A More Perfect Union
The dynamic between you and people of another color is one that, at times, is far too complex to understand. You know it’s there, but you were never sure exactly how to explain it. You’ve struggled to pinpoint the root of your feelings but somewhere under the surface you know they exist. They don’t necessarily make up who you are and in many ways these feelings are contrary to what you truly believe in your heart but they still affect how you function in the world. At times, when your feelings would boil to the surface, a momentary eruption of emotion, anger, hostility and frustration, you would be left feeling ashamed and confused.
Well I am happy to say today that one man has offered the definitive word on race relations in this country; where we are as a nation and what is needed to forge ahead through the current racial stalemate we find ourselves in, Barack Obama, on the 18th of March, 2008, gave what should go down as one of the most importantly, powerful, sincere and definitive speeches in the history of this nation. In a short 37 minutes, Obama, rather plainly and simply, defined the current state of the racial divide in this nation with the level of courage and honesty required in such an undertaking. More to the point his speech was entirely a-political, this to his credit, was necessary for it to be taken as the tour de force it was.
During a brief opening, Obama laid out the history of slavery debates in this country, as far back as the signing on the Declaration of Independence. One in which he stated something that we should all know but at times have forgotten:
And yet words on a parchment would not be enough to deliver slaves from bondage, or provide men and women of every color and creed their full rights and obligations as citizens of the United States. What would be needed were Americans in successive generations who were willing to do their part - through protests and struggle, on the streets and in the courts, through a civil war and civil disobedience and always at great risk - to narrow that gap between the promise of our ideals and the reality of their time… - unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes; that we may not look the same and we may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction - towards a better future for our children and our grandchildren.
While it is unfortunate that the impetus for such a speech was the initial comments made by the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, it is historically common for great changes and great beginnings to spew forth from some rather regrettable situations, this case being no exception. It seems only right that in a time when a black candidate is finally taken seriously in his pursuit of the White House, the topic of race would eventually rear its head in an ugly, yet rather truthful example of the current state of racial tension in this nation.
But the remarks that have caused this recent firestorm weren't simply controversial. They weren't simply a religious leader's effort to speak out against perceived injustice. Instead, they expressed a profoundly distorted view of this country - a view that sees white racism as endemic, and that elevates what is wrong with America above all that we know is right with America; a view that sees the conflicts in the Middle East as rooted primarily in the actions of stalwart allies like Israel, instead of emanating from the perverse and hateful ideologies of radical Islam.
Fortunately for us his speech was not simply a distancing from Rev. Wright and it did not end there. History will view what was to follow as a declaration of truth in a society filled with secret resentment on all sides of the divide. The first point he addressed is one that I have heard all too often muttered across the television and around the office the past week and as such required attention.
Given my background, my politics, and my professed values and ideals, there will no doubt be those for whom my statements of condemnation are not enough. Why associate myself with Reverend Wright in the first place, they may ask? Why not join another church? And I confess that if all that I knew of Reverend Wright were the snippets of those sermons that have run in an endless loop on the television and You Tube, or if Trinity United Church of Christ conformed to the caricatures being peddled by some commentators, there is no doubt that I would react in much the same way.
But the truth is, that isn't all that I know of the man. The man 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.
Did I know him to be an occasionally fierce critic of American domestic and foreign policy? Of course. Did I ever hear him make remarks that could be considered controversial while I sat in church? Yes. Did I strongly disagree with many of his political views? Absolutely - just as I'm sure many of you have heard remarks from your pastors, priests, or rabbis with which you strongly disagreed.
In saying all that Obama was clear in pointing out what is at the root of the black experience in America. The history and contradictions that at times help to grow the already sizable divide among blacks and whites in this country. Contradictions, it should be noted that are not exclusively lived by blacks, but by whites as well.
Like other predominantly black churches across the country, Trinity embodies the black community in its entirety - 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.
