The Rev. Wright's Remarks

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Before I relocated to the Washington area, I happened to be visiting here one very hot summer Sunday. Listening to WHUR-FM, I was riveted by the preacher's sermon the station was broadcasting. Although I had arrived at my destination, I sat in the hot car with the windows rolled down to hear the end of the sermon.

"This is the kind of sermon I want to hear on a Sunday morning," I thought. It wasn't a sermon that could be delivered everywhere, because it might upset some people. But the sermon spoke the truth to me, truth that is sometimes hard to hear. It was grounded in biblical text and spoke about being true to God's word, serving God and not getting distracted by other masters.

I waited patiently to hear the name of this inspiring preacher -- the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. I am white, and I find great truth, support and challenge in the Rev. Wright's sermons and analysis. The controversy surrounding his remarks and his association with Sen. Barack Obama reminds me that we have a long way to go to heal the racial divide.

REBECCA S. MYERS

Silver Spring

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After listening to Barack Obama's candid and inspiring speech on race relations Tuesday, I became an Obama supporter. I found the explanation of his longtime relationship with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. to be forthright and honest. Who among us doesn't have relationships with people whom we love deeply -- spouses, parents, siblings, children, friends, co-workers -- but vehemently disagree with on any number of issues ?

ANTOINETTE CLEVELAND

Takoma Park

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I don't think the congregants of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago get it ["Congregation Defends Obama's Ex-Pastor; Criticism Seen as Attempt to Silence Voice of Black Church," front page, March 18].

The Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. is the African American equivalent of Don Imus, if not worse. He is receiving the same treatment that Mr. Imus received, and that Geraldine Ferraro is receiving, for extemporaneous public comments that were racially inappropriate. The Post portrayed Trinity United congregants as feeling that the Rev. Wright has been misunderstood. Ms. Ferraro feels the same way, but she still lost her position in Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign because she was judged by her remarks alone, not her total record.

If the members of Trinity United believe the reaction to the Rev. Wright's unmistakably racist remarks has been unfair, they need to reconsider how Mr. Imus and Ms. Ferraro were treated for their remarks and come up with a fairer approach that can be applied equally to anyone of any race who uses racist language. Otherwise members of this Christian congregation are engaging in un-Christian, race-based hypocrisy of the kind strongly condemned by Jesus. See, for example, Matthew 23:13-36.

DONALD M. MALONE

Washington