To say the least, the timing was eerie.
On Friday evening, a group of terrorists who appear to have been affiliated with the ultra-violent Muslim fundamentalist organization known as ISIS, perpetrated what has been described in the New York Times as the deadliest attack in Western Europe since 2004, killing more than 120 people. Many Muslims worldwide were quick to not only condemn the bombing but to emphasize that those responsible for such horrific violence do not understand the meaning of true Islam and in no way represent the larger Muslim community.
On that very same evening, in Dearborn, MI, home to the largest Arab population in the United States, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, known to far too many solely as President Barack Obama’s controversial former pastor, was the keynote speaker at the 33rd Annual Gala of the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee. Rev. Wright made headlines during the 2008 presidential campaign for comments that were excerpted – out of context – from one of his sermons and then twisted to portray Wright as anti-American. The issue became such a media frenzy that Obama was forced to distance himself from Wright publicly during the campaign, which many thought was in danger of being derailed.
Wright, who is pastor emeritus at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, has also been labeled by some as anti-semitic for his unapologetic support of the Palestinian people in their ongoing struggle against the Israeli people over occupied territory.
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; Jesus was a Palestinian,” he said on Friday, once again demonstrating his outspoken support for the Palestinian cause.
Wright has four academic degrees, including from Howard University and the University of Chicago Divinity School, is a co-founder of the Center for African American Theological Studies in Chicago, and lectures on Africana studies. He grew his congregation from 87 members in 1972, when he joined as pastor, to more than 8,000 during the length of his tenure.
In short, the man has accomplished quite a bit. Considerably more than that relative blip on his life’s screen that occurred in Campaign 2008. And yet it is that blip that continues to define Wright in many minds – just as it is the horrific attack of 9/11 that continues to define all Muslims in too many American minds. Although that event can hardly be considered a blip by any measure, it can hardly be used to describe the nature of an entire religion or group of people.
“Once a narrative has been spun…from that point on all you will hear is discussion concerning the narrative,” said Wright. “Debates about the narrative. Analyses of the narrative. What’s behind the issues in the narrative. Deconstruction of the narrative. Disagreements about various elements of the narrative. Commentary concerning the narrative. You will never hear the truth because the narrative has become the truth for people who don’t know any better.”
And who, oftentimes, don’t want to know any better. Because ignorance is so much easier.
“Muslims are the new ‘n’ word in this country after 9/11,” he said.
“We have artists and scholars writing everything from novels to movies and TV miniseries and PhD dissertations about the narrative, but who know absolutely nothing about the folks the narrative was spun about. …Americans were seduced by fear because of the narrative spun about Iraq, yet they knew absolutely nothing about the people of Iraq, the culture of Iraq, the customs of Iraq, the cuisines of Iraq.”
Which is why, Wright said, that it is so important to take the time to actually actually learn about one another before casting judgment on one another based on little to no information. An acknowledged lover of music, Wright is known for injecting musical references into his speeches and sermons to amplify a point. This time referencing the human rights anthem “We Are the World”, the quadruple platinum song written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, Wright riffed on the lyrics of the song, emphasizing that only by coming together as a people united will the divisiveness of ignorance be forcefully challenged.
“The last verse says, ‘When you’re down and out, and there seems no hope at all – when you’re down and out, from Palestine to Ferguson, from Damascus to Detroit, from Gaza to Cleveland, from the West Bank to East Baltimore, from Yemen to Ypsilanti – when you’re down and out and there seems no hope at all, that is when we realize that change can only come when we stand together. We are the world.
“I want to suggest to you tonight that standing together united for justice means we have got to live together, we have got to labor together, and we have got to learn together.”
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