Thoughts on Race
Mar. 18th, 2008 05:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatI want to share this speech on race that Senator Obama gave in Pennsylvania today, which moved me as I read it during my lunch-break at work. I don't care whether you vote for Obama or not, or even if you are an American. This is interesting and important speech about racism and pretty much states how I feel about racism but have never found the words to express my views.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/18/us/politics/18text-obama.html?em&ex=1205985600&en=06a539b9d149224f&ei=5087%0A
Here's a snippet - regarding Reverend Jeremiah Wright who recently made some incendiary remarks about whites, muslims and race from a black perspective.
"The man (Jeremiah Wright) I met more than twenty years ago is a man who helped introduce me to my Christian faith, a man who spoke to me about our obligations to love one another; to care for the sick and lift up the poor. He is a man who served his country as a U.S. Marine; who has studied and lectured at some of the finest universities and seminaries in the country, and who for over thirty years led a church that serves the community by doing God’s work here on Earth – by housing the homeless, ministering to the needy, providing day care services and scholarships and prison ministries, and reaching out to those suffering from HIV/AIDS."
“People began to shout, to rise from their seats and clap and cry out, a forceful wind carrying the reverend’s voice up into the rafters….And in that single note – hope! – I heard something else; at the foot of that cross, inside the thousands of churches across the city, I imagined the stories of ordinary black people merging with the stories of David and Goliath, Moses and Pharaoh, the Christians in the lion’s den, Ezekiel’s field of dry bones. Those stories – of survival, and freedom, and hope – became our story, my story; the blood that had spilled was our blood, the tears our tears; until this black church, on this bright day, seemed once more a vessel carrying the story of a people into future generations and into a larger world. Our trials and triumphs became at once unique and universal, black and more than black; in chronicling our journey, the stories and songs gave us a means to reclaim memories that we didn’t need to feel shame about…memories that all people might study and cherish – and with which we could start to rebuild.”
"Like other predominantly black churches across the country, Trinity embodies the black community in its entirety – the doctor and the welfare mom, the model student and the former gang-banger. Like other black churches, Trinity’s services are full of raucous laughter and sometimes bawdy humor. They are full of dancing, clapping, screaming and shouting that may seem jarring to the untrained ear. The church contains in full the kindness and cruelty, the fierce intelligence and the shocking ignorance, the struggles and successes, the love and yes, the bitterness and bias that make up the black experience in America.
And this helps explain, perhaps, my relationship with Reverend Wright. As imperfect as he may be, he has been like family to me. He strengthened my faith, officiated my wedding, and baptized my children. Not once in my conversations with him have I heard him talk about any ethnic group in derogatory terms, or treat whites with whom he interacted with anything but courtesy and respect. He contains within him the contradictions – the good and the bad – of the community that he has served diligently for so many years.
I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother – a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe.
These people are a part of me. And they are a part of America, this country that I love. "
Some will see this as an attempt to justify or excuse comments that are simply inexcusable. I can assure you it is not. I suppose the politically safe thing would be to move on from this episode and just hope that it fades into the woodwork. We can dismiss Reverend Wright as a crank or a demagogue, just as some have dismissed Geraldine Ferraro, in the aftermath of her recent statements, as harboring some deep-seated racial bias.
But race is an issue that I believe this nation cannot afford to ignore right now. We would be making the same mistake that Reverend Wright made in his offending sermons about America – to simplify and stereotype and amplify the negative to the point that it distorts reality.
The fact is that the comments that have been made and the issues that have surfaced over the last few weeks reflect the complexities of race in this country that we’ve never really worked through – a part of our union that we have yet to perfect. And if we walk away now, if we simply retreat into our respective corners, we will never be able to come together and solve challenges like health care, or education, or the need to find good jobs for every American.
