Clinton in a USA-Today interview stated,“There was an AP (Associated Press) article posted that found how Sen. Obama's support among working, hard-working Americans, white Americans, is weakening again, and how whites in both states who had not completed college were supporting me. I have a much broader base to build a winning coalition on. There's a pattern emerging here."Clinton's blunt remarks about race came a day after primaries in Indiana and North Carolina dealt symbolic and mathematical blows to her White House ambitions.
Then she claimed that she was a victim of sexism. When interviewing with Editor and Publisher she was asked if this had been a particularly racist campaign. Her response,”I do not. I think this has been a positive, civil campaign. I think that both gender and race have been obviously a part of it because of who we are and every poll I've seen show more people would be reluctant to vote for a woman [than] to vote for an African American, which rarely gets reported on either. The manifestation of some of the sexism that has gone on in this campaign is somehow more respectable or at least more accepted. And I think there should be equal rejection of the sexism and the racism when and if it ever raises its ugly head. But it does seem as though the press at least is not as bothered by the incredible vitriol that has been engendered by comments and reactions of people who are nothing but misogynists.”
But racially motivated voting appeared to be more prevalent In West Virginia and Kentucky. Voter exit polls suggested that 2 in 10 white voters said that the race of the candidate was a factor in their vote. About 66 percent of those voters said they wouldn't support Obama in the general election against presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. This is after statements by Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell. “You’ve got conservative whites here, and I think there are some whites who are probably not ready to vote for an African-American candidate.” Senator Clinton was then well behind Obama in the delegate count and needed a big win in Pennsylvania to keep her hopes alive. She never repudiated the comment by Rendell.
The pandering to the racial divide by Clinton been obvious and is hurting Democrats. David Gergen a respected political commentator and presidential advisor to Presidents Nixon, Reagan, Clinton and George H.W. Bush was so disgusted at how Clinton has deftly used and benefitted from racial politics, said, ”She’s been talking about sexism in this race and she’s complained about some in the last 24 hours. You know race is playing an increasing issue. And it also raises the issue in my judgment of whether she shouldn’t say, you know, if you want to vote against him because he’s black, I don’t want your vote. I don’t want to win that way. This has no place in this primary.”
Gergen also added, “My sense is that the race card is being played more heavily today than it was in the beginning of the campaign. And that there is somehow now an increasing sense of the culture almost legitimizing racial comments by opponents. I mean, there were things like this back in New Hampshire, but there were some ugly incidents in places like Pennsylvania. And Barack Obama didn't even campaign in Kentucky and West Virginia in part because I think he faced some of these barriers. I do think that racism is starting to rear its head in ways we haven't seen in the campaign. I think it's important to take it on. And I think it's important for the Democratic Party to take it on. You know, race has been a big issue in our politics through our whole history. And we're seeing it play out in some parts of the country. This is not a racist country. I do think these are pockets of racism, but I think it's there and it's -- if it casts a shadow over this race, it's going to be really tragic in many ways.”
This past week alone Clinton produced a back handed slap at the Democratic Party when she used a desperate attempt to compare the disputed votes from the Michigan and Florida primaries to the fraudulent elections in Zimbabwe. “It is wrong when people go through the motions of an election only to have them discarded and disregarded. We're seeing that right now in Zimbabwe," Clinton explained. "Tragically, an election was held, the president lost, they refused to abide by the will of the people, so we can never take for granted our precious right to vote.”Clinton told the crowd of senior citizens at a retirement community in south Florida. But Clinton added an additional dig to Democrats who don’t support her stance.”If Democrats send the message that we don't fully value your votes, we know Senator McCain and the Republicans will be more than happy to have them. The Republicans will make a simple and compelling argument. Why should Florida and Michigan voters trust the Democratic Party to look out for you when they won't even listen to you?”
This kind of rhetoric is indicative of what Clinton will do to win the nomination. At least I thought it was. Then she said something that I could not just believe. I just couldn’t believe my eyes. Then I just couldn’t believe my ears. Then I just couldn’t bear to see and listen to Hillary Clinton at all anymore.
Senator Clinton in a meeting with the Argus-Leader News editorial board said this about staying in the race. "My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California. I don't understand it." This is after former Republican candidate Mike Huckabee’s comments last week about Obama ‘ducking gunfire.”
To imply that Obama may be assassinated as a reason to continue is low, disrespectful, scurrilous and despicable. Clinton apologized. And of course Obama took the high road. But there has been a whispering conversation about the safety of Obama in his quest for the White House. His secret service detail was increased after numerous death threats.
Senator Clinton as well as former president Bill Clinton has shown they have no respect for those who have stood by them in the past but have moved on to a more practical choice to lead their country. If they have no respect for African-Americans and others who have made Barack Obama their choice for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States, then I’m sure that John McCain and the Republican Party will be more than happy to have them.
What's really being shown is the true nature of the Clinton's. it was all about poseesing power than being of service to the American people. If they were not many of these remarks and actions would have never have been there. They felt entitled to the White House while not being obligated to all of the people.
If I were a fly on the wall, I would love to be in the meeting on May 31st with Senator Clinton and the Democratic National Committee and hear her cock and bull story explaining how she’s going to plan to bring the party together. But remember, she said she would. She’s not going to get the nomination.
Do I believe her? No.
Do pigs fly? No.
Pass it on….
Copyright 2008 © Algernon H. Penn
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
The Wright and Wrong Assessment
I have been very conflicted about the events that happened this week. After holding our proverbial breaths this weekend with the Bill Moyers interview and the speech before the Detroit NAACP, all hell broke loose Monday with Dr. Wright before the National Press Club. Subsequently, Sen. Barack Obama obviously disturbed by what he witnessed, pulled the plug on his twenty-year relationship with his pastor.
What’s very unfortunate in the denunciation of Dr. Wright by Sen. Obama is the loss that both men will experience. Dr. Wright who said in the Moyers’ interview he was shaken by what was said about himself, his church and his ministry. He eloquently spoke about his life and experiences that led him to the ministry and why Black Liberation Theology was so important in the life of his church and the community he has served for nearly forty years.
Dr. Wright before a national audience in Detroit gave a keynote address before the local NAACP branch. The subject of his address was “Different Doesn’t Mean Deficient.” In this speech he addressed the differences between African-American and European-rooted cultures from language, education, music and the arts. It was a great mini-dissertation of what many whites have failed to recognize and most importantly fear about black culture.
In understanding where Sen. Obama’s position is, it’s one of complete conflict. He loves Dr. Wright. He has known him for nearly twenty years. He has had a relationship with his family and most importantly, is/was someone he respects or respected. He has had a major impact on his life. Obama, in his speech on race made a decision to stand up for Wright while publicly disagreeing with some of his comments. It was his way of "hating the sin, while loving the sinner.” That was a risk he took despite many whites who wanted to see him kick Wright to the curb to justify his own acceptability as a candidate for President. But Wright fatally personalized his anger towards white media while losing sight that the prize was Obama’s candidacy for President.
Dr. Wright in my opinion forgot that Obama was the one on trial and was pulled into this as a “character witness” by the conservative right. He failed to understand it was never about him. As we moved through the six weeks prior to the Pennsylvania Primary, I would argue that many had placed Wright in their rear view mirror. Many were trying to grasp Obama’s “bitter” comment and how that was going to play with white voter in Pennsylvania. All the while, Governor Ed Rendell said that many in his “would never vote for a black candidate.” So why did Wright do this now?
Wright never could get past the pain of Obama’s comments on March 18th when he called his statements “offensive” and “hurtful.” Also, if you were trashed after thirty-seven years of service for having an opinion which to my knowledge has not hurt anyone, how would your emotions play as you have been reduced to a caricature figure by media who has not done its job in fact checking its stories? An overwhelming number within the black community would say that Wrights views have a very high degree of truth. Anyone would agree that Wright should defend his name, honor and legacy. Dr. Wright was innocently dragged into a media feeding frenzy that wreaks the stench of divide and conquer politics, designed not just to scare whites away from Obama. Many on the right believe that the end result of Obama’s denunciation will spark a backlash against Obama in the black church and maybe increase black apathy at the polls even if he’s the nominee. Both men unfortunately were played against each other in no win situation.
The larger issue is the double standard that has been placed on Obama and Wright. This double standard has placed African-American culture under a magnifying glass for white America to approve or disapprove. Whites have a very different view of what they perceive as racism from African-Americans. The way it seems to me is that whites view racism primarily as an individualistic tendency, while African-Americans view racism as an historic and institutional issue within this nation. And justifiably so.
