During my decade (the 1960s) on the national staff of Jeremiah Wright’s (and Bill Moyer’s) denomination, the United Church of Christ fought for racial equality on many fronts, including the founding of interracial churches. Trinity was founded as interracial, but the white population of the area soon disappeared into Chicago’s suburbs. So when a colleague of mine, Reuben Sheares, became pastor of Trinity, the new monochrome demographic reality had to be faced. Then his successor, Jeremiah Wright, turned Reuben’s personal slogan—“Unashamedly
Black and Unapologetically Christian”—into the church’s motto.

The church’s shift in appeal from interracial to black is reflected in the membership increase from 87 (when Reuben left) to the present 6,000+. A proper pride in one’s heritage and folk is healthy, in contrast both to tribalism (excessive pride) and shame. In promoting that proper pride, the black preacher will occasionally step over the line, “damning” the sources of the shame (especially American slavery) and sounding chauvinistic about blackness. Having worked so much with black churches, especially black clergy, I hardly notice the rhetorical excesses. But from Wright’s excesses, the media cherry-picked “inflammatory” sound bites.

1.....From editing the Harvard law review, Barack Obama went to the degenerate and dangerous streets of south Chicago to help black youth fight the internal and external enemies of their human hopes. He discovered that in south Chicago, his most natural ally for societal improvement and human caring was Trinity Church, which he naturally joined. Also naturally, as a statesman for all the people, he will never agree with everything said by any pastor: pastors speak to and for their own people. To Bill Moyers, Wright made this distinction clear. An educated public will not be gulled by the blurring of the distinction.

2.....In 1970, a liberal-Protestant University of Chicago professor showed his student, Jeremiah Wright, a church bulletin with news only of the congregation. If a church is faithful to the Bible’s commandment to love God and neighbor, its weekly bulletin should give evidence of love in action both in and beyond the congregation. The student took this as guidance, and two years later became the pastor of Trinity Church—“in the heart of the community, ever seeking to win the community’s heart.” Almost his first words to his congregation were, “What are we doing for this community?”

3.....In serving God and its community, each congregation should be a unique fit. Trinity Church is liberal Protestant, black, Pentecostal, and altar-call evangelical. Wright, who is retiring this month, should be seen by the public not as a black-racist America-hater but as a creative pastor, generous-minded thinker, scholar (with four earned degrees, including a doctorate), and eminent churchman (with nine honorary doctorates).

4.....We shall have color-blind churches if and when we have color-blind communities. We now have ethnic churches in ethnic communities and interracial churches in interracial communities. Martin Luther King was correct that we should treat one another, and shape our laws, so that what counts is “not the color of our skin but the content of our character.” But he was unfair in saying that “Sunday morning is the most segregated hour of the week.” Unfair, for the historical fact is that all black Christians worshipped with white Christians until blacks decided to pull out and worship in the style of their culture (instead of continuing to worship in the style of the white culture).

5.....In 1976, four years after Jeremiah Wright became pastor of Trinity Church, our United Church of Christ elected its first black president. In 2008, I hope the United States of America elects its first black president.