Mar 25, 2008
Dr. Jeremiah Wright’s God Damn America sermon in full context
Categories: African-American, Media, Politics and Elections, Religion and Faith
Written By: Shawn Williams
Abe, here’s the God Damn America sermon in its full context. I’m looking to hear some opinions. How can this be a racist sermon when Dr. Wright refers to Bill Clinton as an “intelligent friend?” God help us all. Spread this like wildfire.
March 25th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Again, this seems to be entirely in context. And he makes the assertion that the government is the one selling drugs in Black communities again (explicitly), so that was no passing comment.
And the Bill Clinton line redeems none of it. One supporting line about Bill Cosby does not redeem a racist screed from a white bigot either.
March 25th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
Is this the same “riding dirty” Bill Clinton? Come on will you quit defending this guy. If Obama wins the nomination Rev. Wright is going to be his running mate. You can not get the toothpaste back into the bottle on this.
March 25th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
Powerful words from a powerful man!!! One should always be fully knowledgable about something or more importantly someone before they offer insight. Don’t be a media victim, reseach.
March 25th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
Shawn,
Thanks for the video. Rev Wright clearly damns America. His one liner of Bill Clinton as an “intelligent friend” doesn’t change anything.
March 25th, 2008 at 11:11 pm
There’s still slavery going on all over Africa, not to mention rape and murder (black on black). Also in Haiti. At least America saw the error of her ways… Also Barack and Michelle went to Ivy League schools (Columbia, Princeton, Harvard), is that the “inferior education” he refers to? Barack sat in this church for 20 years, he must agree with this pastor. Even Hillary said she would have got up and left that church. You don’t choose your family, you can choose to leave a church when you don’t agree with their views. Sorry Barack, what your “typical white person” grandmother expressed to you in private does not equate to what this man Jeremiah Wright says in a public forum. Also, Michelle, you were never “proud of my country in my adult life”; I think you agree with what this pastor said for 20 years, that is why you sat there with your 2 little girls and your husband. I hope I never see the day you set foot in the WH as the first lady, that would not be a proud day for America (a woman who basically is not proud of her country should not have the honor of being the first lady).
March 26th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
Thanks for posting this. The litany of human rights abuses that Wright noted is the CONTEXT for his rhetoric about America.
March 27th, 2008 at 6:37 am
The lion must lose his appetite for the gazelle for the two to reconile. Once that occurs then there may be opportunity for the gazelle to completely forgive. The idealogy of White Supremacy is our first obstacle to reconciliation.
March 27th, 2008 at 9:32 am
Ronny, I think your analogy is very poor. A better maxim would be, the first step to forgiveness is to forgive the son for the sins of the father.
March 28th, 2008 at 11:26 pm
Even after I read the snide comments of those who “still found fault” with Rev. Wright’s sermon. They heard him use historical and Biblical references for his remarks, still they choose to call him a “racist.” I wonder what they would have said, if The Rev. Wright had ended his sermon just before he said the infamous “God damn America” which ALL of his detractors love to listen too. Why doesn’t your heros Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly play the entire tape as we all have seen now. You people out there who DON’T LISTEN, he was talking about; “governments failing, and God will be the one who damns a THEM. Listen will you! I served my country for over 40 years (28 1/2 years as a U. S. Marine and 12 1/2 years for the VA, counceling Veterans with PTSD). In the 232 years that this “wonderful country” has been in existance: AMERICA HAS FAILED IT’S CITIZENS FROM TIME-TO-TIME, SUPPORTED DICTATORS AND LIED TO IT’S CITIZENS! READ OUR HISTORY, THOSE OF YOU WHO DON’T WANT TO FACE THE TRUTH. Remember your scripture those of you who believe: “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” Amen!
March 30th, 2008 at 11:03 am
WHY DOESN’T CNN PLAY THE ENTIRED TAPE FOR THE PEOPLE TO MAKE A SOUND JUGEMENT BEFORE YOU DAMN SOMEONE WHO HASN’T DONE ANYTHING WRONG. NEVERTHELESS, THEY DID IT TO JESUS, SO WHY NOT OBAMA.
April 3rd, 2008 at 4:10 pm
How is is there seems to be so much incredulity with Rev, Wright’s reference to the government’s role in supplying drugs in black communities? It hasn’t been that long ago that the San Jose Mercury News broke a story about contra-connected South American drugs smugglers, LA crack cocaine dealers and the CIA. Much has been written about this and other instances and Congress has even been asked to investigate these charges.
Reverend Wright didn’t make this stuff up.
April 9th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
I did listen to the whole message and it still says the same thing: I hate America and God should damn it.
But it also says that the justification for the damning is something that happened 150 years ago (Oh and by the way, Lincoln was Republican).
As Wright spews the continued “victim mentality” to his parish - he is the one keeping them in bondage. If blacks were still being kept from educational opportunity, please tell me why Barack AND HIS WIFE went to Harvard (I couldn’t afford to get into Harvard).
And if black america can’t get good paying jobs, could someone explain Oprah? One of the rich WOMEN on the planet (not black woman, ANY woman).