As the facts have been reviewed over and over again, there is nothing that Obama has done or said that would point to him not being some sort of subversive racist. He was described as being to black or not black enough. He was called a Muslim, which obviously he's not. He was pushed into a corner by white media who made it seem that he sought out Minister Louis Farrakhan’s endorsement. Farrakhan simply stated that, “Obama, who came from a white mother from Kansas and a father from Africa may the one sent by God to heal America’s wounds.” He was then placed in a corner in a debate by Sen. Hillary Clinton to “denounce and then renounce” Farrakhan because denouncing wasn’t enough. Then there was the black-brown divide.
Wright is portrayed unfairly as racist for preaching Black Liberation Theology. Many whites have very little historical understanding about what it is and why it was even necessary. Trinity United Church of Christ was depicted as a black cult. But the mainstream media completely dismissed the fact that Trinity is a member of the United Church of Christ (UCC). The UCC is a predominately white denomination.
This dissecting by whites of African-American culture, religious practices and politics is a very dangerous sign of where our value as citizens stands within the fabric of American society. I have never heard the same demands placed on people of other cultures races or faiths. I am very afraid that if there is no resistance to this, what all people of color value as precious in their cultures will ultimately be threatened with a continued “Americanism” response to what is not ethnically European.
But there are some whites who get it. Mark Brown of the Chicago Sun-Times made this statement in his column today.
“Barack Obama and his presidential campaign are at a crossroads, brought there in large part by his old pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. But he's not at the crossroads alone. We're all pretty much right there with him, standing in various corners of the intersection, facing in different directions. Where we go from here in the next few weeks and months could determine our course as a nation for a long time forward.
The Wright affair has such resonance in this campaign because Wright has shown himself to be the kind of black person that white people don't like. He brings out our prejudices. Yes, I said "our" prejudices…..part of it is that he talks louder than white people would prefer and part of it is that he uses the sing-song cadence they associate with other black ministers they have grown to hate over the years such as Jesse Jackson.
I've seen this happen so many times in politics where black candidates are involved that I've lost track. An opponent has trouble attacking the black candidate, so they find somebody connected to the candidate and attack them. I can't say why this is more prevalent with black politicians unless it's that the black experience has produced more fringe players who can be used for this purpose. Plus, there's always Farrakhan. Then the opponent starts in with the disavowal game. Will you now disavow this black person who is of some stature in the black community to prove to us that you really aren't one of "those" black people? And now that Obama has provided the disavowal, left with no choice by Wright's latest display, the reaction is "too little, too late."
This is a gut check time for white America, and don't give me the "double standard" baloney. If we could ever clean up the white racism, the thing that some of you (whites) consider black racism would take care of itself."
Wright was correct that this was an assault on African-American culture and the Black Church. However, Wright was out of bounds to make himself the “star” to this drama. Obama described Wright’s behavior as ridiculous. I would characterize it as conduct unbecoming of a pastor. Arrogant rebukes and his “shout-out” to Omega Psi Phi‘s “Q-dogs” or dealing the dozens was not what this moment needed. It needed maturity and sobriety of the need to call a ntion to look within itself for healing.
Can you imagine The Rev Dr. Martin Luther King behaving in such a fashion? No I can’t. Neither can you.
He miscalculated the audience. Not the one in the room, but the one behind the pen and cameras at the National Press Club. He artfully made his point with Bill Moyers. Had that interview been the last word on Dr. Wright, we would have already moved forward.
Obama is wrong when he says that there was no attack on the black church or black culture. When church members are called on their dying bed in a hospice for quotes about Dr. Wright, there is no respect for that institution. When there are bomb threats against inncocent members of churches that invited Wright to speak, it's callous and scurrolous. When a funeral is secretly recorded against the wishes of the bereaved family, with hopes to get another controversial sound-bite from Dr. Wright, there is no respect. When black liberation theology is called racist, where then does that leave the black church and most importantly the legacies of stallworts such as Dr. Gardner Taylor, Otis Moss, Jr., Dr. King and others? Both men have been exploited with African-Americans suffering in the middle with their culture up for debate.
African-American Culture is a rich and proud culture, but not one to be exploited for political purposes.
There has to be a stop this. And it has to start right now.
Somewhere, I hear James saying,” We’re people. We’re just like the birds and the bees. We’d rather die on our feet, than be livin’ on our knees.
SAY IT LOUD!!! I’M BLACK AND I’M PROUD!!!
Pass it on….
Copyright 2008 © Algernon H. Penn
What’s very unfortunate in the denunciation of Dr. Wright by Sen. Obama is the loss that both men will experience. Dr. Wright who said in the Moyers’ interview he was shaken by what was said about himself, his church and his ministry. He eloquently spoke about his life and experiences that led him to the ministry and why Black Liberation Theology was so important in the life of his church and the community he has served for nearly forty years.
Dr. Wright before a national audience in Detroit gave a keynote address before the local NAACP branch. The subject of his address was “Different Doesn’t Mean Deficient.” In this speech he addressed the differences between African-American and European-rooted cultures from language, education, music and the arts. It was a great mini-dissertation of what many whites have failed to recognize and most importantly fear about black culture.
In understanding where Sen. Obama’s position is, it’s one of complete conflict. He loves Dr. Wright. He has known him for nearly twenty years. He has had a relationship with his family and most importantly, is/was someone he respects or respected. He has had a major impact on his life. Obama, in his speech on race made a decision to stand up for Wright while publicly disagreeing with some of his comments. It was his way of "hating the sin, while loving the sinner.” That was a risk he took despite many whites who wanted to see him kick Wright to the curb to justify his own acceptability as a candidate for President. But Wright fatally personalized his anger towards white media while losing sight that the prize was Obama’s candidacy for President.
Dr. Wright in my opinion forgot that Obama was the one on trial and was pulled into this as a “character witness” by the conservative right. He failed to understand it was never about him. As we moved through the six weeks prior to the Pennsylvania Primary, I would argue that many had placed Wright in their rear view mirror. Many were trying to grasp Obama’s “bitter” comment and how that was going to play with white voter in Pennsylvania. All the while, Governor Ed Rendell said that many in his “would never vote for a black candidate.” So why did Wright do this now?
Wright never could get past the pain of Obama’s comments on March 18th when he called his statements “offensive” and “hurtful.” Also, if you were trashed after thirty-seven years of service for having an opinion which to my knowledge has not hurt anyone, how would your emotions play as you have been reduced to a caricature figure by media who has not done its job in fact checking its stories? An overwhelming number within the black community would say that Wrights views have a very high degree of truth. Anyone would agree that Wright should defend his name, honor and legacy. Dr. Wright was innocently dragged into a media feeding frenzy that wreaks the stench of divide and conquer politics, designed not just to scare whites away from Obama. Many on the right believe that the end result of Obama’s denunciation will spark a backlash against Obama in the black church and maybe increase black apathy at the polls even if he’s the nominee. Both men unfortunately were played against each other in no win situation.
The larger issue is the double standard that has been placed on Obama and Wright. This double standard has placed African-American culture under a magnifying glass for white America to approve or disapprove. Whites have a very different view of what they perceive as racism from African-Americans. The way it seems to me is that whites view racism primarily as an individualistic tendency, while African-Americans view racism as an historic and institutional issue within this nation. And justifiably so.
As the facts have been reviewed over and over again, there is nothing that Obama has done or said that would point to him not being some sort of subversive racist. He was described as being to black or not black enough. He was called a Muslim, which obviously he's not. He was pushed into a corner by white media who made it seem that he sought out Minister Louis Farrakhan’s endorsement. Farrakhan simply stated that, “Obama, who came from a white mother from Kansas and a father from Africa may the one sent by God to heal America’s wounds.” He was then placed in a corner in a debate by Sen. Hillary Clinton to “denounce and then renounce” Farrakhan because denouncing wasn’t enough. Then there was the black-brown divide.
Wright is portrayed unfairly as racist for preaching Black Liberation Theology. Many whites have very little historical understanding about what it is and why it was even necessary. Trinity United Church of Christ was depicted as a black cult. But the mainstream media completely dismissed the fact that Trinity is a member of the United Church of Christ (UCC). The UCC is a predominately white denomination.
This dissecting by whites of African-American culture, religious practices and politics is a very dangerous sign of where our value as citizens stands within the fabric of American society. I have never heard the same demands placed on people of other cultures races or faiths. I am very afraid that if there is no resistance to this, what all people of color value as precious in their cultures will ultimately be threatened with a continued “Americanism” response to what is not ethnically European.
But there are some whites who get it. Mark Brown of the Chicago Sun-Times made this statement in his column today.
“Barack Obama and his presidential campaign are at a crossroads, brought there in large part by his old pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. But he's not at the crossroads alone. We're all pretty much right there with him, standing in various corners of the intersection, facing in different directions. Where we go from here in the next few weeks and months could determine our course as a nation for a long time forward.
