The Race to Do the Wright Thing

Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who will be honored by TCU March 28

A short while ago, Barack Obama delivered his speech on race and politics — you can read the entire speech here, where you can also view it in its entirety. During the speech, of course, he addressed at length his relationship with Reverend Jeremiah Wright, who will be on the Texas Christian University campus the weekend of March 28 to receive the Brite Divinity School’s Black Church Leader Award.

In its wrap-up, CNN also brings the story close to home by quoting Dr. Frederick Haynes of Friendship-West Baptist Church on Wheatland Road. Haynes, who cut radio ads supporting Tom Leppert during the mayoral race, tells CNN he was among 50 African-American ministers nationwide who took part over the weekend in a 90-minute conference call Sunday with representatives of Obama’s campaign. According to CNN, “Haynes said the pastors — some of whom were angry with Obama — felt something had to be done to address the concerns of African-Americans, particularly those in the black ministry. Haynes … who considers Wright a ‘mentor,’ said there was a sense of ‘outrage,’ a feeling that Wright was ‘being lynched in the media’ and reduced to sound bites by those ‘ignorant of black culture, black expression and the black church.'” Which mirrors something Shawn Williams posted today at Dallas South in an item headlined, “The Media Lynching of Rev. Jeremiah Wright (Part 1 of 3).” –Robert Wilonsky