I’ll tell you why, because they could. Oprah didn’t say “Oh, I’m black - whitey’s gonna hold me down”. No, she said “I live in America, I’m going to get off my butt and go make it happen” - the same thing EVERYONE in this country can do, but most don’t as they sit listening to thoses, like Wright, telling them they can’t.
Instead of waiting for the government to change - why don’t they change? Instead of looking for someone to blame, try looking in the mirror (and not to see 150 years behind you - look at yourself).
If you want to listen to a black person - why not listen to one that tells you (and shows you through their own actions) that can change and make your own way, instead of justifying a black person who feels powerful by telling you you are not.
April 29th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
His several examples of how the American government has failed its citizens are, of course, fact. Nobody is arguing that. There have been terrible injustices to be sure. Furthermore, you can feel free to hate America based on those and other failings of this country….perhaps justifiably. My question is how does the context cast new light on the unequivocal statement “God Damn America!”? Just because he gave legitimate reasons for wanting to cast the country into eternal damnation does not mean that he doesn’t hate the country. All this shows is that he has reasons for hating America. For him (and many others, I’m sure), the bad seems to outweigh the good. That’s fine. It is his opinion. BTW, for those who will claim that he was talking about the government (as in “God damn the American government”) vs America as a whole, then why didn’t he say so? Was it because it wasn’t as poetic a converse to “God Bless America”? If so, then he really is quite foolsh. Bottom line: if you love the country, you’ll say “God Bless America”, if you don’t, you will say “God Damn America”. You’re fooling yourself if you think otherwise.
May 5th, 2008 at 7:39 am
Wright is making the same point that the Reverend Jerry Falwell made in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, namely that God permitted calamity to fall on the United States in retribution for her sins. Falwell was universally condemned; yet, ministers who favor the Left want us to exonerate the Reverend Wright for saying precisely the same thing.
It appears to me that many ministers in the United States have sold their devotion to Christ for pottage; they seek the approval of politicians and spurn the approval of God. Either this approach is theologically sound, in which case we should have defended Falwell, or it is not sound, in which case we cannot defend Wright.
The defense that we should reject Falwell because his reasons for America earning God’s wrath don’t match ours, I reject as convenient rationalization. At the time, Falwell was not criticized because he thought those things were sin, but because he thought God would act retributively. Was that a lie? I think so, and I think this dishonest attempt to exonerate Wright proves it.
The ministers who posted this are not ministers of Christ, they are ministers of the political Left. They should remove the cross from their church and substitute for it a symbol of the Democratic party, or perhaps the hammer and sickle of world socialism.
May 5th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
From Dr. Boyce Watkins - YourBlackWorld.com
Banning Bill O’Reilly – The Patriotic Thing to Do
As some of you know, I’ve interacted with Bill O’Reilly several times on his TV and radio shows. I have also had the “pleasure” of interacting with Sean Hannity, host of Hannity and Colmes, another show on Fox. Rush Limbaugh, the ex-drug addict, is another member of the Right Wing Axis of Ignorance, consisting of individuals who use their platforms to socially terrorize people of color.
We are all affected by this and confront this hatred every day at work and at school. All of us know what it’s like to deal with that racist, sexist SOB who worships Bill O’Reilly because O’Reilly validates his racism. This person may be our boss, our co-worker or some other entitled, yet ignorant individual who has not been educated on the racial history of our nation.
Today I woke up angry. I was angry because I thought about what Hannity, O’Reilly and others have done to this election. They’ve worked to bring the worst out in the American people to attack Senator Barack Obama, who has run one of the classiest, most intelligent and conscientious campaigns in American history. The moment that America was on its way toward making a breakthrough in its addiction to racism, the hate mongers from the Axis of Ignorance came marching in to remind America that Obama was just a black little boy.
Bill O’Reilly needs to be taken off the air. Either he is ignorant, racist or represents the interests of racists. Either way, I continue to be insulted by the fact that this man feels comfortable attacking and disrespecting people of color. The type of racism that he and his sidekick Bernard Goldberg bring to the table is nothing short of the same old stuff that we’ve been dealing with for the past 400 years. We also can’t forget Juan Williams, the “Eternal Happy Negro” who conspires to provide black (not African-American, for he is Panamanian) validation for these racist viewpoints.
Among other things, O’Reilly has mentioned the idea of “lynching” Michelle Obama over controversial comments and stated that Hurricane Katrina victims deserved to be abandoned to die by the Federal Government. I can only imagine what would happen if someone said that the 9/11 victims deserved to die…….a black host making that kind of comment would be taken off the air IMMEDIATELY. I personally continue to fight these issues when I am on TV, but there is a point of disbelief one reaches when you see someone get away with one hateful sentence after another from networks that truly don’t give a damn what black people think. We are invisible, irrelevant and disregarded by many of these shows.