The Wright affair has such resonance in this campaign because Wright has shown himself to be the kind of black person that white people don't like. He brings out our prejudices. Yes, I said "our" prejudices…..part of it is that he talks louder than white people would prefer and part of it is that he uses the sing-song cadence they associate with other black ministers they have grown to hate over the years such as Jesse Jackson.
I've seen this happen so many times in politics where black candidates are involved that I've lost track. An opponent has trouble attacking the black candidate, so they find somebody connected to the candidate and attack them. I can't say why this is more prevalent with black politicians unless it's that the black experience has produced more fringe players who can be used for this purpose. Plus, there's always Farrakhan. Then the opponent starts in with the disavowal game. Will you now disavow this black person who is of some stature in the black community to prove to us that you really aren't one of "those" black people? And now that Obama has provided the disavowal, left with no choice by Wright's latest display, the reaction is "too little, too late."
This is a gut check time for white America, and don't give me the "double standard" baloney. If we could ever clean up the white racism, the thing that some of you (whites) consider black racism would take care of itself."
Wright was correct that this was an assault on African-American culture and the Black Church. However, Wright was out of bounds to make himself the “star” to this drama. Obama described Wright’s behavior as ridiculous. I would characterize it as conduct unbecoming of a pastor. Arrogant rebukes and his “shout-out” to Omega Psi Phi‘s “Q-dogs” or dealing the dozens was not what this moment needed. It needed maturity and sobriety of the need to call a ntion to look within itself for healing.
Can you imagine The Rev Dr. Martin Luther King behaving in such a fashion? No I can’t. Neither can you.
He miscalculated the audience. Not the one in the room, but the one behind the pen and cameras at the National Press Club. He artfully made his point with Bill Moyers. Had that interview been the last word on Dr. Wright, we would have already moved forward.
Obama is wrong when he says that there was no attack on the black church or black culture. When church members are called on their dying bed in a hospice for quotes about Dr. Wright, there is no respect for that institution. When there are bomb threats against inncocent members of churches that invited Wright to speak, it's callous and scurrolous. When a funeral is secretly recorded against the wishes of the bereaved family, with hopes to get another controversial sound-bite from Dr. Wright, there is no respect. When black liberation theology is called racist, where then does that leave the black church and most importantly the legacies of stallworts such as Dr. Gardner Taylor, Otis Moss, Jr., Dr. King and others? Both men have been exploited with African-Americans suffering in the middle with their culture up for debate.
African-American Culture is a rich and proud culture, but not one to be exploited for political purposes.
There has to be a stop this. And it has to start right now.
Somewhere, I hear James saying,” We’re people. We’re just like the birds and the bees. We’d rather die on our feet, than be livin’ on our knees.
SAY IT LOUD!!! I’M BLACK AND I’M PROUD!!!
Pass it on….
Copyright 2008 © Algernon H. Penn
Friday, April 25, 2008
Race, Politics and Black Liberation Theology
Starting tonight I can hope that we can put to rest a very unsettling issue. Over the last several weeks, there has been much said and made about Presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama's church, Trinity United Church of Christ and it's recently retired Senior Pastor the Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. As you may know, there has been a national uproar regarding Dr. Wright's comments and how it "offended" so many whites on their perception of race and its perceived "Anti-American" content. Much has been said about the context in which Dr. Wright made his statements, and how five edited fifteen second sound bites may have inaccurately depicted Dr. Wright and made Senator Obama somehow accountable to those statements. Dr. Wright will have an exlusive interview aired on PBS (WTTW Channel 11 in Chicago) at 9:30 PM CST. But what is interesting to me in this new race neutral America is what is not known about the genesis of Black Liberation Theology not just by whites, but by African-Americans, and how it came to be.
The field of black liberation theology received its name in the 1960's and includes in its history Pan-Africanists from earlier centuries who used the teachings of Christianity and/or the vehicle of the black church as foundational to their efforts for securing a self-determined existence for Africans in America. The message of Black Liberation Theology is that the African American struggle for liberation is consistent with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and every theological statement must be consistent with, and perpetuate, the goals of liberation.
This theology maintains that African Americans must be liberated from multiple forms of bondage—social, political, economic and religious. This liberation involves empowerment and seeks the right of self-definition, self-affirmation and self-determination. Others may simply call this nothing more than Black Nationalism.Some of the earliest forms of this type of theology was formed post the Revolutionary War. In 1787 Richard Allen (an ex-slave and a Methodist minister) led a group of blacks out of St. George Methodist Church in Philadelphia. In 1816 he founded the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. He did this because he and his followers refused to accept segregation in the "Lord's house." Years later, James Varick and other blacks in New York followed the same path and formed the African Methodist Episcopal Zion (AMEZ) Church. The AME Church during Reconstruction spawned Bishop Henry McNeal Turner. He later embraced and promoted black nationalism with Marcus Garvey. He was so angered by the Supreme Court's decision in 1883 that the Civil Rights Act of 1875 was unconstitutional, he said that, "If the decision is correct, the United States Constitution is a dirty rag, a cheat, a libel and ought to be spit upon by every Negro in the land." Talk about Anti-American rhetoric....
What incensed people like Turner, Allen, Varick and others of that time frame was optimism about blacks achieving equality in America has always been the torchlight of integration. This optimism was based not just on the political ideals of the United States, but upon it's claim as a nation of Christian principles. The Christian faith requires that all men and women treat each other as equals before God. The conviction of this argument was claimed with fervor by black preachers. That being said, black theologians of that time felt that the integration of whites and blacks into one community was the only option for Christians.After the Civil War, the majority of black Christians joined black-led churches. The independence of these churches enabled their pastors to become very prominent leaders in the black struggle in American society. Some of these well known pastors included Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. and Sr., Martin Luther King Sr. and Jr., Vernon Johns and Howard Thurman. All of theses voices spoke out against the government and against society bringing to the forefront the ills of slavery, segregation, war and racism.
In framing his opposition in April 1967 to the Vietnam War as a moral issue, Dr. King stated,‘‘as a minister of the gospel, I consider war an evil. I must cry out when I see war escalated at any point.’’ Recounting his difficulty in spreading the message of nonviolence to the same African-American communities that the Dr. Wright has worked with for four decades, King stated, "I knew that I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today. My own government." Some at the time felt that King was Anti-American....
Today's voices of Black Liberation Theology such as James Cone, Cornel West, Cain Hope Felder, Dwight Hopkins and Jeremiah Wright have continued to sermonize their congregations and communities with the same "Truth to Power" as their predecessors. While gains have been made towards parity in this society, the black church's responsibility has been to African-Americans whose suffering is a daily encounter with the overwhelming and brutalizing reality of a dysfunctional, social, political and economic system that has not yielded them true equity in America. For slaves it was the sole source of identity and the sense of community.The black church became the only sphere of black experience that was free of white power and influence. For this reason the black church became the center for emphasis on black culture, freedom and equality.In clarifying why the gospel of Jesus Christ and Black Liberation Theology are one in the same, Cone states,"Jesus had little toleration for the middle- or upper-class religious snob whose attitude attempted to usurp the sovereignty of God and destroy the dignity of the poor," Cone added,"The Kingdom is not for the poor and not the rich because the former has nothing to expect from the world while the latter's entire existence is grounded in his commitment to worldly things. The poor man may expect everything from God, while the rich man may expect nothing because he refuses to free himself from his own pride. It is not that poverty is a pre-condition for entrance into the Kingdom. But those who recognize their utter dependence on God, and wait on him despite the miserable absurdity of life are typically the poor, according to Jesus."
So as many who may not understand this brand of theology, the question is raised, What do they want? A separate theology or black doctrine ? No. All Black theologians are asking for is cultural acceptance, social and economic parity as well as justice for African-Americans and all who share in this society. Churches,mosques and synagogues whether it be white or black or otherwise cannot continue to evade this responsibility. They cannot say that the poor are in poverty because they won't work, or that they suffer because their own volition. Having come before God as nothing and being received by him into his Kingdom through grace, the Christian should know that he has been made righteous (justified) so that he (or she) can join God in the fight for justice. Therefore, whoever fights for the poor, fights for God; whoever risks his life for the helpless and unwanted, risks his life for God.Jesus has a concern for the oppressed that does not always come through in the other gospels.
In Luke 4:18-19 Jesus begins his ministry with this announcement: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.
If the great racial divide in this nation is to ever be bridged, it will require that we bring as Senator Obama said a discussion of something more than good intentions, or pious words about making sure everyone is treated with equity. Not only will we have to bring to the conversation a willingness to try to understand the pain African-Americans feel, but we will also have to recognize that we are so intimately involved in a historically racially divided system, that whites are often oblivious to the degree that has caused or continue to cause that pain.
