More Shock than Horror?

I was sitting eating a wheat cracker when the news broke: Barack Obama won enough delegates to clench the Democratic nomination. I sat and watched as he made a patriotic speech, outlining his plans to unify America. From his emotional delivery, it seems as if he really means and feels what he is saying, and wants others to believe in his vision, too. He mentions racial and economic inequality, and challenges Americans to see past the rhetoric of politics and select the candidate best for this country.
I couldn't help but pay attention to his mention of religion. Earlier this week, it was announced that Obama broke with his former church, which was once headed by the now embattled Jeremiah Wright. You know, he's the minister who preached for over 20 years, only to have his legacy destroyed by a soundbite that lasted less than a minute. Twenty years of preaching, gone in less than a minute. So is the nature of politics.
Needless to say, I'm a little angry at that whole situation. Journalists replayed that soundbite over and over and over again. It was just that one little sound bite, taken from a sermon that probably lasted for well over an hour. That kind of thing, the way the American public are pegged for sheep who will feel angry over select sound bites played and replayed in the media, is enough to upset any thinking person. Look at how they did Howard Dean! They took a sound, one sound that this man made, and ruined his whole campaign. That is ridiculous. What about the big deal they made when George Bush mispronounced the word "nuclear?" This president has done plenty of things to criticize, and the best thing our infotainment news broadcasters could come up with is mispronouncing a word?
Now, I'm not endorsing any one candidate. However, as an African American, I can't help but be disgusted at the story that the media is using to enrage the public when it comes to Obama. I also have to ask a very, very important question: does America think Jeremiah Wright and Obama are divisive? Or, is the American public shocked at the the fact that political issues get discussed in African American churches?
I mean, think about it....when you see African American worship services on television, what is being shown? Shouting, dancing, singing, clapping, foot-stomping...etc. Often times, African American church services are shown as fun events and jokes. Look at that scene on the original "Blues Brothers." Think of PreacherBot on "Futurama." He has a black-sounding voice. Even William Faulkner, in The Sound and the Fury, includes a Black church scene. Now, I don't know what his purpose was for including that scene, but I read it as an attempt to pacify his white readers with an old, racist joke. I've even heard some white people say they go to African American churches because those churches are just more entertaining. I know these people do not mean to sound racist, and I simply give them a smile. But, I do not rise early Sunday morning, and drive to church so that I can entertain white people. I do not praise the Lord to draw laughter from white people. I do not listen to the sermon and encourage my pastor with an occasional "Amen" to entertain white people. I do not fall on my knees and pray to entertain white people. And I don't sing out loud that I love the Lord to entertain white people.
Yes, in some African American churches, there is a good amoung of shouting, singing, clapping, and dancing. Those are relics, good relics, of West African religion. Those are vital parts of African American worship services, and I don't feel sorry if other groups don't understand it. However, why is that seen as a joke in American popular culture? But, here's where the shame comes in...African American preachers are more than just emotional guides. There is a whole tradition there and a history. It is called prophetic rhetoric. It stems from slavery, and the use of the Old Testament works to talk about God, apply the Bible to contemporary situations, and talk about freedom from tyranny and oppression. Needless to say, these sermons are not exactly politically correct. The real shame is, the really, really, horrible truth that comes out of this Jeremiah Wright news story, is that America at large seems ignorant of the eloquence and intelligence of African American preachers and orators.
Dr. Wright comes from this tradition. In his oration of what the African American community may be thinking, he is participating in a history that stems all the way back to Frederick Douglas and other abolitionist intellectuals. The media wants to call this man, a man who has tirelessly fought to end oppression, unAmerican. I want to step out and say these people are ignorant. The Hon. Frederick Douglas once gave a speech called, "What to the Slave is the 4th of July?" He gave it to an all-white audience on Independence Day. He stood there, using the imagery available in the Old Testament, and told the audience why African Americans should not celebrate Independence Day. Was he being unpatriotic, or was he simply stating the plain truth?