Personally, I am tired of it. I am tired of the unfair attacks on Senator Barack Obama, which represent the consistent, racist double standard of Fox News reporting. These individuals are consistently validated, even though they are far less educated, far more inflammatory and much less conscientious than Jeremiah Wright, the man they were licensed to demonize this past month. My skin shudders and my stomach turns when I hear any of them speak, and I do all I can to avoid turning to that channel. I have done a lot of interviews with Fox News in the past, and I don’t fault those who still do. But personally, I just can’t stomach them anymore.
I ask those who believe in American honor and decency to ignore this network. Disregard the analysis, don’t respond to O’Reilly, Hannity or any other racist who says something you don’t agree with. Kill the Devil by starving it of attention. Don’t even watch Fox so you can “see what the enemy is thinking”. Just let them go and focus on a positive and productive future of the country that was built by your people.
If you are so compelled, you may want to email Fox News (email addresses are below) reminding them that this behavior will not be tolerated. If you want to get something off your chest, please email us at info@yourblackworld.com and share your views on this issue. We also have another page at this link (http://yourblackworld.com/bill_oreilly.htm) that allows readers to vent on this issue. I know you’re hurting, and I believe that if we stick together, we can fight the demon. Additionally, ideas for change and fairness in American media are welcome from anyone who wants to send them to us.
Here are some email addresses and phone numbers for producers on Fox News. Even Bill O’Reilly’s address is included. If the spirit moves you, you may choose to email or call one of the producers for the O’Reilly Factor and tell them how you feel. The O’Reilly Factor should change its name to “God Damn America”, for O’Reilly is damning our great nation by enabling its addiction to racism.
Sincerely,
Dr. Boyce Watkins
May 5th, 2008 at 10:01 pm
It’s good to hear that Dr. Watkins has finally stopped supporting Fox News by appearing on it. I watch very little TV and haven’t watched Bill O’Reilly or Sean Hannity for years and have no intention of watching them. They really have nothing to offer that is worthy of my time.
Why anyone-esp. an African-American- would want to appear on Fox News is beyond me. Why any African-American would want to watch Bill O’Reilley or Sean Hannity is also beyond me. Nothing worthwhile EVER comes from those shows because it’s never fair and balanced.
September 24th, 2008 at 7:00 pm
Halleluiah!! Thank you, Dr. Watkins, for your eloquent remarks, and thanks to Dallas South for posting the whole video. I’m going to show it to anyone who asks me what I think of Rev. Wright, and ask them, what exactly do you disagree with in this sermon? What are people so afraid of?????
October 6th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
What are people afraid of? The Truth! And of course, it is the Truth that will set you free.
I admire the truth in Rev. Wright’s delivery - someone needs to say it and put the truth of American aggression and transgression in the bright light of day.
And Barack needs to return to telling the truth also because bleak days are ahead of us and we need to be prepared with the Truth.
October 24th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
EVERYONE should understand that in order to understand a leaf, you MUST investage the ROOTS.
Once you have done this, you would understand Rev. Wright and KNOW what he speaks is TRUTH!!!
You can say all you want about Barack Obama, BUT FIRST come to grips with the history of this GREAT NATION. America doesn’t have a clean slate and it NEVER apologized for ANY of her wrond doings.
I like Barack Obama would rather sit down and hear the TRUTH being spoken in any setting than to brush facts under a table as if it NEVER HAPPENED.
February 25th, 2010 at 2:01 am
If ever their was a time that I as a pastor myself, would pat a man on the back for a job well done when educating the body of Christ in truth about the country they live in, and about this terrible world we claim to have come from out of but through commercial businesses, and governmental slavery, still find ourselves no better of than if we were in a third world country.
This government, and this comming from one who has faught for this country, and seen through the eyes of terror injustice in all cases, find it to be a lowdown, dirty, back stabbing, this country has been untruthful in evreything from the taking over of other countries valuable assets to the robbing of the American people thru a unGodly tax and welfare system that burden down the people, while all along they claim is for the common good, anyone who truly knows God’s word knows that even the churches of today operate in era towards how one as a christian should live totally seperate from this prision type operation the United States of America has subject all so called american citizens to work and live in.
I don’t know all about Dr. Wright and his teachings but if the rest line up with what I heard him preach in this sermon then I honor him as a true called man of God making aware to the people the bondage that america has put her own people in selling them out to the Rothchilds, and other financial mosters.
For the government of the United States fo America to experiment with human beings, testing to see how a particular desease, or drug will cause them to react, never giving a cure to some and letting them die and allowing family members to go on never knowing what had happen too thier loved one’s, is a kind of genecide they care not to speak ofor own up too.
This country will manifest false evidence on anyone, and anything, when they either want to take something from you or take over, to the point of them having that person killed,or that whole country wiped out, and one can still stand there and say America the beautiful? If only the people of America knew what this Government and these big companies were doing to them, they would go to war on america herself ridding this nation of all the evil leadership.
According to the bible America has not seen anything yet, when Dr. Wright says that the roosters have come home, understand they haven’t crowed as of yet, just wait and see, for America will reap what they have sewn, so I leave all who are intelligent through their ignorants this one true fact, the true beginnig of wisdom is knowing you know nothing.