Barack Obama gave a speech in Philadelphia today addressing race, his pastor and unity in general.
On unity: I chose to run for the presidency at this moment in history because I believe deeply that we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together – unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes.
On Rev. Wright: I can not disown him just as I can not disown my white grandmother (who loved me) but once confessed her fear of black men who passed her on the streets. The profound mistake of Reverend Wright’s sermons is not that he spoke about racism in our society. It’s that he spoke as if our society was static; as if no progress has been made; as if this country is still irrevocably bound to a tragic past.
On his relationship with Wright: 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 YouTube, there is no doubt that I would react in much the same way [as others who question my association with him]. The truth is, that isn’t all that I know of the man.
On race in America: 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.
On the future:
I have never been so naïve as to believe that we can get beyond our racial divisions in a single election cycle, or with a single candidacy.
But I have asserted a firm conviction – a conviction rooted in my faith in God and my faith in the American people – that working together we can move beyond some of our old racial wounds, and that in fact we have no choice if we are to continue on the path of a more perfect union.
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Good speech. We’ll see if this allows us to get back to the actual political race, instead of going back and forth on whose side can release (or drudge up) the latest inflammatory, racially-tinged remarks. Let’s acknowledge racial baggage still exists, and it’s a good idea, to at least attempt to move beyond it.
Now, if everyone, including the MEDIA, could just find some new topics… One can dream, at least.
