The Undeniable Virtue of Jeremiah Wright's Pro-Blackness (and the Problem with Pro-Whiteness)

Bill Moyers is broadcasting a siddown with Barack Obama's "controversial" pastor Jeremiah Wright this Friday evening, April 25th. By Saturday expect every utterance Pastor Wright makes to be as picked over as an episode of Lost at the San Diego Comicon.

Now, I'm not going to even try to defend everything that Pastor Wright has to say. At least not the four of five loopy sound bytes -- out of how many thousands of sermons he's given -- that have made him quite the YouTube sensation. But there is a particular aspect of the Wright mischaracterization I take exception with: the idea that his pro-black teachings make him some kind of radical separatist. Interviewing Pastor Wright in March of last year, for example, Fox's Sean Hannity had this to say about statements appearing on the website for Wright's Trinity United Church of Christ:

"It says, "Commitment to God." By the way, I'm with you, and I hope you'll pray for me, Reverend. Commitment to the black community, commitment to the black family, adherence to the black work ethic. It goes on, pledge, you know, acquired skills available to the black community, strengthening and supporting black institutions, pledging allegiance to all black leadership who have embraced the black value system, personal commitment to the embracement of the black value system. Now, Reverend, if every time we said black, if there was a church and those words were white, wouldn't we call that church racist?"

In answer to the question: yeah, probably. But that's 'cause there's a difference between being pro-black and pro-white and the difference is a bad one.

Adherence to pro-black values isn't code for "kill whitey." It's merely how blacks have managed to stay alive and viable in America all these many years since we were first graciously given a ride across the middle passage to get dropped off in Virginia.

"A commitment to the black community" is what got us collectively through slavery, through an abandoned reconstruction and the ensuing era of Jim Crow. As I'm sure some will recall, because of a pesky little thing called segregation there was nothing for the black community to rely on but the black community.

Ironically, the community values and focus on the family Wright preaches of are exactly the kind of "don't bother us, do it yourself"-isms conservatives are always hectoring people of color to observe. How convenient for the pundits they can both wish us off the perceived teat, then get riled by those who encourage us to be self-reliant.

To the contrary of pro-blackness, it's pro-whiteness which has unfortunately produced some awful to horrible results: white sheets and nooses and burning cross and Citizens Councils and red lining and guys nicknamed Brownie doing a "heck of a job."

That's not say there's anything wrong with being comfortable in white skin. If that's what God gave you, sure, be happy with it. However, the whole concept of having to be pro-white is redundant. It's not as if, in the normal course of events, white folks as a race really need that much encouragement. Do teachers really have to explain to white kids that in a more fair America they could perhaps grow up to be president?

So, yeah; based on its suspect history, if one were to preach the doctrine of pro-whiteness there could be due cause for concern.

Pro-blackness, on the other hand -- analogous to the Protestant work ethic -- is one of the most positive American values we have.

Comments

[Steamboater]

The issue with Wright is not pro-black or anti-white etc, but his rants which although may have been few compared to the thousands of sermons he's given, are enough to indict him as more than a radical but an ignorant hate-monger who defecated on the families of the victims of 9/11 etc. There's no getting away from that. Obama knew of these ravings and should have either walked out of the church if he was there or completely disassociated himself from that church. Any reasonably sane person would have, especially a politician when he hears his church leader give a sermon and says, "God damn America". Wright's anti-semitic comments too should have popped more than a red flag for Obama too, especially since Obama's decision to run for the presidency didn't occur just a year ago.
Hillary and Obama. Two less than great pols running for the presidency and with too much baggage, We really have bad choices this time but one of them will get the nomination and either one is better than McCain., so hold your nose and vote for whoever gets the dem nod.

[Nezua]

Ridley very clearly stated he was going to address only one facet of the accusations. Which he did, and did well. If you are not going to address the thesis of his post, why are you typing here?

[Nommo]

Did you catch the use of the word "indict"? He's just another sound bite sucker.

[Steamboater]

That's the problem. Ridley, like Obama, makes excuses for Wright by sidelining the issue and talking about everything else in order to make Wright appear not-so-bad. It's like some pundits who talk mainly about Nixon's 'great achievements' with China in order to make Nixon appear as less than paranoid when compared to Watergate and less than responsible for the mess in Vietnam. It's a cheap way of patting someone on the back when the person talked about deserves a slap in the face.

