A STATEMENT CONCERNING THE REV. JEREMIAH WRIGHT The Reverend Jeremiah Wright is an outstanding church leader whom I have heard speak a number of
times. He has served for decades as a profound voice for justice and inclusion in our society. He has been a vocal critic of the racism, sexism and homophobia which still tarnish the American dream. To evaluate his dynamic ministry on the basis of two or three sound bites does a grave injustice to Dr. Wright, the members of his congregation, and the African-American church which has been the spiritual refuge of a people that has suffered from discrimination, disadvantage, and violence. Dr. Wright, a member of an integrated denomination, has been an agent of racial reconciliation while proclaiming perceptions and truths uncomfortable for some white people to hear. Those of us who are white Americans would do well to listen carefully to Dr. Wright rather than to use a few of his quotes to polarize. This is a critical time in America’s history as we seek to repent of our racism. No matter which candidates prevail, let us use this time to listen again to one another and not to distort one another’s truth.
Dean J. Snyder, Senior Minister
Foundry United Methodist Church
March 19, 2008
RELATED: U.S. SEN. HILLARY Clinton yesterday rebuked Democratic rival Sen. Barack Obama for his ties to a controversial Chicago minister, saying, “He would not have been my pastor.” Clinton’s remarks in Pittsburgh could serve to distract attention from her admission to the Daily News Monday that she had exaggerated details of a 1996 visit to Bosnia. Clinton addressed both issues as she campaigned in western Pennsylvania for the state’s April 22 primary. In an interview with the Pittsburgh Tribune Review, Clinton said that she would have left her church if her pastor made the sort of inflammatory remarks that Obama’s former pastor, Jeremiah Wright Jr., made. “You don’t choose your family, but you choose what church you want to attend,” Clinton said, referring to Wright’s comments as “hate speech.” MORE