In this point Obama makes one of the most important declarations of truthfulness that everyone in this country knows, yet is afraid to mention. That the negative feelings of bitterness and resentment at times held by blacks towards whites are no worse or for that matter, any different that the negative feelings of bitterness and resentment that whites hold towards blacks. It is important to note that he acknowledges the legitimacy of these feelings by both blacks and whites.
In fact, a similar anger exists within segments of the white community. Most working- and middle-class white Americans don't feel that they have been particularly privileged by their race. Their experience is the immigrant experience - as far as they're concerned, no one's handed them anything, they've built it from scratch. They've worked hard all their lives, many times only to see their jobs shipped overseas or their pension dumped after a lifetime of labor. They are anxious about their futures, and feel their dreams slipping away; in an era of stagnant wages and global competition, opportunity comes to be seen as a zero sum game, in which your dreams come at my expense. So when they are told to bus their children to a school across town; when they hear that an African American is getting an advantage in landing a good job or a spot in a good college because of an injustice that they themselves never committed; when they're told that their fears about crime in urban neighborhoods are somehow prejudiced, resentment builds over time.
Like the anger within the black community, these resentments aren't always expressed in polite company. But they have helped shape the political landscape for at least a generation. Politicians routinely exploited fears of crime for their own electoral ends. Talk show hosts and conservative commentators built entire careers unmasking bogus claims of racism while dismissing legitimate discussions of racial injustice and inequality as mere political correctness or reverse racism.
Just as black anger often proved counterproductive, so have these white resentments distracted attention from the real culprits of the middle class squeeze - a corporate culture rife with inside dealing, questionable accounting practices, and short-term greed; a Washington dominated by lobbyists and special interests; economic policies that favor the few over the many. And yet, to wish away the resentments of white Americans, to label them as misguided or even racist, without recognizing they are grounded in legitimate concerns - this too widens the racial divide, and blocks the path to understanding.
And now here we stand. Someone finally had enough courage to say to the nation that which is our own hearts and in the hearts of all those around us. Where do we go from here? I for one hope, have the audacity to hope, that we will recognize this moment for what it is and what it can be. A time when we can stop focusing our attention on hiding the way we feel. A time when we can start working on breaking down those feelings and progressing towards the perfect union we aspire to be. The only way to truly grow as a person, as a community, as a nation is to be honest with yourself and with those around you and Obama’s speech today was the key to the lock on the door that has kept us detached from the truth inside of us.
Many of the issues we face domestically today are rooted in the undercurrent of a still existent racial divide that we are all too happy to sweep under a rug. Unless those attitudes are openly discussed and acknowledged how do we expect to move forward? In saying that it is important to note that this speech was not an election speech. Of course the cynics among us no doubt disagree. If those cynics cared to listen to the speech in full and hear the truth instead of selected pieces puzzled together to promote their individual beliefs, they would hear no trace of an election plea. No trace of platform pushing. He was not asking for your vote. What they would hear would be this nation’s first sincere acknowledgement of the long lasting and negative feelings that individuals of all colors feel in the decades after segregation. Feelings and attitudes that are not something to be ashamed of and hidden but rather openly acknowledged and discussed in the hopes that a better understanding of where we have come from may emerge.
I don’t know what the future holds. I don’t know if Obama will ever be a President of this fine nation. But I hope upon hope that regardless of whether or not his future includes a seat in the White House that he remains prominently involved in the forging of the future of this nation. A Clear, honest, sincere and steadfast voice is found all too infrequently in American politics. Hope is staring us in the face, begging for us to believe with him. A hope that dares to change the future of this country into one that is to be proud of and celebrated. A hope that asks nothing of you but courage and faith.
I HOPE
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I didn't get to catch the speech on TV, but I watched it and read the whole thing twice that night when they put it on Obama's site. That was, no doubt, the best speech I've read/seen in my lifetime. He didn't just try to run from the issue as a typical politican would, he examined its roots, its evolution, and the experience of all parties involved. I have so much hope too...even if he doesn't win the election, the simple fact that he's brought the concept of unity to mainstream is something incredible.
Well done, Gerard! Your insightful writing has prompted me to check out this site on a regular basis. Looking forward to more articles!