Understanding this reality requires a reminder of how we arrived at this point. As William Faulkner once wrote, “The past isn’t dead and buried. In fact, it isn’t even past.” We do not need to recite here the history of racial injustice in this country. But we do need to remind ourselves that so many of the disparities that exist in the African-American community today can be directly traced to inequalities passed on from an earlier generation that suffered under the brutal legacy of slavery and Jim Crow. "
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/18/us/politics/18text-obama.html?em&ex=1205985600&en=06a539b9d149224f&ei=5087%0A
Here's a snippet - regarding Reverend Jeremiah Wright who recently made some incendiary remarks about whites, muslims and race from a black perspective.
"The man (Jeremiah Wright) I met more than twenty years ago is a man who helped introduce me to my Christian faith, a man who spoke to me about our obligations to love one another; to care for the sick and lift up the poor. He is a man who served his country as a U.S. Marine; who has studied and lectured at some of the finest universities and seminaries in the country, and who for over thirty years led a church that serves the community by doing God’s work here on Earth – by housing the homeless, ministering to the needy, providing day care services and scholarships and prison ministries, and reaching out to those suffering from HIV/AIDS."
“People began to shout, to rise from their seats and clap and cry out, a forceful wind carrying the reverend’s voice up into the rafters….And in that single note – hope! – I heard something else; at the foot of that cross, inside the thousands of churches across the city, I imagined the stories of ordinary black people merging with the stories of David and Goliath, Moses and Pharaoh, the Christians in the lion’s den, Ezekiel’s field of dry bones. Those stories – of survival, and freedom, and hope – became our story, my story; the blood that had spilled was our blood, the tears our tears; until this black church, on this bright day, seemed once more a vessel carrying the story of a people into future generations and into a larger world. Our trials and triumphs became at once unique and universal, black and more than black; in chronicling our journey, the stories and songs gave us a means to reclaim memories that we didn’t need to feel shame about…memories that all people might study and cherish – and with which we could start to rebuild.”
"Like other predominantly black churches across the country, Trinity embodies the black community in its entirety – the doctor and the welfare mom, the model student and the former gang-banger. Like other black churches, Trinity’s services are full of raucous laughter and sometimes bawdy humor. They are full of dancing, clapping, screaming and shouting that may seem jarring to the untrained ear. The church contains in full the kindness and cruelty, the fierce intelligence and the shocking ignorance, the struggles and successes, the love and yes, the bitterness and bias that make up the black experience in America.
And this helps explain, perhaps, my relationship with Reverend Wright. As imperfect as he may be, he has been like family to me. He strengthened my faith, officiated my wedding, and baptized my children. Not once in my conversations with him have I heard him talk about any ethnic group in derogatory terms, or treat whites with whom he interacted with anything but courtesy and respect. He contains within him the contradictions – the good and the bad – of the community that he has served diligently for so many years.
I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother – a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe.
These people are a part of me. And they are a part of America, this country that I love. "
Some will see this as an attempt to justify or excuse comments that are simply inexcusable. I can assure you it is not. I suppose the politically safe thing would be to move on from this episode and just hope that it fades into the woodwork. We can dismiss Reverend Wright as a crank or a demagogue, just as some have dismissed Geraldine Ferraro, in the aftermath of her recent statements, as harboring some deep-seated racial bias.
But race is an issue that I believe this nation cannot afford to ignore right now. We would be making the same mistake that Reverend Wright made in his offending sermons about America – to simplify and stereotype and amplify the negative to the point that it distorts reality.
The fact is that the comments that have been made and the issues that have surfaced over the last few weeks reflect the complexities of race in this country that we’ve never really worked through – a part of our union that we have yet to perfect. And if we walk away now, if we simply retreat into our respective corners, we will never be able to come together and solve challenges like health care, or education, or the need to find good jobs for every American.
