During the Civil Rights era churches were burned and firebombed in order to intimidate African-Americans. Everyone remembers the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing when, in 1963, four black girls were killed when their Mississippi church was bombed by the Ku Klux Klan. In 1996 there was an epidemic of attacks on black churches with over 30 burned to the ground. We are witnessing a more subtle attack on the black church today, but its intent is just as serious and racially motivated.
The black church has always been a powerful entity. It's been a forum for giving voice to the dispossessed and leading the fight against racial discrimination and injustice. Without the black church, the Civil Rights struggle may never have achieved its goals. There is a reason there is such mania by racists to attack this symbol of black freedom and equality.
The Revered Wright controversy gives cover to all those who want to destroy the black church. His remarks are replayed endlessly to discredit African-Americans and the church that gives them a voice. While hiding behind patriotic robes and carrying the cross of indignant outrage, the people tearing down Wright might just as well be setting fire to the pews themselves.
It is to be expected that Fox News would like to see this story stay lit, but they are not the only ones holding the matches. This morning I went to bed watching Joe Scarborough throw assorted cocktails at Obama and Wright only to wake up and see Andrea Mitchell stoking the furnace. Last night Bill Press made me sick with his comments and he couldn't agree more with the man sitting beside him, the race-baiting Pat Buchanan. I then turned on CNN to see Mark Halperin of Time Magazine turn up the heat. There is a constant, unrelently attack on the black church by the media. It is disgusting, racist and unforgivable.
Last week, Barack Obama gave one of the great speeches in American history about race and the problems that we face. Like Lincoln, he tried to bridge the divide and heal the wounds of racism in this country. Unfortunately, his opponent, Hillary Clinton, would rather play the role of Stephen A. Douglas and divide the country by the color of its skin.
On Monday, she met with ultra-conservative, right-wing reactionary, Richard Melon Scaife. For those who don't know the man whom Hillary decided to court, Scaife has given over three-quarters of a billion dollars to right wing publications, think tanks, legal teams, and other groups to fight what he views to be the forces of evil. To give you an idea of what Scaife views as evil, he is against affirmative action, opposes immigration, and is against welfare and Civil Rights legislation. Scaife was one of Richard Nixon's biggest backers and has basically controlled the conservative agenda for the last thirty years. If you wonder why Ed Rendell thinks his state is as racist as it is, you can thank men like Scaife who spread the word. He is the owner of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review newspaper.
Hillary could have opened up the dialogue. As a Christian she could have come to Wright's defense. As a leader she could have reached out her hand and tried to join the disparate factions. Instead, she brought a gallon of gasoline to the party.