Synopses & Reviews
Barack Obama's inauguration as the first African Americanpresident of the United States has caused many commentators to conclude that Americahas entered a postracial age. The Preacher and thePolitician argues otherwise, reminding us that, far frominevitable, Obama's nomination was nearly derailed by his relationship with JeremiahWright, the outspoken former pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ on the SouthSide of Chicago. The media storm surrounding Wright's sermons, the historiansClarence E. Walker and Gregory D. Smithers suggest, reveals that America's fraughtracial past is very much with us, only slightly less obvious.
Withmeticulous research and insightful analysis, Walker and Smithers take us back to theDemocratic primary season of 2008, viewing the controversy surrounding Wright in thecontext of enduring religious, political, and racial dynamics in American history.In the process they expose how the persistence of institutional racism, and racialstereotypes, became a significant hurdle for Obama in his quest for thepresidency.
The authors situate Wright's preaching in AfricanAmerican religious traditions dating back to the eighteenth century, but they alsoplace his sermons in a broader prophetic strain of Protestantism that transcendsracial categories. This latter connection was consistently missed or ignored bypundits on the right and the left who sought to paint the story in simplistic, andracially defined, terms. Obama's connection with Wright gave rise to criticism that, according to Walker and Smithers, sits squarely in the American political tradition, where certain words are meant to incite racial fear, in the case of Obama withcharges that the candidate was unpatriotic, a Marxist, a Black Nationalist, or aMuslim.
Once Obama became the Democratic nominee, the day of hiselection still saw ballot measures rejecting affirmative action and undermining thecivil rights of other groups. The Preacher and the Politician is a concise andtimely study that reminds us of the need to continue to confront the legacy ofracism even as we celebrate advances in racial equality andopportunity.