Newsweek reports this week that Oprah Winfrey and Barack Obama share more than a wish to see him be president: Oprah attended Obama’s church when she first moved to Chicago, and both called the troublesome Rev. Jeremiah Wright their pastor. The difference is Oprah got out while the getting was good.
Sources in Oprah’s camp says the talk-show host joined Wright’s church after moving to Chicago in 1984. “For spiritually minded, up-wardly mobile African-American living in Chicago in the mid-1980s, the Trinity United Church of Christ was—and still is—the place to be,” writes Newsweek’s Allison Samuels. Some say Oprah realized early on that an allegiance to Wright (and by implication his radical liberation theology message) could come back to haunt her, as it has Obama’s hunt for the White House.
But there may be more to her departure from Trinity. Unlike Obama, who was looking to understand black America after being raised mostly overseas by his white mother and grandparents, Oprah knew the black church and black America well. As her current fascination with the best-selling German New Ager Eckhart Tolle shows, Oprah was on her way to broader spiritual horizons. She left the church in 1986, though, Wright maintains, she continued to introduce him as her pastor socially after that. Pastor maybe, but not her ultimate guide.
posted May 8, 2008 at 7:02 pm
I am so sick of hearing about Reverend Wright. The media is doing a good job distracting the public from the very important issues that we the people are facing. Am I going to have to make tough choices such as “do I feed my daughter, or pay my mortgage,” or “do I pay gas to go to work to pay my bills and watch my daughter starve because there’s no money left, or do I stay home and become homeless because I couldn’t make my check stretch,” or “do I go to work while I’m sick or my daughter is sick, or do I miss work to go to the doctor and worry about paying a big bill because I can’t afford insurance.”
People, WAKE UP!!! This isn’t about Reverend Wright!!! This is bigger than him!!! Don’t believe the hype!!!!
posted May 9, 2008 at 11:26 am
I am really proud of the fact that Oprah left Wright’s church. However her backing Obama because the only reason was that he was a person of color. She had never ever backed any candidate Democrat or Republic and there were many who could used her help. If this is what coming together means? We are in a sad state of affairs if we are to live by these precepts.
posted May 11, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Obama is his own person..And his character should not be judged by his pastor…..Obama has tole us over and oiver what he beleives and how he wants us to be the United States….and i like how Obama took the rpastor wright thing and turned it into an oppurtunity to talk about the issue of race….that is still a problem in America….
posted May 13, 2008 at 6:33 am
I agree with NSOL, Rev. Wright isn’t that important a figure to worry about, plus, the man is now retired, so he should just relax and enjoy his retirement, and shut the hell up! He had his say, now, let’s get on with the business of electing a president! I think most americans(white)think that if you disagree with the direction of America that you are in fact un-american, let’s look at that? If you go by that statement, then the founding fathers were un-american, they fought in wars to preserve our freedom of speech, meaning you can disagree without being disagreeable, why doesn’t the majority of people understand this. If americans fail to elect Obama, then you make the crazies like Rev. Wright, Pat Buchanan, the entire fox news department seem correct when they come up with stupid stuff like: If you elect a ‘muslim’ like Obama, Farrakhan would be secretary of state and will have us bowing down to muslim law, or Rev. Wright will be the V.P. and have all caucasians bow down to him? Ludicrous stuff that has no bearing on this election? If we, americans don’t vote for Obama because of his race then whatever the founding fathers fought for, was a lie because nobody really believe that all men are created equal?