Hence if the white church had challenged slavery, Jim Crowe, segregation, genderism and other equitable deficiencies akin to African-Americans and women from the inception of this republic, we may not be having this conversation. Perhaps the real test of whether whites can dialogue with African-Americans about racism is not what we might say about Barack Obama, but rather how we choose to respond to a Jeremiah Wright who challenges us in ways we would prefer not to be challenged.
Pass it on......
Copyright 2008 Algernon H. Penn
The field of black liberation theology received its name in the 1960's and includes in its history Pan-Africanists from earlier centuries who used the teachings of Christianity and/or the vehicle of the black church as foundational to their efforts for securing a self-determined existence for Africans in America. The message of Black Liberation Theology is that the African American struggle for liberation is consistent with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and every theological statement must be consistent with, and perpetuate, the goals of liberation.
This theology maintains that African Americans must be liberated from multiple forms of bondage—social, political, economic and religious. This liberation involves empowerment and seeks the right of self-definition, self-affirmation and self-determination. Others may simply call this nothing more than Black Nationalism.Some of the earliest forms of this type of theology was formed post the Revolutionary War. In 1787 Richard Allen (an ex-slave and a Methodist minister) led a group of blacks out of St. George Methodist Church in Philadelphia. In 1816 he founded the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. He did this because he and his followers refused to accept segregation in the "Lord's house." Years later, James Varick and other blacks in New York followed the same path and formed the African Methodist Episcopal Zion (AMEZ) Church. The AME Church during Reconstruction spawned Bishop Henry McNeal Turner. He later embraced and promoted black nationalism with Marcus Garvey. He was so angered by the Supreme Court's decision in 1883 that the Civil Rights Act of 1875 was unconstitutional, he said that, "If the decision is correct, the United States Constitution is a dirty rag, a cheat, a libel and ought to be spit upon by every Negro in the land." Talk about Anti-American rhetoric....
What incensed people like Turner, Allen, Varick and others of that time frame was optimism about blacks achieving equality in America has always been the torchlight of integration. This optimism was based not just on the political ideals of the United States, but upon it's claim as a nation of Christian principles. The Christian faith requires that all men and women treat each other as equals before God. The conviction of this argument was claimed with fervor by black preachers. That being said, black theologians of that time felt that the integration of whites and blacks into one community was the only option for Christians.After the Civil War, the majority of black Christians joined black-led churches. The independence of these churches enabled their pastors to become very prominent leaders in the black struggle in American society. Some of these well known pastors included Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. and Sr., Martin Luther King Sr. and Jr., Vernon Johns and Howard Thurman. All of theses voices spoke out against the government and against society bringing to the forefront the ills of slavery, segregation, war and racism.
In framing his opposition in April 1967 to the Vietnam War as a moral issue, Dr. King stated,‘‘as a minister of the gospel, I consider war an evil. I must cry out when I see war escalated at any point.’’ Recounting his difficulty in spreading the message of nonviolence to the same African-American communities that the Dr. Wright has worked with for four decades, King stated, "I knew that I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today. My own government." Some at the time felt that King was Anti-American....
Today's voices of Black Liberation Theology such as James Cone, Cornel West, Cain Hope Felder, Dwight Hopkins and Jeremiah Wright have continued to sermonize their congregations and communities with the same "Truth to Power" as their predecessors. While gains have been made towards parity in this society, the black church's responsibility has been to African-Americans whose suffering is a daily encounter with the overwhelming and brutalizing reality of a dysfunctional, social, political and economic system that has not yielded them true equity in America. For slaves it was the sole source of identity and the sense of community.The black church became the only sphere of black experience that was free of white power and influence. For this reason the black church became the center for emphasis on black culture, freedom and equality.In clarifying why the gospel of Jesus Christ and Black Liberation Theology are one in the same, Cone states,"Jesus had little toleration for the middle- or upper-class religious snob whose attitude attempted to usurp the sovereignty of God and destroy the dignity of the poor," Cone added,"The Kingdom is not for the poor and not the rich because the former has nothing to expect from the world while the latter's entire existence is grounded in his commitment to worldly things. The poor man may expect everything from God, while the rich man may expect nothing because he refuses to free himself from his own pride. It is not that poverty is a pre-condition for entrance into the Kingdom. But those who recognize their utter dependence on God, and wait on him despite the miserable absurdity of life are typically the poor, according to Jesus."
So as many who may not understand this brand of theology, the question is raised, What do they want? A separate theology or black doctrine ? No. All Black theologians are asking for is cultural acceptance, social and economic parity as well as justice for African-Americans and all who share in this society. Churches,mosques and synagogues whether it be white or black or otherwise cannot continue to evade this responsibility. They cannot say that the poor are in poverty because they won't work, or that they suffer because their own volition. Having come before God as nothing and being received by him into his Kingdom through grace, the Christian should know that he has been made righteous (justified) so that he (or she) can join God in the fight for justice. Therefore, whoever fights for the poor, fights for God; whoever risks his life for the helpless and unwanted, risks his life for God.Jesus has a concern for the oppressed that does not always come through in the other gospels.
In Luke 4:18-19 Jesus begins his ministry with this announcement: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.
If the great racial divide in this nation is to ever be bridged, it will require that we bring as Senator Obama said a discussion of something more than good intentions, or pious words about making sure everyone is treated with equity. Not only will we have to bring to the conversation a willingness to try to understand the pain African-Americans feel, but we will also have to recognize that we are so intimately involved in a historically racially divided system, that whites are often oblivious to the degree that has caused or continue to cause that pain.
Hence if the white church had challenged slavery, Jim Crowe, segregation, genderism and other equitable deficiencies akin to African-Americans and women from the inception of this republic, we may not be having this conversation. Perhaps the real test of whether whites can dialogue with African-Americans about racism is not what we might say about Barack Obama, but rather how we choose to respond to a Jeremiah Wright who challenges us in ways we would prefer not to be challenged.
Pass it on......
Copyright 2008 Algernon H. Penn
A Letter To A Friend From Afar...
Dear Rev. Dr. Wright,
As an interested party to the plight of the Negro in America, I wanted to bring some relevance and brevity to the conversation that has been taking place regarding your positions on issues such as race, poverty, justice and religion within American society today. I have been watching from afar for some time now and I have been very pleased at your work for the poor and the oppressed. I have seen and heard testament to your work in social justice.
While much has been made about the lack of context in which some of your statements publicized, I write this letter as a soldier in the Army of Jesus Christ to encourage you and reinforce the importance to you of not "giving up the good fight." Jesus said," blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." I'm writing to tell you what evil meant for bad, God meant for good.
Forty years ago this week, I spoke about "the mountain top" experience. I tried to paint a picture of "the promised land." I wanted to bring attention about how long this struggle would go forward. The Lord had shown me the "new heaven and new earth" in America. We have desegregated lunch counters, schools, neighborhoods and places of employment. We have gained the right to vote and have elected black elected officials at the local, county, state and federal levels. And now, there is a very real opportunity for the next President of the United States to be a black man. And all hopes that will happen. But, even though we celebrate in esoteric and aesthetic advances in America, we must not be deluded into thinking that the race for equality and justice is one that is defined by the color the skin of whom occupies the White House. So if the President is already in the White House or is about to be elected from your house or even may be stuck in the outhouse, our approach to injustice invariably remains the same.
But I must inform you that God is not pleased nor is he amused. When I left forty years ago, the "War on Poverty" was pushed aside to continue the funding of the War In Vietnam. The dignity of the poor was viewed as something unimportant to the government of our nation. Inner cities in America went up in flames due to abject insensitivity to the lack of jobs and opportunity for the Negro. And as things continued down a perilous path, I warned the nation of the three ills of our then society Racism, Poverty and Militarism.
Racism is the great divide and the scar of our nation that has never healed. It has now morphed with hatred against Latinos who have come to this country to look for the pursuit of life, liberty and the pursuit of the American dream. They do the jobs least wanted and receive the least pay for it. Mothers and fathers who are trying to build a better life and foundation for their families are deported while children are left behind because they are born here as United States citizens. Racism has now manifested against Arabs and other nationalities of Islam who are all branded with the title of terrorists just as African slaves were branded by their owners with irons of fire and were determined not to allow them to aspire for freedom physically as well as mentally. They have left to escape genocide and the bloodshed of their homeland to come to the "land of the free and the home of the brave." Only to hear and see images of cowardice, hatred and government sanctioned torture towards Arabs who have been claimed captive in an unjust war. New displays of the "hangman's" noose, the unhistorical use of the "N" word and the characterization of a black collegiate women's basketball team as "nappy headed ho's," has shown a chronic digress into the cesspool of America's infected wound called hate. Please remind them of what I said. "Men often hate each other, because they fear each other. They fear each other because they do not know each other. They do not know each other because they cannot communicate. They cannot communicate because they are separated."
