Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

Views: Race, religion and politics in the 21st century
by Rev. Deborah Lake
2008-04-30

This article shared 5188 times since Wed Apr 30, 2008
facebook twitter google +1 reddit email


During the 40th anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King, Jr., we remember the ongoing struggle to end race based oppression in America. In our communities and our religious institutions we celebrate King's life, mourn his death, and we vow to continue the struggle. Meanwhile, Rev. Jeremiah Wright's comments, and our reactions to them, are part of the backdrop.

Let us examine Wright's comments and our reactions to them with more than a simplified black/white understanding. As we remember the change brought about through the civil rights movement, let us look at the position of the Black church in the lives of many today with more than a bottom line good/evil lens. We can use this time of social unrest and political disagreement to develop broader understandings of what it means to be American, what it means to be oppressed, and what it means to hold ourselves, our government, and our institutions accountable.

The unapologetic, racist, anti-Semitic, and anti-American comments of Wright opens a window to American history that many hoped had been closed through the work and sacrifices of activists over the decades. In addition, our reactions to these comments reveal how we tend to look for simplified explanations for the complex challenges that we face today.

Wright is a human being with a set of life experiences and a journey of personal choices. We react to his comments as if he is either a demon against all that is civilized or a deliverer from all that is unjust. Neither is absolutely true, and therein lies the conflict we face. In our assessment of Wright, some of us choose only to see the fact that he led a prosperous congregation that became a positive force in the lives of many. Others of us choose only to see that he has used the pulpit to make racist, intolerant, and unpatriotic comments.

King, too, was human—with his own set of life experiences and personal choices. We tend only to remember King the prophet who spoke against injustice. We often forget that sometimes King's actions contradicted his words. While he spoke so eloquently for the end of oppression, he battled with, and ultimately succumbed to, his personal homophobia throughout his relationship with Bayard Rustin. We want to remember King the visionary who lost his life in the fight to end racism. All the while we seem to forget that he did not address the fact that women in the movement were only treated as valuable when they served the agenda of men.

Today, we credit the Black church with starting and fueling the civil-rights movement. We forget that many churches would not support King and he was not welcome in many pulpits. What many of us choose to remember and what actually happened during the civil-rights movement reveals a dual image of history, the Black church and the struggle for equality. That duality continues today.

Now, because of Wright's comments and reactions to them, the perception that the Black church follows two versions of Christianity is becoming prominent. One Christianity is expressed behind closed doors when Black preachers and their congregations express anti-American rhetoric, blame the government for the spread of disease in their communities, and accuse Jewish people of fueling the tensions in the Middle East. The other Christianity is presented to the public when Black preachers and their congregations try to address the spread of HIV in their communities, work to help incarcerated men and women have a successful reentry into society, and attempt to ease illiteracy in Black communities.

This duality extends beyond the church and into the politics of today. Some of us are so anxious to believe that racism no longer exists in America that we will almost blindly support Barack Obama's bid for the presidential candidacy because he is Black. We ignore the times when he talks around direct questions by raising important issues that affect the quality of our lives. We heave a heavy sigh of relief when we hear him speak about the importance of having conversations about race in this country, and our hopes are raised.

Others of us are so eager to maintain or obtain power and control that we resort to images and attitudes that call to mind the America when slavery was a God-given right, rather than a man-made abomination, Jim Crow was the law of the land rather than the will of the racist, anti-Semitism was the litmus test for all Christians rather than just one more expression of hate, and lynching was a means to maintain control, rather than violent, hate-based murder. The result: our country is divided, yet again, between Black and White. This division comes at a time when most Americans can claim a blend of racial heritages and ethnicities.

We face the most important decision of our generation. We need to decide as individuals and as a country whether we will continue to see color, gender, sexual orientation, and religion when we look at one another, or if we will finally move beyond what has divided us and be an example so that the next generation of Americans will not have to make choices based on imposed social, religious and physical categories.

It is my hope, as it has been for decades, that we will be able to become free from the shackles of the racial, ethnic, religious, gender, and sexual orientation categories that have served so well to separate all of humanity. We are slaves to our categories of Black, White, Christian, Moslem, Jew … and because of this, our oppressions continue. We all must stop looking for 'self' in categories, and start seeing 'us' in humanity. We can take this time when half of America is shocked by Wright's comments and half is relieved to hear them aired, to learn how to see beyond the many categories that we claim and see our common experiences. We can take this time when half of America does not understand how a pastor could speak such language from the pulpit, and half understands completely, to see that oppression touches us all.

Langston Hughes eloquently describes our potential for connection in this excerpt from his poem, Let America be America Again:

'I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart, I am the Negro bearing slavery's scars. I am the red man driven from the land, I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek—and finding only the same old stupid plan of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak. I am the young man, full of strength and hope, tangled in that ancient endless chain of profit, power, gain, of grab the land! Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need! Of work the men! Of take the pay! Of owning everything for one's own greed! I am the farmer, bondsman to the soil. I am the worker sold to the machine. I am the Negro servant to you all. I am the people, humble, hungry, mean—hungry yet today despite the dream. Beaten yet today—O Pioneers! I am the man who never got ahead, the poorest worker bartered through the years.'