[nestormcdade]

Have you even listened to the sermons? One of them he was quoting directly a white man when he appeared on Fox News. Also MLK said most of the same things in 1967, do you consider him a hate monger also? And reasonable sane people can hear things that they disagree with and not have to leave. If that were the case people would be hopping churches every week. How many people hear thou shall not have pre-marital sex and still go to church despite having had sex before they came to church? Should they leave too?

[Steamboater]

Wright's comments about 9/11 were NOT him quoting someone else. These were direct rants from Wright himself. Have you listened to them?

[peacebypiece]

I am wondering if you know how many Catholics left their churches because of the immoral pedophile priests and the immoral cover-up by the church "leaders". I wonder if you would expect followers of John Hagee to leave his church due to his claim that god "damned" New Orleans and sent them Katrina. There are so many other instances out there of people making outrageous statements and not getting called on them. OF COURSE, this all comes down to race.

[Steamboater]

One of those Catholics or one of Hagee's parishoners had no ambitions to run for the presidency and that's the difference.

[ErikW65]

When you say "Obama knew of these ravings," you are contradicting what the senator has said, and you are in effect, calling him a liar without any proof.

[Steamboater]

That's nonsense Erik. First Obama said he never heard of Wrights comments directly or indirectly and then he later said he did, although he refused to mention what he heard. That's deception and we've gone through too much of that with Bush. It's not only deception but shows Obama as a politician like any other who's first inclination is to lie to save his political ass.

[mindact]

How many sermons of rev Wright have you hear and how lond did it last. I'm a 100% sure that you've not heard more than 45 seconds of Rev Wrights' preaching. All of that from the soundbites floating on the TV and internet. did it occur to you that those clips were combined over a fiften year period? If he preached those sermons day in day out, why did they have to go back as far as fiften years to get stuff? They could have put out a full hour of that stuff all from last year's taping, if that's what he's always talked or preached about.

Jeremiah in the bible spoke in a prophetic voice and said woe should befall Isreal. Did it mean that Jeremiah hated Isreal. same thing with Jeremiah Wright, he said God damn America. It doesn't mean he hates America. notice that he said "we" which includes himself. We bombed hiroshima, we attacked... we, we, we. His sermon, when it's not taken out of context was a call for us to change our ways

[Steamboater]

What Wright said about America needs no explanation. His words were clear and the meaning clear. When you have spin an explanation, there's trouble. Wright himself even told Obama he would have to distance himself from him. If Wright's mad comments were as innocent as you believe, he wouldn't have told Obama to stay away.

[rssrai]

If white people don't get why black communities want to band together for moral support, why don't they walk in an AAs skin for just one day.

[rigveda]

Because they would be labeled racist! :)

[clbrune]

No. I mean, I agree KKK, white supremicists are bad (indescribably so).

But the only reason "pro-black" is ok is because of inequality.

The bottom line is is that pro-X will end up meaning anti-Z, in some form or another.

Stop with excuses.

[fnygy]

I'm not clear on your argument. Why does being pro-X mean anti-Z (or X or Y, for that matter?) I concede it CAN lead to anti-Z, but i don't see why necessarily does.

[Jason357]

It doesn't. There's no logic with antagonists. As a columnist, Ridley just can't seem to break from divisive racial antagonism. He's the Ann Coulter of the democrats.

[UrbanRevolution]

Unless you are an African American you can't possibly understand. and if you are an African American then wake up.
I'm going to assume that you are not. How would you like if your children came home from school saying, "i wish i was white" because the teacher treats them better?!? How would you like it if you watched your daughter try to make her hair like white folks hair?!? How would you like it if that same daughter's concept of beauty was european and not african? Pro-black IS NOT anti white, but it is anit wanting to be white. it's pro i love to be me. We HAVE A RIGHT to self-identify. WE HAVE A RIGHT to be self reliant and to promote that within our communities. WE HAVE TO, because no one else will. This country doesn' t care about us. That's why the schools in our neighborhood are under funded. no no no, we MUST HAVE SELF DETERMINATION that is the only way that we can be an asset to this country. That is the only way to be an asset to the planet. No hand outs, no hand ups, we will do it ourselves. YOU ARE NOT OUR SAVIORS.

