It seems that Sen. Barack Obama is the unofficial spokesman for the black church.
Comments from the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama’s former Chicago pastor, “have put Obama in an awkward and uncomfortable position,” according to a March 22 Washington Post article.
Wright, during a sermon at Trinity United Church of Christ, addressed contemporary issues regarding race and segregation in America that are continuously swept under the rug. However, the intense comments given to his congregation indirectly gave Obama an opening to discuss the underlying racism concerns in the political realm.
But isn’t there supposed to be a separation between church and state?
Taboo subjects are often addressed in the black church, so this is nothing new.
Although the issues did exactly what we expected – rub white America the wrong way – it left a trail of uneasiness and opportunity for Obama to defend the church, Wright and his stance on some racial views.
“The fact that so many people are surprised to hear that anger in some of Reverend Wright’s sermons simply reminds us of the old truism that the most segregated hour of American life occurs on Sunday morning,” Obama said during his speech at the National Constitution Center.
Conservative Americans need to cut Obama some slack and allow for seperation of the entities.. It’s 2008, not 1928.
Nyerere Davidson for the Editorial Board.