One of many in this sentient, powerful and beautiful speech:
"And this helps explain, perhaps, my relationship with Reverend Wright. As imperfect as he may be, he has been like family to me. He strengthened my faith, officiated my wedding, and baptized my children. Not once in my conversations with him have I heard him talk about any ethnic group in derogatory terms, or treat whites with whom he interacted with anything but courtesy and respect. He contains within him the contradictions – the good and the bad – of the community that he has served diligently for so many years.
I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother – a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe.
These people are a part of me. And they are a part of America, this country that I love."
This reminded me of driving to sunday dinner, after picking up bread and the sunday paper with my irish american grandfather. i don't remember the context, but here is what he said:
"....he was sweating like a nigger going to an election." i think i was 10. i have never forgotten that quote. i knew it was wrong. he was a good man but he was wrong. but i still loved him. "these people are a part of me."
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3 comments:
i have trouble with it all. my grandfather was archie bunker polish style, and no one was safe. jews, blacks, hispanics, protestants, you name it. there was always a joke, and a message. my parents NEVER uttered a racist word in my presence, their words, "just ignore him". but i think that in itself was a message.
YES. and what i feel about this oratory, read or seen in full, brings things into total focus. the most powerful and non-polarizing speech i have seen. waiting to see him now on abc.
I understand the "just ignore him" sentiment. My grandmother had a problem with all "the foreigners" in the country. When the ceiling collapsed in Journal Square terminal, my grandmother pinned the blame on "the foreigners." Occasionally, my friends will let fly with a racial epithet. Forget about some of the conversations I've overheard in my uncle's bar. I figure if someone has reached adulthood and still hasn't figured out that it's wrong, I'm certainly not going to have much impact by making a little speech. My parents never uttered a racist word in my presence either. I try to lead by their example. I think we're making progress as a whole.
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