Election Not the End to Bigotry

I read an article in the Hartford Courant today about an event in Connecticut where Jeremiah Wright made his first public appearance since President-elect Barack Obama and he parted ways last spring. Wright is the UCC minister who some say almost derailed Barack Obama's presidential bid. Controversial statements that Reverend Wright made in a sermon preached almost seven years ago caused such a stir that it led Obama to give his much-praised speech on race to the nation. It also led him to repudiate his friend and mentor Jeremiah Wright and to leave Reverend Wright's church of which Obama was a member. The Courant reports:

"Wright's talk, replete with detailed references to theology books and quotes from Scripture, was rife with the kind of quotes that, quoted alone, could generate controversy. But understood in the larger context of Wright's talk, the statements did not seem controversial and frequently elicited laughter from Wright's mostly white audience of several hundred. . . ." [This would lead one to wonder whether his other controversial statements taken out of context would have been viewed differently if his entire sermon had been broadcast to the nation.] . . . "My biggest fear is that we will take what's just happened in this country and think a whole lot has changed," Wright said."If you take a Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Barack Obama, their success should not lull us into thinking society has changed."

I tend to echo to a point the sentiment that nothing has changed. I would amend Wright's statement to say that Jordan's, Obama's, and Wood's success should not lull us into thinking that society has made a drastic change with regard to racism. In order for this society to elect a black man as president, one cannot deny that society has changed. But there is still deep racism in this country. Barack Obama (like Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods) has black skin, but for many people he is different from other blacks. Different not just in the sense that his background and heritage are different, but different in the respect that society's perception of him is that he is not like other black people. His achievements do not erase the stereotype that many white Americans have of black people. So, racism continues and bigotry of all kinds continues.

I was one of the many hundreds of thousands of Americans who was moved to tears upon hearing that we Americans had made history by electing a black man to the presidency of the United States. But, despite the euphoria experienced by so many Americans from every walk of life on the election of a black president, we must note that California banned same-sex marriage at the same time they were electing this black president. Bigotry continues. At the same time that this country was electing a black man as president of the United States, Arkansas adopted a measure banning unmarried couples from fostering or adopting children. The Arkansas Family Council portrayed its support of the measure as a battle against a "gay agenda." Bigotry continues.

Bigotry of all kind continues in this country and around the world. And we must continue to fight against it. We must also continue to protect ourselves from the hurt, humiliation and loss of self esteem that bigotry causes. That is why I urge you to visit http://www.withstandingthelie.com/ and support Roger and Nicole in their efforts to teach others how to withstand the lie.