Poverty, with its roots in bad economic habits and policies have led the Negro to be the largest consumer group in America, while owning less than 1% of all businesses in the nation. Unemployment is still double the rate of whites in this country and unions have been reduced to powerless non-entities that now watch their jobs sent overseas in a global economy. Corporate greed has now excelled at manipulating its own workers at the expense of nations of color with the sole purpose of increasing their companies’ bottom lines. They have cooked the books of their corporate finances to steal the pensions of loyal workers who have toiled in their vineyards for decades and now have nothing to fall back on in their golden years. The nation's wealthy has become more affluent, while at the same time, less people are able to participate it its wealth. People are now the target of highly marketed schemes to eventually take their piece of the American dream. Their homes, while investors on Wall Street are bailed out. Consumer credit card debt is at an all-time high and savings among consumers are at an all-time low. And when we calculate the net worth of the Negro, it is only one tenth, of whites. And if another attack on America happens, will President Bush tell the people again, don't worry, keep shopping? And all of this has happened while one of the greatest natural disaster this nation has ever seen in Hurricane Katrina fades slowly into the wilderness of our minds. Three years after Katrina, tens of thousands of people are still struggling to repair their lives, while our nations government continues to give excuses and entertain their proclivity to militarism, war and imperialism.
And yes, there's still Militarism. As I watch from afar forty years later, I still see war raging across the world. I'm saddened and horrified as America has invaded Iraq, sovereign nation on a lie by this administration on one front and invaded a second nation Afghanistan, with the appetite of revenge to get even. Remind them of what I said about war then and how it’s still relevant today." We must take steps that may establish a new spirit of mutual confidence. Steps capable of breaking the cycle of mistrust, violence and war.’’ As a moral issue and "as a minister of the gospel, I consider war an evil. I must cry out when I see war escalated at any point.’’ I said back then that "as the bombs in Vietnam explode at home—they destroy the dream and possibility for a decent America.’’ Remind them "that lawlessness abroad breeds violence within the United States." When we move to engage in illegal war abroad, we throw away our ability to "raise our voices against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos without having first spoken clearly against the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today. Our own government." The cost of war has a price much more than money. Yes the cost in dollars and cents are reaching nearly $2 trillion. But, our economy at home suffers again as we spend on bombs planes and weapons of human destruction. Why is it America leaves its own without the basic needs of living while playing with expensive toys that inflict pain and suffering? So I ask the question? Are we epeating the same mistake we made in Vietnam? Or have we become so immune to killing and bloodshed that "winning" is the adjective used to describe killing and bloodshed?
America has lost over 4,000 soldiers with another 30,000 wounded. While our government provides figures of our American casualties, they are less willing to tell the full story of the death and carnage of the Iraqi people. Many humanitarian organizations from around the world have given estimates of over 700,000 civilians killed as well as over 150,000 Iraqi militia at the hands of the United States. This illegal war has no winners. It destroys nations and families. It undermines trust and confidence among other civilized nations of the world. Instead of building bridges with our global family, we now have a strike first initiative based on fear and hate mongering. This type of violence has now expanded at home with our own people. Now instead of burning buildings, our children are now killing each other over profits of poisonous illegal drugs. They are killing themselves because in most cases, they have not learned to reason out their conflicts. So violence become the quickest and easiest choice. All while the government pretends to be doing all they can, while in fact turning its back again on people whom they call "citizens." We ask our young people to stop the violence, we plead with them to stop the killing, but how can we expect a different result when the access and appetite for guns and an American reprobate mind is saturated with violence and destruction?
Our black daughters are victims of misogynistic music and entertainment and are having children before their time. Our black young men are dropping out of school at alarming rates and are targets and victims of industrialized incarceration. With our schools closing and under funded, more men are in prison than in colleges and universities, No Child Left Behind has turned into Lock Them Up and Throw Away The Key. Where does it leave the future to those who have been fortunate not to be "caught up in the game" of surviving the traps and snares of this society? Who speaks for their futures? It leaves them little room for hope. It leaves little room for a better tomorrow. At this crossroad, we witness the beginning of the loosening of the grip of those whom look towards you and other like you, to hold on to their joy. Now standing at this crossroad, I would ask you continue what you've started, but with a new invigorated voice and a bolder conviction to speak Truth to Power...
But I know you have plans for retirement...
True retirement can only be given by the God Himself. You and your church family have been blessed. Look at the circumstances that has preceded you. You accepted your call to pastor in 1972. God placed you in a struggling fledgling congregation of around 85 members. And for 36 years, through his grace, love and care you have helped bring nearly 10,000 souls to the Kingdom of God. Trinity United Church of Christ is a national model of black churches in America in developing community relevant ministry such as your ministry on HIV/AIDS. You have educated people of African descent to see themselves as important figures in the Christian faith. Your Ministry In Training curriculum has spawned many new young pastors in your tradition. You have activated a thought process that many black churches fail to do. That is to prepare new young leadership to take the reins of pastor-ship as you transition to less responsibility in your church.
But I would ask you to reconsider your future. This so-called dust-up may not be an accident, but maybe God's way bringing attention to His displeasure towards America's lack of responsibility to the entire human family.
In Luke 4:18-19 Jesus begins his ministry with this announcement: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.
Cultural acceptance, social and economic parity and justice for the oppressed and those who share in this society should be aim of this society. Churches, mosques and synagogues whether it be white or black or otherwise cannot continue to evade this responsibility. They cannot say that the poor are in poverty because they won't work, or that they suffer because their own volition. Having come before God as nothing and being received by him into his Kingdom through grace, the Christian should know that he or she has been made righteous or justified so that he or she can join God in this fight for. Therefore, whoever fights for the poor, fights for God; whoever risks his life for the helpless and unwanted, risks his life for God.
So please remind them of what I believed about the unfinished business of America's healing. "It is quite easy for me to think of a God of love mainly because I grew up in a family where love was central and where lovely relationships were ever present. It is quite easy for me to think of the universe as basically friendly mainly because of my uplifting hereditary and environmental circumstances. It is quite easy for me to lean towards optimism than pessimism about human nature mainly because of my childhood experiences. It is impossible to get at the roots of one religious attitudes without taking in account the psychological and historical factors that play upon the individual." In order for America to heal, it must participate and facilitate in its own healing. It must deal with its sordid past and present. It must resolve that it inflicted unjust pain for whatever purpose. But most importantly, America must ask forgiveness for America's past deeds.
So I challenge you not to be discouraged about what politicians may say or writers may write or what misguided people who lust on the blood of their fellow man like malignant cancer feeding on itself. I would ask you to be like David and encourage yourself and continue to encourage others. A sick and self centered America needs your voice. When the comfort level of an unjust society has placed itself into a permanent sedentary position, its chronic and benign diseases slowly denigrates itself into a painful destructive malignancy. They tried to silence the struggle by trying to silence me. But today in order to silence the struggle they are now trying to silence others such as yourself whom come after me as well as the platform, the pulpit in the churches from where we speak. Continue to use your voice against the unjust evils of this world. Continue to speak up for the voiceless and the down trodden. "What America must be told today is that she must be born again, or America may go to hell. The whole structure of American life still needs to be changed."
So in doing this, don’t worry about being called Anti-American or Anti-Patriotic or a demagogue. That’s what they called me. Just make sure that they know that being pro-Black is not a predisposition for being anti-anybody else or anti-human. Tell them that all men, women and children are made in the image of God. Tell them that you are doing God’s will. The enemy already understands that you are "Unashamedly Black." That was determined when you were born. They can't change that. That's their problem to get over. But I want you to show them what true love is. Love of humanity. A Christ-Centered Love. That perfect love. The love of humanity that is patient, The agape love that is kind. Show the world who Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright really is. Show the entire world what the video editors, news editors, pundits and others failed or refused to show about Trinity United Church of Christ. In other words, show the world that you are "Unapologetically Christian."
Finally remind them of the Beatitudes, Remember the beatitudes are eight statements taught by Christ himself. They are concerned with virtue and how a believer in Jesus Christ can achieve that virtue. The Beatitudes are a map of life, a series of directives helping us on our journey to be with God. They also designate the actual condition of people who follow God's guidelines. They are simply stated, but are profound in meaning. They guide. They point. They teach. They show us the values that Christ cares about. These values if followed can not only bring a believer into a state of peace and happiness, but also right into the Kingdom of God after our journey on this earth is over.
In Matthew 5: 3-12 Jesus teaches us:
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the earth.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for justice,for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
And remember, Blessed are they who suffer persecution for justice sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Sincerely with God’s peace and blessings,
Your friend.... M.L.