Understanding this reality requires a reminder of how we arrived at this point. As William Faulkner once wrote, “The past isn’t dead and buried. In fact, it isn’t even past.” We do not need to recite here the history of racial injustice in this country. But we do need to remind ourselves that so many of the disparities that exist in the African-American community today can be directly traced to inequalities passed on from an earlier generation that suffered under the brutal legacy of slavery and Jim Crow. "
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no subject
Date: 2008-03-18 10:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-19 01:59 am (UTC)I particularly like how he addressed the Rev. Wright issue. Demonstrating that he does have the makings of a great leader. One who brings people together instead of splitting them apart.
no subject
Date: 2008-03-19 02:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-19 02:54 am (UTC)What I like most about Obama is his insistence on focusing on how to solve the problems as opposed to whining about them.
Let's strive to make it better, instead of ranting and raving and making ourselves sick with discontent.
The man gives me hope.
no subject
Date: 2008-03-18 11:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-19 01:52 am (UTC)He wisely doesn't condemn Rev. Wright, he states he disagrees with what Wright says, explains why, but also explains that you have to understand where Wright comes from - how he got there. As well as understand that Wright like all human beings is a complicated man, who has done many things, he should not be pigeon-holed.
I agree - someone who is white couldn't have made that speech. Any more than a man could have made Elizabeth Cady Stanton's speech - it comes across as condescending and patronizing. Obama is in an unique position - he is neither just white or just black, but of mixed heritage. As he puts it - his family is made up of many ethnicities not just one. It's what makes Americans different than most other countries - the majority of us are what can best be described as "muts" - we are of mixed heritage. My family alone has six-seven different ethnicities. We are Irish, Cherokee, German, Scottish, Belgium, French, Italian, and Welsh. Many of those ethnic groups hate each other - but in America they came together and produced my family. That is why I love America, it is what makes America unique.
no subject
Date: 2008-03-19 02:05 am (UTC)And I agree: Rev. Wright was a marine who serviced his country and grew up during a time before the Equal Rights Amendment put an end to a lot of the segregation. His anger isn't unusual and doesn't negate his spirituality.
I have to say that seeing the same 3 minutes of incendiary speech over and over again ended up convincing me that there weren't that many clips of him saying things that were that outrageous. If we went through 20 years of Jerry Falwell's sermons I think we would find hours and hours of hate speech. But of course that is just my personal POV.
no subject
Date: 2008-03-19 03:40 am (UTC)That's not to say he wasn't saying them for years, just that they weren't being sold on DVD as part of Wright's recent greatest hits by his own Church in order to promote him and the Church. That, in fact, is where the media got the clips in the first place. The entire 20 years was not available, so your comparison has unequal terms. If they were, I sincerely doubt we'd be watching the same clips over and over. As Obama said, his view has been static.
Do you really think Falwell is promoting a similar level of discourse in the sermons he sells to the public? If so, what do you base that supposition on besides gut feeling and "personal POV"?
no subject
Date: 2008-03-19 04:33 am (UTC)http://www.theturkishtimes.com/archive/02/10_15/f_falwell.html
Falwell hated Gays, liberals, Muslims, Teletubbies, and that is just what you could find in a couple of minutes of google search....
He raised millions of dollars from people who bought into his fear based hatred.
no subject
Date: 2008-03-19 08:46 pm (UTC)Wright also appears to be an antisemite - he calls Israel "the dirty word" on one of his "promotional videos" which he sells for cash, i.e., filthy lucre.
Claiming the US created and disseminated AIDS and then selling that in a promotional video - you don't think that's making money from stoking the flames of fear-based hatred through gutter conspiracy talk? This from a guy with a Ph.D.
In which case, he has pretty much the inverse prejudices of Falwell. It's the opposite extreme spectrum. And Obama has been sitting in his pews, absorbing this rhetoric, for 20 years. If he wants to be a peacemaker, heal divisions, etc., as he claims, what need was he satisfying by absorbing this vein of hatred and reverse prejudice all those years. Because, (from his book, pp. 88-91 - which gives an alternate version than the speech of this incident) his grandmother once hurt him to the core by being afraid to wait for a bus at a stop where she had actually been threatened the day before by a black guy who she was afraid would have mugged her if the bus hadn't pulled up?
