Rev. Jeremiah Wright on PR Tour to Fight “Public Crucifixion” [MSNBC Update]
By SusanUnPC on April 27, 2008 at 11:26 PM in Barack Obama, Rev. James Meeks, Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., Rev. Otis Moss
Rev. Jeremiah Wright spoke of his “public crucifixion” to a packed and supportive church in Dallas Sunday morning, and then spoke before the NAACP Detroit chapter Sunday night. Monday morning, Rev. Wright will speak and take reporters’ questions at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. — to be aired live on C-Span at 9:00 a.m. EST.
“Rev. Wendell Anthony, president of the Detroit NAACP, said at a news conference before the dinner that he was excited to invite the ‘hottest brother in America right now‘.”
Time‘s Mark Halperin notes that Rev. Wright cut to the “controversy early in speech: “I’m not here for political reasons. I’m not a politician. Many of corporate owned media have made it seem that I’m running for the Oval Office. I’ve been running for Jesus for a long, long time.” PART ONE of his speech (PARTS TWO, THREE and FOUR are below the fold — CNN chose to run the full speech to counter charges that the media have played his speeches out of context):
Wright received a standing ovation from the crowd of 12,000 people at the Detroit NAACP event. UPDATE: Below is Andrea Mitchell’s MSNBC report on Obama’s statements today re Rev. Wright and GOP presumptive nominee John McCain’s response, as well as parts two, three and four of Rev. Wright’s speech:
PART TWO of Rev. Wright’s NAACP speech:
PART THREE of Rev. Wright’s speech:
PART FOUR of Rev. Wright’s speech, with closing remarks by the CNN anchor:
Thanks to HipHopMusc.com for providing all four segments of Rev. Wright’s speech, and to Toddy4 for providing me with the link.
This is the MSNBC video of Andrea Mitchell commenting on the political impact:
From the MSNBC story:
“I’m not here for political reasons,” Wright said. “I’m not a politician. I know that fact will surprise many of you because many in the corporate-owned media made it seem like I am running for the Oval Office. I am not running for the Oval Office. I’ve been running for Jesus a long, long time, and I’m not tired yet.”
[...]
Wright received a long, loud standing ovation.
He became an issue in the presidential race in March after the circulation of videos of old sermons in which he accused the U.S. government of racism and accused it of flooding black neighborhoods with drugs.
In a sermon days after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Wright said that “America’s chickens are coming home to roost” after it dropped atomic bombs on Japan and that the United States “supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans.”
The ‘hottest brother in America’
The videos, circulated widely on television and the Internet, knocked Obama’s presidential campaign off stride. The Illinois senator distanced himself from the comments of Wright, whom he has known for 20 years.The Rev. Wendell Anthony, president of the Detroit NAACP, said at a news conference before the dinner that he was excited to invite the “hottest brother in America right now.” …
From the Detroit Free Press‘s story, “Wright tells NAACP audience: ‘A change is going to come’“:
His first order of business was to sing the praises of the NAACP for its civil rights work over nearly a century. Much of that work, he said, was done in cooperation with the nation’s black churches — so much so that they were “seemingly joined at the hip” in their battles against racial injustice, he said.
[...]
Wright moved quickly to address the controversy surrounding him.
Some say that “just my appearance in Detroit will be polarizing,” he said. “I’m not here for political reasons. I’m not a politician. Many of corporate owned media have made it seem that I’m running for the Oval Office. I’ve been running for Jesus for a long, long time.
“I’m sorry your local political analysts are saying that I’m polarizing and my sermons are divisive. I’m not here to address an analyst’s opinion. I stand here as one representative of African-American church tradition, believing that a change is going to come.”
Wright, who is retiring as pastor of the 6,000-member Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, followed the dinner’s theme of “A Change is Gonna Come,” giving a humorous mini-lecture about the difference in style and linguistics between African Americans and whites.
“A change is coming because we no longer see others as being deficient,” he said.
The crowd cheered when he acted out the differences between white marching bands and black ones.
“One is not abnormal and one normal — it’s just different,” he said, explaining the difference between black and white church traditions.
“I come from a tradition, where we give God the glory, and we give the devil the blues,” he said.
Amid the humor, however, he took a moment to respond to Republican Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, who called Wright “divisive” during an April 18 forum attended by the leaders of Detroit and Wayne, Macomb and Oakland counties. He referred to Patterson only by his title, not by name.
“I am not one of the most divisive,” Wright said. “Tell him the word is descriptive.”
, the basis for the Best Motion Picture Nominee (Golden Globes) starring Brad Pitt.
, the novel by John Le Carre, a new motion picture starring Gary Oldman and Colin Firth.
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