Copyright © 2008 by Algernon H. Penn
Pass It On……..
As an interested party to the plight of the Negro in America, I wanted to bring some relevance and brevity to the conversation that has been taking place regarding your positions on issues such as race, poverty, justice and religion within American society today. I have been watching from afar for some time now and I have been very pleased at your work for the poor and the oppressed. I have seen and heard testament to your work in social justice.
While much has been made about the lack of context in which some of your statements publicized, I write this letter as a soldier in the Army of Jesus Christ to encourage you and reinforce the importance to you of not "giving up the good fight." Jesus said," blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." I'm writing to tell you what evil meant for bad, God meant for good.
Forty years ago this week, I spoke about "the mountain top" experience. I tried to paint a picture of "the promised land." I wanted to bring attention about how long this struggle would go forward. The Lord had shown me the "new heaven and new earth" in America. We have desegregated lunch counters, schools, neighborhoods and places of employment. We have gained the right to vote and have elected black elected officials at the local, county, state and federal levels. And now, there is a very real opportunity for the next President of the United States to be a black man. And all hopes that will happen. But, even though we celebrate in esoteric and aesthetic advances in America, we must not be deluded into thinking that the race for equality and justice is one that is defined by the color the skin of whom occupies the White House. So if the President is already in the White House or is about to be elected from your house or even may be stuck in the outhouse, our approach to injustice invariably remains the same.
But I must inform you that God is not pleased nor is he amused. When I left forty years ago, the "War on Poverty" was pushed aside to continue the funding of the War In Vietnam. The dignity of the poor was viewed as something unimportant to the government of our nation. Inner cities in America went up in flames due to abject insensitivity to the lack of jobs and opportunity for the Negro. And as things continued down a perilous path, I warned the nation of the three ills of our then society Racism, Poverty and Militarism.
Racism is the great divide and the scar of our nation that has never healed. It has now morphed with hatred against Latinos who have come to this country to look for the pursuit of life, liberty and the pursuit of the American dream. They do the jobs least wanted and receive the least pay for it. Mothers and fathers who are trying to build a better life and foundation for their families are deported while children are left behind because they are born here as United States citizens. Racism has now manifested against Arabs and other nationalities of Islam who are all branded with the title of terrorists just as African slaves were branded by their owners with irons of fire and were determined not to allow them to aspire for freedom physically as well as mentally. They have left to escape genocide and the bloodshed of their homeland to come to the "land of the free and the home of the brave." Only to hear and see images of cowardice, hatred and government sanctioned torture towards Arabs who have been claimed captive in an unjust war. New displays of the "hangman's" noose, the unhistorical use of the "N" word and the characterization of a black collegiate women's basketball team as "nappy headed ho's," has shown a chronic digress into the cesspool of America's infected wound called hate. Please remind them of what I said. "Men often hate each other, because they fear each other. They fear each other because they do not know each other. They do not know each other because they cannot communicate. They cannot communicate because they are separated."
Poverty, with its roots in bad economic habits and policies have led the Negro to be the largest consumer group in America, while owning less than 1% of all businesses in the nation. Unemployment is still double the rate of whites in this country and unions have been reduced to powerless non-entities that now watch their jobs sent overseas in a global economy. Corporate greed has now excelled at manipulating its own workers at the expense of nations of color with the sole purpose of increasing their companies’ bottom lines. They have cooked the books of their corporate finances to steal the pensions of loyal workers who have toiled in their vineyards for decades and now have nothing to fall back on in their golden years. The nation's wealthy has become more affluent, while at the same time, less people are able to participate it its wealth. People are now the target of highly marketed schemes to eventually take their piece of the American dream. Their homes, while investors on Wall Street are bailed out. Consumer credit card debt is at an all-time high and savings among consumers are at an all-time low. And when we calculate the net worth of the Negro, it is only one tenth, of whites. And if another attack on America happens, will President Bush tell the people again, don't worry, keep shopping? And all of this has happened while one of the greatest natural disaster this nation has ever seen in Hurricane Katrina fades slowly into the wilderness of our minds. Three years after Katrina, tens of thousands of people are still struggling to repair their lives, while our nations government continues to give excuses and entertain their proclivity to militarism, war and imperialism.
And yes, there's still Militarism. As I watch from afar forty years later, I still see war raging across the world. I'm saddened and horrified as America has invaded Iraq, sovereign nation on a lie by this administration on one front and invaded a second nation Afghanistan, with the appetite of revenge to get even. Remind them of what I said about war then and how it’s still relevant today." We must take steps that may establish a new spirit of mutual confidence. Steps capable of breaking the cycle of mistrust, violence and war.’’ As a moral issue and "as a minister of the gospel, I consider war an evil. I must cry out when I see war escalated at any point.’’ I said back then that "as the bombs in Vietnam explode at home—they destroy the dream and possibility for a decent America.’’ Remind them "that lawlessness abroad breeds violence within the United States." When we move to engage in illegal war abroad, we throw away our ability to "raise our voices against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos without having first spoken clearly against the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today. Our own government." The cost of war has a price much more than money. Yes the cost in dollars and cents are reaching nearly $2 trillion. But, our economy at home suffers again as we spend on bombs planes and weapons of human destruction. Why is it America leaves its own without the basic needs of living while playing with expensive toys that inflict pain and suffering? So I ask the question? Are we epeating the same mistake we made in Vietnam? Or have we become so immune to killing and bloodshed that "winning" is the adjective used to describe killing and bloodshed?
America has lost over 4,000 soldiers with another 30,000 wounded. While our government provides figures of our American casualties, they are less willing to tell the full story of the death and carnage of the Iraqi people. Many humanitarian organizations from around the world have given estimates of over 700,000 civilians killed as well as over 150,000 Iraqi militia at the hands of the United States. This illegal war has no winners. It destroys nations and families. It undermines trust and confidence among other civilized nations of the world. Instead of building bridges with our global family, we now have a strike first initiative based on fear and hate mongering. This type of violence has now expanded at home with our own people. Now instead of burning buildings, our children are now killing each other over profits of poisonous illegal drugs. They are killing themselves because in most cases, they have not learned to reason out their conflicts. So violence become the quickest and easiest choice. All while the government pretends to be doing all they can, while in fact turning its back again on people whom they call "citizens." We ask our young people to stop the violence, we plead with them to stop the killing, but how can we expect a different result when the access and appetite for guns and an American reprobate mind is saturated with violence and destruction?
Our black daughters are victims of misogynistic music and entertainment and are having children before their time. Our black young men are dropping out of school at alarming rates and are targets and victims of industrialized incarceration. With our schools closing and under funded, more men are in prison than in colleges and universities, No Child Left Behind has turned into Lock Them Up and Throw Away The Key. Where does it leave the future to those who have been fortunate not to be "caught up in the game" of surviving the traps and snares of this society? Who speaks for their futures? It leaves them little room for hope. It leaves little room for a better tomorrow. At this crossroad, we witness the beginning of the loosening of the grip of those whom look towards you and other like you, to hold on to their joy. Now standing at this crossroad, I would ask you continue what you've started, but with a new invigorated voice and a bolder conviction to speak Truth to Power...
But I know you have plans for retirement...
True retirement can only be given by the God Himself. You and your church family have been blessed. Look at the circumstances that has preceded you. You accepted your call to pastor in 1972. God placed you in a struggling fledgling congregation of around 85 members. And for 36 years, through his grace, love and care you have helped bring nearly 10,000 souls to the Kingdom of God. Trinity United Church of Christ is a national model of black churches in America in developing community relevant ministry such as your ministry on HIV/AIDS. You have educated people of African descent to see themselves as important figures in the Christian faith. Your Ministry In Training curriculum has spawned many new young pastors in your tradition. You have activated a thought process that many black churches fail to do. That is to prepare new young leadership to take the reins of pastor-ship as you transition to less responsibility in your church.
But I would ask you to reconsider your future. This so-called dust-up may not be an accident, but maybe God's way bringing attention to His displeasure towards America's lack of responsibility to the entire human family.
In Luke 4:18-19 Jesus begins his ministry with this announcement: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.
Cultural acceptance, social and economic parity and justice for the oppressed and those who share in this society should be aim of this society. Churches, mosques and synagogues whether it be white or black or otherwise cannot continue to evade this responsibility. They cannot say that the poor are in poverty because they won't work, or that they suffer because their own volition. Having come before God as nothing and being received by him into his Kingdom through grace, the Christian should know that he or she has been made righteous or justified so that he or she can join God in this fight for. Therefore, whoever fights for the poor, fights for God; whoever risks his life for the helpless and unwanted, risks his life for God.