Until we recognize that we are human, and we have common human experiences, we will never find the unity, peace, and prosperity that we all crave. Until we stop looking for our 'savior' the 'next Martin Luther King' the iconic 'leader for change' and start understanding that each one of us has a choice to make and our choice will determine the direction of our country, we will always find that our next 'new hope' is yet another disappointment.

One choice is to continue to magnify the base, degrading and insulting attitudes of those who are blinded by their hatred by replicating or justifying them. Another choice is to diminish these attitudes by rejecting them, and magnifying the words and actions of those who truly see beyond our divisions. We can follow those who capitalize on the categories that divide us, or we can empower those who envision an America that is indivisible and with justice for all. We can throw down our shackles of race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity and religious affiliation and begin to create true change as we connect with one another through our common human experiences.


This article shared 5188 times since Wed Apr 30, 2008
facebook twitter google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

VIEWS Mike Johnson: The smiling face of Christian tyranny 2024-02-14
- Mike Johnson wants to rewrite the constitution to make the United States a Christian nation. James Michael Johnson, Republican from Louisiana's Fourth District, is the 56th speaker of the United States House of Representatives. He was ...


Gay News

VIEWS Parents, not legislators, should be making decisions about medical options for children 2024-02-06
By Jeffery M. Leving - No matter the medical issue, when it comes to kids, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said something last December that every lawmaker in the country should realize when it comes to medical decisions for children. "Were House ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Sundance items, Green Day, 'Wednesday,' Queerties, 'The Wiz' 2024-01-26
- At the Sundance Film Festival, Jodie Foster told Variety that the $1.4-billion success of Barbie helps confirm that Hollywood no longer views women directors as too much of a risk. She said, "With a big success ...


Gay News

VIEWS Is the Pope Catholic? Francis faces opposition in steps toward LGBTQ+ inclusivity 2024-01-02
- The recent change in Vatican policy allowing priests to bless same-gender couples has provoked an unprecedented backlash against Pope Francis and his openness to LGBTQ+ people—a backlash that some fear might devolve into a schism in ...


Gay News

Bring Chicago Home: Guess who's saying no again 2023-12-04
Commentary by Bob Palmer and Mark Swartz - Chicago is ushering in an era of change with a new progressive mayor with a vision to invest in communities long ignored and a significant increase in like-minded city council members. We are excited to see ...


Gay News

Pope Francis's community of transwomen 2023-11-28
- It's a rare opportunity to meet the pope. It's even rarer if you're a transgender Catholic. However, on Nov. 19, in Torvaianica, Italy, a community of transwomen, many of them sex workers, were welcomed and seated ...


Gay News

Banning the Banning of Books: Illinois and California lead the way 2023-10-26
- In June, at the Harold Washington Library in Chicago, Governor JB Pritzker signed legislation banning book bans in Illinois public libraries. This legislation, initiated by Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, passed the Illinois House and ...


Gay News

OPINION Renewing state's Invest in Kids program is investing in anti-LGBTQ+ hate 2023-10-23
- In February 2020, Bishop Thomas Paprocki of the Diocese of Springfield warned transgender students in the Diocese's educational system that they "may be expelled from the school" if they live their lives authentically. Lansing Christian School ...


Gay News

Gilbert Baker Foundation reacts to death of shop owner who flew the rainbow flag 2023-08-29
--From a press release - In response to the murder of Laura Ann Carleton over flying the Rainbow flag in her shop in California, the Gilbert Baker Foundation released the statement below. Facebook refused to post the statement as it did not "...meet their standards." ...


Gay News

VIEWPOINT U.S. higher education under siege; freedom of inquiry and speech at risk 2023-07-03
- The Covid pandemic threw a harsh spotlight on higher education in America, exposing forces eating away at the foundations of college and university learning, calling into question the traditional purposes of such education in our post-modern, ...


Gay News

Guest essay by Florida mom Nicole Pejovich: What's Happening to Florida's Public Schools? 2023-06-19
Related video below - A queer Florida parent answers questions about recent laws, how Floridians are coping, and how you can help Books pulled from school library shelves by the dozens. All evidence of inclusivity stripped from classrooms. The politically ...


Gay News

VIEWPOINT For divorced parents, transgender children's health can present tricky dilemmas 2023-06-12
- Over the last few months, issues impacting individuals who identify as transgender and non-binary are getting a lot of attention in the media and among some politicians. Sadly, because it's become a political issue; a lot ...


Gay News

VIEWPOINT War in the 21st Century: mercenaries, private military companies, private armies 2023-05-20
- In 2022, $407 billion of the Pentagon budget—representing half of that year's funding —were obligated to private contractors, of which a significant number were Private Military Companies (PMCs) involved in ...


Gay News

VIEWPOINT Telling the world about my mental health disorders 2023-05-04
- Over the years, coming out as a lesbian hasn't been that hard for me—because I was always too busy hiding something else. Confessing queerness can be a breeze compared to revealing mental illness. But I decline ...


Gay News

VIEWPOINT German bishops endorse blessings of same-sex couples: Ancient rituals retturn 2023-03-31
- This March, at a national meeting of leaders of the German Catholic Church (referred to as a synod), a document titled Blessing Ceremonies for Couples who Love Each Other" received overwhelming support: 176 votes in favor, ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.