Minister's assertions about race, religion continue to draw attention

Published: 2008-04-29

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- A spate of public appearances by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who until February was pastor of Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ, is drawing unprecedented attention to the black church as a whole, in addition to the specific congregation where Sen. Barack Obama is a member. But who fits into what Rev. Wright describes as the "black church" is itself open to interpretation across racial, sociological, cultural and religious lines. Rev. Wright first came to national attention a few months ago as excerpts of some his sermons were used to suggest that Obama, a Democratic candidate for president, must agree with some of the more sensational comments by the minister by virtue of their relationship. The excerpts include Rev. Wright espousing the notion that HIV was created by the government as a form of genocide against blacks and saying that the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States were the price of U.S. actions against other countries. In a lengthy interview on the PBS TV show "Bill Moyers Journal" April 25 and in an address April 28 at the National Press Club, Rev. Wright described the controversy over his preaching as an attack on the black church, not an attack either on himself or on Obama. "This is not an attack on Jeremiah Wright," Rev. Wright said in a wide-ranging, sometimes emotional talk at the press club. "It has nothing to do with Sen. Obama. It is an attack on the black church launched by people who know nothing about the African-American religious tradition."

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