Race, Religion, and the Race for the White House

Contextualizing the black church: Analysis of newspaper coverage in the Obama–Wright controversy

“…Wright had officiated the Obamas’ wedding, baptized their children, and inspired the title of Obama’s 2006 book, The Audacity of Hope . However, on 13 March, ABC news aired a 30-second clip with excerpts from three of Wright’s sermons he had delivered years earlier (Ellison, 2008; Hopkins, 2011). Among Wright’s claims was that US racist policies produced the drug problems the black community experienced.…”

“…Mainstream society’s exposure to the black church has usually only occurred for funerals of high-profile blacks or for weddings, as when Bishop Curry preached at the marriage of Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan (Taylor, 2018). The segregated nature of American worship suggests that the white public is likely unfamiliar with black church traditions (Hopkins, 2011; McKenzie, 2011; Wingfield and Feagin, 2010). It also suggests that religion in this case is racialized in American society, with black church traditions embedded in the way race operates.…”

“…It includes the congregations of major historic black denominations and black congregations affiliated with historic white denominations such as the United Church of Christ. Collectively, the black church is rooted in the Judeo-Christian tradition in which black Christians interpret the scriptures through the black experience of enslavement, discrimination, and oppression (Hopkins, 2011; Wilmore, 1983).…”

“…Cone (1986) saw justice for the poor as the core of the Christian gospel, with theology’s main function ‘to assist the oppressed in their liberation’ (p. 4). Similarly, Wright interpreted the gospel to mean liberation, which he enacted through his social critiques, ministries, and scripture-based preaching (Hopkins, 2011).…”

“…Scholars and journalists concluded that Obama’s relationship with Wright threatened to undermine Obama’s historic campaign (Ceaser et al, 2009; Clayton, 2010; Walker and Smithers, 2009), with the media seen as a key influence (Grant and Grant, 2013). Scholars contend that television broadcast and cable news media particularly misrepresented Wright’s sermons and did not educate the public sufficiently about black preaching and the black church (Hopkins, 2011). It is unclear if print journalists merit the same criticism.…”