I have a book called The Gift of Fear by a security expert which points out that listening to your instincts in situations like this is the best way to avoid danger. The author developed his own extreme gift by growing up in a serially abusive family where he had to rely on his instincts to keep himself safe and alive. And he advises everyone to cultivate this gift.
So maybe Obama should have volunteered to go wait with his grandmother, instead of merely being hurt by her attitude. That way he could have learned for himself if her fear was rational or not, or if it was prejudice on her part or justified. Or does he think his grandmother should have shut up about it to spare him and put herself, perhaps, in peril? Either way, it seems a very narcissistic response - to be hurt that his grandmother would actually make an issue of not wanting to wait around at a bus stop where she felt threatened the day before. And he's hurt because the person who threatened her is black, not worried because his grandmother felt herself in danger.
The problem with Obama that I've been seeing for quite a while is that he has beautiful rhetoric, but his actions and his speech are not on the same page. Maybe they will be in time, maybe this is the goal he is aspiring too, but they're not in sync yet. His rhetoric is attractive, but his actions tell a different tale. Going to this church for 20 years doesn't heal divisions; hatemongering tends to keep anger alive and at the boiling point, not heal it or resolve it.
BTW, from the article that you quoted, I don't see that Falwell hates Muslims - he certainly dislikes Mohammed as a spiritual progenitor of a religion, but that is a different thing than hating Muslims.
Other than that, in that article, he says, "I've said often and many places that most Muslims are people of peace and want peace and tranquility for their families and abhor terrorism," Falwell said. "Islam, like most faiths, has a fringe of radicals who carry on bloodshed wherever they are. They do not represent Islam."
I don't see how anybody could read that as hating Muslims.
If there had been a juicier quote than that, I'm sure it would have been quoted.
Anyway, trying to make this about Falwell instead of Wright is just a way to sideline the conversation and not think about this issue. And blame the other side.
no subject
Date: 2008-03-19 10:09 pm (UTC)http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/070516/16falwell.htm
however it is true that I never needed to base my dislike of those Presidents on Falwell.
If you want to base your opinion of Obama solely on Wright then that is of course your prerogative.
I might mention that although I (of course) agree with you that it is insane/paranoid to think that the US created and disseminated AIDS, I do have to remember that many Black people in the US cannot forget that the Government felt free to conduct syphilis experiments on Black soldiers:
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/bhmtuskegee1.html
which has created had a lasting distrust in the Black community.
I believe that Obama can help bridge that gap and create trust between the races and in our Government.
no subject
Date: 2008-03-20 12:58 am (UTC)Obama's point was that no one is just one thing. Jeremiah Wright may be an anti-semite, but he is also a caring pastor, a good friend, who has helped the poor in his community and aided his people giving them hope. What Obama states - quite clearly - is that he can separate the two people, the preacher who has said these horrid things and the man he calls his friend. He can disagree with Wright, vehmently so - and I've seen no evidence that he doesn't vehmently disagree - just as I vehmently disagree with my former boss ( a wonderful woman) about her political views (she's a bit on the facist side of the fence), but by the same token love him.
And Obama has been sitting in his pews, absorbing this rhetoric, for 20 years."
What does this prove? My parents are Catholic - they go to church every Sunday, listen to a Priest preach about how homosexuality is a sin, that birth control is wrong, that you should not vote for anyone who is not pro-life or against abortion. They disagree with everything he says and the Pope says. They have brains and can think for themselves. That's what Obama said in his speech - he has a brain, he agrees with some of the things his pastor said and some he really doesn't agree with. Is someone who voted for George W. Bush and loves the guy, a homophobic? Most of us, I hate to tell you this, sleep in church. Few of us of pay attention to what a pastor says. And yes, it is possible to be best friends with, to adore and love someone that you vehementally disagree with.
his grandmother once hurt him to the core by being afraid to wait for a bus at a stop where she had actually been threatened the day before by a black guy who she was afraid would have mugged her if the bus hadn't pulled up?