So please remind them of what I believed about the unfinished business of America's healing. "It is quite easy for me to think of a God of love mainly because I grew up in a family where love was central and where lovely relationships were ever present. It is quite easy for me to think of the universe as basically friendly mainly because of my uplifting hereditary and environmental circumstances. It is quite easy for me to lean towards optimism than pessimism about human nature mainly because of my childhood experiences. It is impossible to get at the roots of one religious attitudes without taking in account the psychological and historical factors that play upon the individual." In order for America to heal, it must participate and facilitate in its own healing. It must deal with its sordid past and present. It must resolve that it inflicted unjust pain for whatever purpose. But most importantly, America must ask forgiveness for America's past deeds.
So I challenge you not to be discouraged about what politicians may say or writers may write or what misguided people who lust on the blood of their fellow man like malignant cancer feeding on itself. I would ask you to be like David and encourage yourself and continue to encourage others. A sick and self centered America needs your voice. When the comfort level of an unjust society has placed itself into a permanent sedentary position, its chronic and benign diseases slowly denigrates itself into a painful destructive malignancy. They tried to silence the struggle by trying to silence me. But today in order to silence the struggle they are now trying to silence others such as yourself whom come after me as well as the platform, the pulpit in the churches from where we speak. Continue to use your voice against the unjust evils of this world. Continue to speak up for the voiceless and the down trodden. "What America must be told today is that she must be born again, or America may go to hell. The whole structure of American life still needs to be changed."
So in doing this, don’t worry about being called Anti-American or Anti-Patriotic or a demagogue. That’s what they called me. Just make sure that they know that being pro-Black is not a predisposition for being anti-anybody else or anti-human. Tell them that all men, women and children are made in the image of God. Tell them that you are doing God’s will. The enemy already understands that you are "Unashamedly Black." That was determined when you were born. They can't change that. That's their problem to get over. But I want you to show them what true love is. Love of humanity. A Christ-Centered Love. That perfect love. The love of humanity that is patient, The agape love that is kind. Show the world who Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright really is. Show the entire world what the video editors, news editors, pundits and others failed or refused to show about Trinity United Church of Christ. In other words, show the world that you are "Unapologetically Christian."
Finally remind them of the Beatitudes, Remember the beatitudes are eight statements taught by Christ himself. They are concerned with virtue and how a believer in Jesus Christ can achieve that virtue. The Beatitudes are a map of life, a series of directives helping us on our journey to be with God. They also designate the actual condition of people who follow God's guidelines. They are simply stated, but are profound in meaning. They guide. They point. They teach. They show us the values that Christ cares about. These values if followed can not only bring a believer into a state of peace and happiness, but also right into the Kingdom of God after our journey on this earth is over.
In Matthew 5: 3-12 Jesus teaches us:
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the earth.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for justice,for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
And remember, Blessed are they who suffer persecution for justice sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Sincerely with God’s peace and blessings,
Your friend.... M.L.
Copyright © 2008 by Algernon H. Penn
Pass It On……..
Thursday, April 24, 2008
There's A Stench In The Air
There’s a stench in the air that’s been very hard to describe. It’s coming from the outside. But much to my surprise the smell is inside the house as well .The house of the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. This week was the culmination of the 2012, oops, 2008 Pennsylvania Democratic Presidential primary.
As you may now know, Hillary Clinton “won” the opportunity to run two more weeks in the North Carolina and Indiana primaries. With her campaign in disarray, disorganization and almost bankrupt, the Clinton Campaign threw the “toilet” not the sink, at Senator Barack Obama’s quest to gain the Democratic Nomination for President.
The past six weeks have produced some of most amazing as well as ridiculous Issues for a Presidential campaign that anyone has ever seen. There has been The Wright Controversy, the Speech on Race, Bitter Small Towners, Elitist Obama, Sniper Lying, The Ayers Association and The Flag-Pin Ambush at the ABC Debate. And Bill is still talking race by saying, “I didn’t say that.“
And after all is said and done, very little has changed on the path to the nomination. Obama still leads in pledged delegates, the number of states won and popular vote. Also it is noteworthy to mention that Obama still leads in the polls nationally by 10 points over Senator Clinton. But now, there are many people in political circles that are asking the question,”What’s wrong with Obama? Why can’t he close the deal?” I’ll answer these questions a little later.
What is very clear is that Clinton cannot catch Obama before the end of the primary season. She has stated emphatically, that she will not bow out? So if you will not be ahead before the primary season is over, what’s the point? This is where the smell comes in and won’t go away. And it’s coming from many different directions.
The racially tainted politics of the Clinton Campaign has never been reigned in by the DNC. Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell stated that, “there are many in my state who will not be able to move themselves to vote for a black candidate for President.” In this age of renouncing and denouncing, Clinton and the DNC said or did nothing.
The Jeremiah Wright controversy which was put into play by the Clinton has morphed into a story unto itself. Wright incidentally is not running for President. Obama is. And Bill Clinton on the eve of the primary brought back the divisiveness of the South Carolina Primary by commenting on an NPR radio show, “They (the Obama campaign) played the race card on me.”
Clinton also played the voters to be stupid when she lied on Bosnia. That was the one thing that was borne to be true at the ambush at the ABC debate. Have you ever been shot at? I haven’t . I’m sure I would remember if I had been. But no one has held her accountable for her lying “misspeak.” As Mary Mitchell of The Chicago Sun-Times clearly said about Clinton, that she took the low road in “winning ugly” in Pennsylvania.
There are only a handful of states that are left with primaries. Why then are the super delegates so slow to back either Clinton or Obama in the states that have already voted? The logic here is that if the Democrats do not want to have the primary season to expedite itself and summarily would want to be with the will of the people, then why should some of them not cast their vote for the prevailing candidate where clear pluralities have been won?
There may be only a few cases where that may not be the option. In Massachusetts, Senators John Kerry and Ted Kennedy have endorsed Obama but did not deliver their state for him. When I hear that super delegates are waiting for this to play itself out, I hear, “We never expected to have this situation on our hands.” In other words, no one expected to severely wound the Clinton Dynasty which says to me that the Democratic Party had no idea what the pulse of the party was. They also had no idea that a Barack Obama or anyone else for that matter was lurking in the dark to derail their coronation. They thought he was a neophyte. A non-threat. But what is very disturbing to me is the complicit nature of the Democratic Party to watch and allow Clinton to continue to attempt to mortally damage Obama.
Why has there not been anyone from the Democratic Party who can get her campaign to focus on issues and not issuing attacks? Does some party insiders feel that they owe the Clinton’s something? Has party super-delegates cut a deal for her nomination? I certainly hope that they have not. But their silence by the uncommitted super-delegates points to something else possibly. She was the presumptive front runner and nominee. Obama derailed not only Clinton’s plans, but the party’s plan for a summer campaign blitz with the focus of a contrast of the Bush years to the Clinton years. I was supposed to be an easy campaign. But that didn’t happen. Now everything is on hold and super-delegates are frightened at what they will face at the convention. If Clinton is able to “con”vince super-delegates to hand her the nomination, do they feel that African Americans will be quick to forgive after Obama's campaign of playing by the rules and he being the victim of a “Republican Karl Rove” type campaign complete with racially tinged rhetoric designed to marginalize him and make him vulnerable?
Clinton has pandered to “white, blue collar uneducated” voters. They have merged with her more solid base of white women. Exit polls presented some startling facts about Pennsylvania voters. 18% of voters stated that race was the biggest factor in their choice in the primary. Interestingly though 75% of them broke for Clinton. To me that’s not what the real story is. The real story is that 18% of the Pennsylvania electorate felt so comfortable in admitting this. I wonder how many more felt the same way. Hence it was a complete uphill battle for Obama who closed Clinton’s gap considerably. It was a formidable finish in spite of all that had happened; he still finished within 10 points of Clinton.
What stinks to me is that African-Americans have been the loyal base of the party for almost 50 years. Her deceitful race based campaign has placed African-Americans as fodder only to be expected to fall in line and support her if she wrests the nomination from him. And, the Republicans have happily joined in. Blame Clinton for this. She and her “toilet bowl” strategy will be used against Obama in the fall. Why would she employ such a negative campaign that would damage Obama in the fall? There has never been a Democratic nominee who lost in the general election who came back to make a successful run for the White House. Also it seems that Clinton will not accept defeat from someone who was not supposed to end the Clinton Legacy. Clinton hopes Obama loses in general election. She then believes she has positioned herself for a completely unimpeded run in 2012. It is her way of believing she can still be the next Democratic President.
Now, is there anything wrong with Obama? No…. Will he close the deal? Yes….
Here’s why according to Obama’s National Campaign Co-Chairman Congressman Jesse L. Jackson Jr.
“Hillary Clinton did the expected — she won the Pennsylvania primary. For her, the contest was a “home game” in which she was the overwhelming favorite. In tennis parlance, she “held serve.”