[classof77]

If you're an ethnic minority in this country, you know what it's like to be that ethnic minority, but you have no idea what it's like to be anything else. My daughter has periodically come home saying, "I wish I were a boy" because they get to do more fun things. I've always hated my hair and wished it were straighter, smoother, shinier--would that be "white folks hair"?? I'm not sure, because I look around at white folks and their hair is all different. My daughter's concept of beauty is european for the most part, despite her ethnic identity. Do I get all exercised over that? No, because she also sees beauty in black, Asian, and Native American features as well. I give MYSELF credit for that, frankly. The bottom line is that it's a huge mistake to assume that everyone else necessarily has it so much better or easier than you.

I agree that each individual in this country has an absolute right to his or her own identity and self reliance. That's one attribute that makes this country so powerful, and so attractive to those who live outside our borders.

[sdskelton03]

I guess white people are just too dumb to get it. At least in your mind.

[acanthus]

We must have self-determination to become assets to us.

[cheryltalks]

Love it!

[nestormcdade]

Should black people be grateful that our ancestors were bought here in slave ships, raped, murdered, sold and forced to work in unbearable conditions? So we should be proud and never speak ill of America. Riiggghht....

[Jason357]

You saying you would have a better life in Haiti, Somalia, or Nigeria? Tell the truth now.

[acanthus]

Stop with excuses for what?

[ChicagoNorth]

Sean Hannity and people outside Chicago do not understand the role of EVERY ethnic Catholic church. And actually ethic churches were pretty much the same in the eastern part of the country. I was raised in an ethnic church in Pa.

Chicago's Polish Catholic churches promote "Polish culture" and values. They play Polish music, eat Polish food, wear clothes made in Poland, arrange trips to Poland, help arriving Polish people get jobs, and have a Polish Day parade. And, many events have the US flag, the flag of Poland and the flag of the City of Chicago. All of this and more promotes a connection to the home country. It's mixing US and Polish culture and values.

The Italian Catholic churches in Chicago promotes "Italian culture" and values. They play Italian music, eat Italian food, wear clothes made in Italy, arrange trips, to Italy.... the same as the Polish Churches.

The Mexican Catholic churches promote the "Mexican culture" and values. They play Mexican music.... the same as the Polish, Italian and other ethnic groups.

Trinity Church does the SAME things as other ethnic churches -- promote "African culture" and values, play African music, eat African food, wear clothes made in Africa, arrange trips to Africa, etc.

Please STOP saying that Trinity and Rev. Wright is racist -- they are NOT. They are loving their African heritage and dealing with the racism they have suffered through.

They LOVE the US with all its faults and the horrendous pain racism has caused.

[legalclubs]

But aren't you proving the opposite of what you are trying to prove? You mentioned the churches promoting Polish Culture, Italian Culture, and Mexican Culture and all the wonderful things they do within their community and compared that to Trinity. But isn't the real controvery at Trinity not about the Church supporting African Culture, but the perceived hatred spewed by a leader of the church and permited and accepted by remaining church leadership and followers? If ministers at the Polish Church were trashing America and other Americans they would be just as bad, but they aren't, which is why Trinity, Rev. Wright, and any follower of the church who claims to want to represent "all Americans", not just African Americans and American American culture, is going to have a problem with this in the general election.

[NuttyProf]

This is a hopeless discussion, which proves EVERYTHING that some of us believe about the intractability of racism in this country. It's depressing.

[kindablu]

"To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time."
James Baldwin

[peskyliberal]

Great quote!!

[UrbanRevolution]

24/7 - I weep for my son, because i know how hard it will be for him. I'm weeping now.

[xenofile]

"By Saturday expect every utterance Pastor Wright makes to be as picked over as an episode of Lost at the San Diego Comicon."

Best simile I've seen in a long time!

I've sometimes disagreed with you on previous posts, John, but I wholeheartedly agree with this one!

[indypete]

Mr Ridley, I predict a slew of comments accusing you of racism. These will come from those who are probably actual racists (as in, "But I wouldn't want my daughter to marry one") and they will never "get" what you're saying, however succinctly, carefully and clearly you say it. They will be cheered on by hannity, limbaugh and the like to make sure the racial divide in America survives. Good luck in your efforts, give the windmill a shot for me and I'll be cheering for you all the way.

