Reflections on Obama’s “A More Perfect Union” Speech

By Robin Caldwell

The Sunday, March 23 issue of The New York Times carried a cover story about presidential candidate Barack Obama’s race speech and its impact on Easter sermons nationwide. One of the most compelling paragraphs in the article stated:
“Some ministers interviewed over the last several days said they would wait until after Easter to preach on it all, because Easter and headlines do not mix. But others said there was no better moment than Easter, when sanctuaries swelled with their biggest crowds of the year, and redemption was the dominant theme.”

Obama’s speech and the furor preceding it was caused, ironically, by a minister – Jeremiah Wright, former pastor of Chicago’s Trinity United Church of Christ. Wright’s comments and commentary delivered consistently from his pulpit and in other public forums have fueled one of the worst political wars since the Civil War – the War Between the States which made slavery and racism the culprit in splitting the country.

Unfortunately, before Wright opened his mouth, the country was split and the racial divide shifting each side further and further apart. To his credit, Jeremiah Wright has the church talking or at least talking about talking as noted in the Times article. The cleric and former Obama campaign adviser is the unwitting catalyst for a long overdue discussion between believers and followers of Christ about race.

It’s time to talk about race.

And not in some pat on the hand, shame on you kind of way.

And certainly not in an antagonistic, baiting, and venomous way.

Both ways have failed us in the same manner as saying absolutely nothing at all has failed us. And judging by the political and social climate in this country, we’ve reached our boiling point – all of that silence has built up and is ready to blow.

In my discipleship, I’ve learned that people sitting in the pews, confessing perfect faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, cannot afford to be burdened with an imperfect, evil racism. Most often, for the record, the victimized becomes a victimizer who harbors deep resentment towards their enemy. And in 2008, it is ludicrous for anyone saying that she or he is a Christian to hold onto any vestige of the evil called racism.

Grant it, as I point one finger in any direction, left or right, I’ve got three pointing right back at me. The evil known as racism has its grip on me as well. And I didn’t know how tightly until these presidential elections. By my own admission, my choice for president was spurred by the hits and attacks he’s received from his opponent who has yet to be called out for her own racism. Isn’t that something? The woman candidate is racist, but we won’t talk about that. Oh well…

But I will and really want to talk about my own wounds, such as being a child who was spat on by an elderly white man in post-Civil Rights, northern Cleveland, Ohio. I was the adult who was once again spat on and called the N-word by a woman in a southern department store. I am the hybrid daughter who has been called half-breed by her own relatives with the same hostility I was called the N-word. That’s my story in a nutshell and by the looks of things I’m not alone.

Barack Obama said in his speech:
“But race is an issue that I believe this nation cannot afford to ignore right now. We would be making the same mistake that Reverend Wright made in his offending sermons about America - to simplify and stereotype and amplify the negative to the point that it distorts reality. 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…”

I always tell my friend Mary that “what God has joined together, let no man put asunder,” is not merely in reference to people united in marriage; it refers to people God has placed together in general. And He has joined His church together as a union formed under a covenant, the Blood Covenant.

If the church mirrors the non-churched world in every aspect, which is expected given we live in their same world, then I believe that if we stand any chance of affecting change – a change we can believe in – then we must take on a different mindset. And that mindset has to embrace difference of stories and difference in experience; it is a mindset that has to be open to discussing those differences.

There are white, brown and yellow believers in my world and I love them fiercely. Yet, on the issue of race, our union is imperfect. We look different but there is a silent expectation that all that counts is the bond in Christ though it is often marred by the wounds of racism and bigotry so inherent in this culture. I want to talk about race, but I don’t want to be called sensitive and I don’t want my experiences minimized. Moreover, I don’t want to do the same to another person or harbor bad feelings about people who look like them just because of what has happened to me.

One of my favorite verses is, “God is not a respecter of persons.” I found beauty in that verse during a time I wrestled with my own race issues while attempting to follow Jesus. The most beautiful aspect of it is that a God, who purposely created us in so many different hues, regards those hues lightly and instead chooses to deal with us as His creations – human beings.
As hurt as I am, I just want to be regarded as a human being at the beginning and end of every day. That’s the beauty of the Cross. In Him, I have a union that cares less about my skin color.

Still, old and current wounds fester and sting in the face of a discussion on the subject of race Americans, particularly those of us in the church, refuse to entertain. Jeremiah Wright is also wounded. But bless Jeremiah Wright’s wrongness, because in his wrong there is a right and that right thing is the forum for a discussion in the church.

Easter Sunday seems as good a time as any. And let’s pray redemption is imminent, because I want to see someone like Jeremiah Wright healed and I really want my own healing too.