Weeks ago, Senator Clinton had been up in the polls by a whopping 25 points. By last night, Senator Barack Obama had cut that lead by more than half and denied Clinton her last, best chance to make significant inroads in Obama’s pledged delegate lead of 171 delegates. Senator Clinton barely made a dent, winning a net-gain of only about 10 pledged delegates.
No doubt, you’ll be hearing a lot from the Clinton campaign about “big states” and their bearing on the general election. Despite the Clinton camp’s hype and hoopla, Senator Barack Obama still has won more contests, more popular votes, more states and more key battlegrounds — like Missouri, Colorado, Minnesota, Virginia, Wisconsin and Iowa — than Clinton. Most importantly, he’s won more pledged delegates.”
Jackson also added, “Let’s be clear-eyed and fair-minded and dispose of the tortured, dare I say, Clintonian, logic. This primary is a race for delegates, and Barack Obama has acquired a nearly insurmountable lead. Between now and the last primary on June 3rd, I believe more and more super-delegates will do what’s right and move to ratify — not nullify — the will and votes of the people."
I believe this will end after Indiana and North Carolina. But if for some strange reason it does not, and the race goes to the convention floor in July, the Democratic Party will fracture and lose its opportunity to have the White House. And that would be a total waste. The Clinton's will have only themselves to blame.
I have always understood that’s OK to have an argument or disagreement within the family. But sucker punching a family member is out of bounds. Do the Clinton's believe that? I wonder….
Pass It On…..
Copyright © 2008 Algernon H. Penn
As you may now know, Hillary Clinton “won” the opportunity to run two more weeks in the North Carolina and Indiana primaries. With her campaign in disarray, disorganization and almost bankrupt, the Clinton Campaign threw the “toilet” not the sink, at Senator Barack Obama’s quest to gain the Democratic Nomination for President.
The past six weeks have produced some of most amazing as well as ridiculous Issues for a Presidential campaign that anyone has ever seen. There has been The Wright Controversy, the Speech on Race, Bitter Small Towners, Elitist Obama, Sniper Lying, The Ayers Association and The Flag-Pin Ambush at the ABC Debate. And Bill is still talking race by saying, “I didn’t say that.“
And after all is said and done, very little has changed on the path to the nomination. Obama still leads in pledged delegates, the number of states won and popular vote. Also it is noteworthy to mention that Obama still leads in the polls nationally by 10 points over Senator Clinton. But now, there are many people in political circles that are asking the question,”What’s wrong with Obama? Why can’t he close the deal?” I’ll answer these questions a little later.
What is very clear is that Clinton cannot catch Obama before the end of the primary season. She has stated emphatically, that she will not bow out? So if you will not be ahead before the primary season is over, what’s the point? This is where the smell comes in and won’t go away. And it’s coming from many different directions.
The racially tainted politics of the Clinton Campaign has never been reigned in by the DNC. Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell stated that, “there are many in my state who will not be able to move themselves to vote for a black candidate for President.” In this age of renouncing and denouncing, Clinton and the DNC said or did nothing.
The Jeremiah Wright controversy which was put into play by the Clinton has morphed into a story unto itself. Wright incidentally is not running for President. Obama is. And Bill Clinton on the eve of the primary brought back the divisiveness of the South Carolina Primary by commenting on an NPR radio show, “They (the Obama campaign) played the race card on me.”
Clinton also played the voters to be stupid when she lied on Bosnia. That was the one thing that was borne to be true at the ambush at the ABC debate. Have you ever been shot at? I haven’t . I’m sure I would remember if I had been. But no one has held her accountable for her lying “misspeak.” As Mary Mitchell of The Chicago Sun-Times clearly said about Clinton, that she took the low road in “winning ugly” in Pennsylvania.
There are only a handful of states that are left with primaries. Why then are the super delegates so slow to back either Clinton or Obama in the states that have already voted? The logic here is that if the Democrats do not want to have the primary season to expedite itself and summarily would want to be with the will of the people, then why should some of them not cast their vote for the prevailing candidate where clear pluralities have been won?
There may be only a few cases where that may not be the option. In Massachusetts, Senators John Kerry and Ted Kennedy have endorsed Obama but did not deliver their state for him. When I hear that super delegates are waiting for this to play itself out, I hear, “We never expected to have this situation on our hands.” In other words, no one expected to severely wound the Clinton Dynasty which says to me that the Democratic Party had no idea what the pulse of the party was. They also had no idea that a Barack Obama or anyone else for that matter was lurking in the dark to derail their coronation. They thought he was a neophyte. A non-threat. But what is very disturbing to me is the complicit nature of the Democratic Party to watch and allow Clinton to continue to attempt to mortally damage Obama.
Why has there not been anyone from the Democratic Party who can get her campaign to focus on issues and not issuing attacks? Does some party insiders feel that they owe the Clinton’s something? Has party super-delegates cut a deal for her nomination? I certainly hope that they have not. But their silence by the uncommitted super-delegates points to something else possibly. She was the presumptive front runner and nominee. Obama derailed not only Clinton’s plans, but the party’s plan for a summer campaign blitz with the focus of a contrast of the Bush years to the Clinton years. I was supposed to be an easy campaign. But that didn’t happen. Now everything is on hold and super-delegates are frightened at what they will face at the convention. If Clinton is able to “con”vince super-delegates to hand her the nomination, do they feel that African Americans will be quick to forgive after Obama's campaign of playing by the rules and he being the victim of a “Republican Karl Rove” type campaign complete with racially tinged rhetoric designed to marginalize him and make him vulnerable?
Clinton has pandered to “white, blue collar uneducated” voters. They have merged with her more solid base of white women. Exit polls presented some startling facts about Pennsylvania voters. 18% of voters stated that race was the biggest factor in their choice in the primary. Interestingly though 75% of them broke for Clinton. To me that’s not what the real story is. The real story is that 18% of the Pennsylvania electorate felt so comfortable in admitting this. I wonder how many more felt the same way. Hence it was a complete uphill battle for Obama who closed Clinton’s gap considerably. It was a formidable finish in spite of all that had happened; he still finished within 10 points of Clinton.
What stinks to me is that African-Americans have been the loyal base of the party for almost 50 years. Her deceitful race based campaign has placed African-Americans as fodder only to be expected to fall in line and support her if she wrests the nomination from him. And, the Republicans have happily joined in. Blame Clinton for this. She and her “toilet bowl” strategy will be used against Obama in the fall. Why would she employ such a negative campaign that would damage Obama in the fall? There has never been a Democratic nominee who lost in the general election who came back to make a successful run for the White House. Also it seems that Clinton will not accept defeat from someone who was not supposed to end the Clinton Legacy. Clinton hopes Obama loses in general election. She then believes she has positioned herself for a completely unimpeded run in 2012. It is her way of believing she can still be the next Democratic President.
Now, is there anything wrong with Obama? No…. Will he close the deal? Yes….
Here’s why according to Obama’s National Campaign Co-Chairman Congressman Jesse L. Jackson Jr.
“Hillary Clinton did the expected — she won the Pennsylvania primary. For her, the contest was a “home game” in which she was the overwhelming favorite. In tennis parlance, she “held serve.”
Weeks ago, Senator Clinton had been up in the polls by a whopping 25 points. By last night, Senator Barack Obama had cut that lead by more than half and denied Clinton her last, best chance to make significant inroads in Obama’s pledged delegate lead of 171 delegates. Senator Clinton barely made a dent, winning a net-gain of only about 10 pledged delegates.
No doubt, you’ll be hearing a lot from the Clinton campaign about “big states” and their bearing on the general election. Despite the Clinton camp’s hype and hoopla, Senator Barack Obama still has won more contests, more popular votes, more states and more key battlegrounds — like Missouri, Colorado, Minnesota, Virginia, Wisconsin and Iowa — than Clinton. Most importantly, he’s won more pledged delegates.”
Jackson also added, “Let’s be clear-eyed and fair-minded and dispose of the tortured, dare I say, Clintonian, logic. This primary is a race for delegates, and Barack Obama has acquired a nearly insurmountable lead. Between now and the last primary on June 3rd, I believe more and more super-delegates will do what’s right and move to ratify — not nullify — the will and votes of the people."
I believe this will end after Indiana and North Carolina. But if for some strange reason it does not, and the race goes to the convention floor in July, the Democratic Party will fracture and lose its opportunity to have the White House. And that would be a total waste. The Clinton's will have only themselves to blame.
I have always understood that’s OK to have an argument or disagreement within the family. But sucker punching a family member is out of bounds. Do the Clinton's believe that? I wonder….
Pass It On…..
Copyright © 2008 Algernon H. Penn
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