Kathy Hayes
“The attack on the black church became personal after his reaction to the media’s response, which was taken out of context. Who adjusted the perimeters of the conversation for that particular sermon? After that sermon, his reaction made it more inflammatory and the church, as well as his own history, became the attack.”
Alex Oliveros
“In regards to Rev. Wright, I do believe that the media has been attacking him. They only used portions of the sermon. In order to get the full sermon, you needed to be there from beginning to end. You can’t just walk into the middle and take bits and pieces from it. I don’t, however, believe it is an attack on the black church. I just believe that somebody is going against Barack Obama, who I believe should be the next president. They want to use (Wright’s) message against the senator.
Maye Foster-Thompson
“I think the controversy goes far beyond Rev. Wright and the African-American church and religious community. Despite all the good news we’ve had out of states like Iowa, New Hampshire and a few others-where there is virtually no African-American population-I believe this controversy has more to do with race than religion. If you were to think about some of the other clergy who have spoken out in terms of hatred and so forth, they have not received the same kind of media attention that Rev. Wright has. Unfortunately, it goes beyond the church or Obama’s candidacy. We’re very proud of what has been happening in this country since the beginning of this year with everyone coming together around a common movement. That is what we need to focus on and not on this single controversy.”
Reginald Weed
“I feel the assumptions and the conversations that are coming about after this controversy is an attack on the black church. When we look back on the history of media itself, there have been things said by members of the Catholic church that weren’t as readily put out in the news as this controversy. There was a comment made by [John] McCain’s supporter, Rev. Hagee, regarding homosexuality, where he said ‘Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans because of the city’s ‘sinful’ acceptance of homosexuality.” So this whole thing is crazy and ridiculous.”
Maurianna Jones
“I think it definitely is an attack the black church in a specific way, and the black church does have different groups to attend to. I don’t think politics should really mix itself up with whether or not Jeremiah Wright is right or wrong. He does not have to answer to politicians, and he is not running. He is a black person behind Barack Obama, but Barack Obama is his own person. So, I definitely think the controversy is out of control right now.
Shirley J. Roberts
“Well, I’ve had very mixed emotions about the controversy. I think the media has blown things way out of proportion. I do have a feeling about some the things Rev. Wright has said, but I think it has gone way beyond where it should have. If the media would listen, they would get a lot more out of what is going on. But to discredit and put all of the pressure that they have on Sen. Obama, I think, has gotten to be just ridiculous.”