For arguement's sake - What if Obama decided go to the bus with his grandmother after that, assuming of course that he could? Would that have changed her views? No. The only thing she remembered from being threatened by the man at the bus stop was that he was black. It's clear to me from that passage you recite and the one in his speech - that no matter where she went, she would be afraid of black men, because one threatened her. How do you combat that? She made a generalization about all blacks based on the actions of one man. She saw a pattern that wasn't there. We have to be VERY careful not to see patterns where they do not exist. What if that man who had threatened her had been an orthodox jew or big burly white guy with a hell's angel's t-shirt or a white guy in a suit - would she have felt afraid of all white men? All jews? No. We associate crime with black men. I find it silly, personally, but that's because I've had other experiences - I'd be more afraid of the guy in the hell's angel's t-shirt and see the black man as my protector. Neither view is correct. You cannot judge the actions of a person based on who they socialize with, what church they go to, what clothes they wear, what they look like, who they sleep with, and how they talk - but people do anyway. It is why we make so many stupid mistakes.
Whether Obama went to the bus with his grandmother or not is irrelevant. It may have made her feel safe at the bus stop, but it would not have changed her view. I assuming of course that he could have gone - having not read the whole story. Based on that assumption? It still would not have changed anything - she'd have felt safe maybe with him, but still cringed away from the threatening black men. The story was not about him protecting Granny - it was about Granny's prejudices, how she associated and continues to associate blacks with violence, even though her own grandson is black. And how she has made other cringe-worthy racial slur.
And because I ran out of space
Date: 2008-03-20 01:07 am (UTC)I haven't read Obama's first book. I'm reading his second, where he tells me about bills he's pushed forward and ideas he has about bringing the country together. I agree with those views. He is positive as opposed to negative in his actions.
I look at what McCain and Clinton have done as well - McCain who says he is against torture but voted for a bill that included it, the man's actions in the Senate and on the campaign trial contradict what he says he stands for - so I do not trust that he won't cater to the far-right like Bush has.
I honestly don't care who or what Jeremiah Wright says. He is a friend not a political advisor. Obama has made that clear. It is possible to have friends that one does not agree with. And the fact that Obama is friends with someone he doesn't agree with shows he has the ability to be diplomatic, to be able to make deals and negotiate with countries and cultures that may make him cringe. That is important in a President. To bridge gaps, to find a peaceful way of living with one another.
He condemned what Wright said, yet at the same time, said he still loved the man. That was what Jesus did years ago, he embraced people he did not necessarily agree with. You may not believe Jesus is the son of God, but he did do that as a man according to historical record. It is what Martin Luther King did. Not that they did not make mistakes and occassionally friend the wrong person or condemn people - making mistakes is part of what makes us human after all. None of us are immune. But striving to embrace those we disagree with is what we all must try to do in order to survive, and it is the hardest thing in the world to do. It is much easier to disown these people - to wage war on them. But if history has taught us nothing else - it's that this solves nothing, except more death and more pain.
Re: And because I ran out of space
Date: 2008-03-20 03:02 am (UTC)No, I said that going to a church where the pastor is preaching a racially divisive message is not helpful.
Some people like dwelling on anger.
I honestly don't care who or what Jeremiah Wright says. He is a friend not a political advisor. Obama has made that clear.
Really? At various points he also claimed he was his sounding board. (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/custom/religion/chi-070121-relig_wright,1,271630.story?page=1&coll=chi-religion-topheadlines&ctrack=1&cset=true)
"What I value most about Pastor Wright is not his day-to-day political advice," Obama said. "He's much more of a sounding board for me to make sure that I am speaking as truthfully about what I believe as possible and that I'm not losing myself in some of the hype and hoopla and stress that's involved in national politics."
***
He condemned what Wright said, yet at the same time, said he still loved the man. That was what Jesus did years ago, he embraced people he did not necessarily agree with.
I certainly don't think that Obama is anything "like Jesus". I think he is a politician out for his own self interest trying to survive a crisis in his campaign to be president. I think he has a strategy team and they sat down together and plotted out what he could do that would hurt him the least. And some people bought it and others didn't.
