Posted on 02/06/2007 4:37:34 AM PST by Chi-townChief
The expected launch of Barack Obama's presidential campaign is still days away, but his quest to become the nation's first black commander in chief already is forcing a delicate examination of how candidates talk about race.
That conversation took an awkward turn last week when Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.) ruined his presidential campaign announcement with clumsy comments meant to praise Obama though widely interpreted as a putdown of other prominent black politicians.
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mbrachear@tribune.com
bsecter@tribune.com
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Excerpts from the Black Value System
COMMITMENT TO GOD
" `The God of our weary years' will give us the strength to give up prayerful passivism and become Black Christian Activists, soldiers for Black freedom and the dignity of all humankind."
What experts say
Such a commitment stems from the time of slavery when God not only sustained the African-American community but also empowered the abolitionists and later fueled the civil rights movement.
ADHERENCE TO
BLACK WORK ETHIC
"High productivity must be a goal of the Black workforce."
What experts say
In many ways, the Black Value System is intended to be an internal critique of the African-American community. Black people toiled during and after slavery so their children could have a better life. The value system asserts that subsequent generations owe it to their ancestors to do the same.
DISAVOWAL OF THE PURSUIT OF "MIDDLECLASSNESS"
"While it is permissible to chase `middle-incomeness' with all our might, we must avoid . . . the psychological entrapment of Black `middleclassness.' "
What experts say
Authors of the value system discourage black men and women from defining themselves by socioeconomic class. Instead, they should share in the collective struggle of the African-American community and work toward its empowerment.
Source: Trinity United Church of Christ, Tribune reporting
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
"Authors of the value system discourage black men and women from defining themselves by socioeconomic class. Instead, they should share in the collective struggle of the African-American community and work toward its empowerment."
Real nice. Empowering someone to stay on the plantation and take entitlements from their masters in the DNC. And then be grateful for it.
Stupid is as stupid does.
Barak Hussein Osama is starting to circle the RAT primary commode. I think the leaked story (courtesy of hitlary's active measures hit squad) of the Madrassah school was too much for even the most looney RAT to digest.
Well, at least Biden is off the page. Not like he ever had a chance to begin with. The plagiarist-in-chief is not inspiring as a candidate.
ping
Yeah that'll work.
Its a racist Churh ,Experts or not the facts stand right there in black and white the Church is racist.
Stop beating around the bush.
You pick the name... any name...
The congregation posits what it terms a White Value System, including calls to be "soldiers for white freedom" and a "disavowal of the pursuit of middleclassness."
The candidate said it was important to understand the document as a whole rather than highlight individual tenets. "Commitment to God, white community, commitment to the white family, the white work ethic, self-discipline and self-respect," he said. "Those are values that the conservative movement in particular has suggested are necessary for white advancement.
Definitely fails the test, doesn't it?
I've got a sneaking suspicion that the NYT might refer to it as the "Amerikan Church of the Grand Kleagle"... would be termed as a bastion of the Republican mainstream.
The Web Page of his Church.
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About Us
We are a congregation which is Unashamedly Black and Unapologetically Christian... Our roots in the Black religious experience and tradition are deep, lasting and permanent. We are an African people, and remain "true to our native land," the mother continent, the cradle of civilization. God has superintended our pilgrimage through the days of slavery, the days of segregation, and the long night of racism. It is God who gives us the strength and courage to continuously address injustice as a people, and as a congregation. We constantly affirm our trust in God through cultural expression of a Black worship service and ministries which address the Black Community.
Trinity United Church of Christ adopted the Black Value System written by the Manford Byrd Recognition Committee chaired by Vallmer Jordan in 1981. We believe in the following 12 precepts and covenantal statements. These Black Ethics must be taught and exemplified in homes, churches, nurseries and schools, wherever Blacks are gathered. They must reflect on the following concepts:
Commitment to God
Commitment to the Black Community
Commitment to the Black Family
Dedication to the Pursuit of Education
Dedication to the Pursuit of Excellence
Adherence to the Black Work Ethic
Commitment to Self-Discipline and Self-Respect
Disavowal of the Pursuit of "Middleclassness"
Pledge to make the fruits of all developing and acquired skills available to the Black Community
Pledge to Allocate Regularly, a Portion of Personal Resources for Strengthening and Supporting Black Institutions
Pledge allegiance to all Black leadership who espouse and embrace the Black Value System
Personal commitment to embracement of the Black Value System.
The Pastor as well as the membership of Trinity United Church of Christ is committed to a 10-point Vision:
A congregation committed to ADORATION.
A congregation preaching SALVATION.
A congregation actively seeking RECONCILIATION.
A congregation with a non-negotiable COMMITMENT TO AFRICA.
A congregation committed to BIBLICAL EDUCATION.
A congregation committed to CULTURAL EDUCATION.
A congregation committed to the HISTORICAL EDUCATION OF AFRICAN PEOPLE IN DIASPORA.
A congregation committed to LIBERATION.
A congregation committed to RESTORATION.
A congregation working towards ECONOMIC PARITY.
His Afro-centric church is evidently an offshoot of kooky Unitrarianism, which was his hippie flower child mother's religion. His dad, of course, was a wife beating muslim polygamist who took and had kids with at least four different wives without ever getting a single divorce.
Isn't that where Robert Byrd goes?
Hell, Byrd's the pastor!
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