[acanthus]

indypete, the question is, with a commitment to the kind of pro-blackness John Ridley is talking about, does it matter if he or we are accused of racism by anyone? Or I should say, does it matter enough for us to spend a lot of time and energy giving a damn?

[indypete]

Not entirely sure where you're coming from, Acanthus (by the way, it's Indy to my friends... and neo-cons can call me Mr Pete!) but giving a damn seems to be about all I can do. I was brought up to hate racism but I have read enough history and been around the block enough times to understand the meaning of the word "backlash". I think it does matter if John Ridley is accused of racism, just as I think it matters when the accusations about Obama and Rev Wright are thrown around... it becomes a tool for the (if you'll pardon the expression) "fox news types" to push their agenda and promote their brand of newspeak where up is down, left is right, black is white and racists are not racists. Being a bit inarticulate, I've probably muddied my point even more and also probably addressed something totally other than your comment. If you have any idea how to clarify me for myself, I'm all ears. Meanwhile I'll go back to making snarky jabs at the trolls!

[Bocababs]

Great blog....John Ridley....

If I could fit all of it on a bumper sticker, I would.....and ride with it on the way to the Obama Volunteer event I am attending tonight in So. Florida.

[NightRider]

I concur with the essential points of your article. However, it is a little too late.

Those who heard the loopy sound bites of Rev Wright understood his comments the first time we heard them in context. I continue to listen, in disgust, to media hacks like Hannity, Buchanan, Scarborough talk about Rev Wright as if he was the poison of America.

Believe me when i say, i tremble with fear of these men, listening to them daily spewing venom, acting like they are reasonable and are friends of black people because they have a few blacks they are acquainted with.

Rev Wright is absolutely 100% correct in everything he says and that is the truth these hacks cannot stomach. Just listen to everyone going crazy because this patriotic American who served his country and his community has the gall to give an interview defending himself after the media dragged him across coal for more than a month. How dare the black man try to defend himself? I ask you.

[joeyp404]

So, all pro-black groups are inherently good? Good to know.

[acanthus]

LOL.

[sdskelton03]

"Adherence to pro-black values isn't code for "kill whitey.""

How come only liberals get to decide what is "code" and what is not?

Reverend Wright sure seems like a bigot to me, but I'm just a fool taking the man at his own words.

[UrbanRevolution]

African Americans get to decide what the meaning behind OUR WORDS is.

[sdskelton03]

Then why do African Americans also get to decide what the meaning behind other people's words are. A little greedy if you ask me.

[6thVenom]

"How come only liberals get to decide what is "code" and what is not?"

Because it's not about political affiliation, it's about real life. What's real is throughout the history of this country, African Americans have had to establish their own institutions of worship and higher learning, and their own communities and enclaves because they weren't allowed the same access and rights as White Americans. Just because the law established in 1964 granted equal rights and access didn't mean that it actually happened. Hate to break it to you, but I can say, "I love myself and my people" with no hatred in my heart for Whites.

"but I'm just a fool taking the man at his own words."

Hey, you said it, I didn't.

[court99]

You are contradicting yourself. You mock Ridley for saying that pro-black doesn't mean kill whitey, yet you turn right around call Wright a bigot for being pro-black. So, since you are so into taking people at their own words, what did Wright say that was bigoted? Did he ever say I hate the white man? Take him at his own words....what did he say, exactly?

[sssteverrr]

Than you, Mr. Ridley. As a colorless American (white) I have the greatest respect for Reverend Wright.
While we have made great strides on the road to a color blind America it is a testament to our deplorable beginnings that we are on this road at all.

Just as an abused child spends his or her whole life recovering from that abuse it is a continuation of abuse to expect our black brothers to recover from what has happened, simply because it may not be happening now.

The difficulties and challenges faced by the black community are still the result of the unjust and inhuman behavior of their European countrymen.

Shame on America for pretending it isn't so.

[UrbanRevolution]

sssteverrr - we don't want a color blind world we want a world that celebrates our differences and respects our various ideas

[sssteverrr]

Of course I agree with you. I want a world that celebrates our differences and respects our various ideas. But not one that denegrates any group without compassionate regard to the challenges of its past.