I'm as cynical about him as the others.
no subject
Date: 2008-03-20 02:43 am (UTC)That wasn't in the pages that I read. If it had been I would have related to it differently. And the reason I don't think it could possibly be true is because Obama at this point in his life was between 16-18 years old (it's not clear from the passage). And if this is her regular demeanor as opposed to an irregular event, why is everyone in the family so upset and why does it provoke a crisis in him such that he has to go off and see his mentor.
In fact, in thinking about this today, it struck me that he was from an incredibly sheltered background if this is the first time race impacted him negatively - perhaps that's why he was so shocked. Back in the 1970s, when I was growing up in NYC, everyone was conscious of race. I went to public school and the lines were perfectly clear to everyone. The city was a lot more dangerous then, not at all like today, and there was a lot of anger.
In any case, back to Obama. This is how it is described in the passage I saw: "Her lips pursed with irritation. 'He was very aggressive, Barry. Very aggressive. I gave him a dollar and he kept asking. If the bus hadn't come, I think he might have hit me over the head."
You think she was making this up - or heightening it - merely because the guy was black? According to what is quoted, she felt like the guy was going to hit her over the head. Why is your assumption that she only felt this way because he was black? She could have felt this way AND he was black. You know what it's like, no doubt, to be in the subway late at night or waiting for a bus, when the place is deserted, and to be approached by someone who threatens you. So if the person threatening you is black, and you don't want to go back again the next day at the same time because you fear a repeat of the situation, because you were threatened and you are still anxious, does that make you a racist? Sorry, I don't see it. Anyway, that's how I construed the passage.
Now, if she only felt this way because he was black, and she dealt with white and Asian panhandlers all the time who were equally aggressive, and wasn't worried about them, I'd agree with you.
In any case, his grandmother at this point is approaching 60, if not there yet, so may feel genuinely physically fragile around a threatening male. Here's a picture (http://www.chicagotribune.com/media/photo/2007-03/28585928.jpg) from a while back. She looks tiny compared to him.
I do wonder, however, at why there is such a difference in the account he gave in his book and in his speech. In the book he was explaining his genesis of consciousness about his particular existential situation. In the speech, though, his agenda was to turn the political tide - and there he has something to lose if he doesn't succeed and his grandmother is portrayed worse. Which gives me pause.
I assuming of course that he could have gone - having not read the whole story. Based on that assumption? It still would not have changed anything - she'd have felt safe maybe with him, but still cringed away from the threatening black men.
Boy, the grandmother is really the bad guy in your book. How do you know? If she was so prejudiced, as I said before, it seems to me it would have come across loud and clear before this incident. He describes a one-off situation, not a pattern of behavior.
As for your parents, I wonder they don't change congregations, if they disagree so much with what they are hearing preached at them - or leave before the sermon begins - or, if it's in the middle of the sermon, take a time out and go chat with friends or bring a book or something if it is the only Catholic church in town.
I've changed synagogues when I've disliked what I was hearing. Or decided not to join that particular congregation. Etc. So my experience is different.
no subject
Date: 2008-03-19 02:11 am (UTC)Along with Canada, much of Mexico, definitely Brazil and other South American countries... I tease! I tease because I care!
It was a great speech, I got choked up just reading the transcript. Best of all he offered complex thought in the face of complex issues. Sadly that's usually a rarity for politicians.
no subject
Date: 2008-03-19 02:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-19 02:59 am (UTC)And - what is really interesting - is he states that he is not so niave as to think that he is the solution. That this problem will be neatly resolved by voting for him as President. What he states is that we have to do this together - and strive to make these changes regardless of who leads us. Our leader can't make the choice alone. Very inspiring speech. I just hope everyone hears it. And doesn't dismiss it out of hand. Already the media seems to be grabbing the sound-bites that fit whatever agenda it has, and that worries me a bit. I fear how the media will attempt to spin it.
no subject
Date: 2008-03-18 11:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-19 05:42 am (UTC)