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Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.
Wright Wrong for Northwestern
by
findingDulcinea Staff
Northwestern University has withdrawn an offer to give Rev. Jeremiah Wright an honorary degree following controversy over past remarks.
30-Second Summary
Northwestern spokesman Alan Cubbage said the university was worried that uproar over Wright, who is presidential candidate Barack Obama’s former pastor, would disrupt the June commencement ceremonies.
“In light of the controversy around Dr. Wright and to ensure the celebratory character of commencement not be affected, the university has withdrawn its invitation to Dr. Wright,'' he said.
Obama has decided to distance himself from Wright as well. On April 29 he denounced Wright’s recent comments as “divisive and destructive.” Obama said, “I find these comments appalling. It contradicts everything that I’m about and who I am.”
The degree offer was withdrawn in March, before Wright reignited the controversy by saying, in televised appearances on April 28, that the United States was attacked on Sept. 11 because it engaged in terrorism toward others, and that the government was capable of using the AIDS virus to commit genocide against minorities. Wright’s media tour and inflammatory comments have caused strong reactions from black leaders, columnists and political analysts.
The honorary degree Wright would have received was a doctorate in sacred theology.
“In light of the controversy around Dr. Wright and to ensure the celebratory character of commencement not be affected, the university has withdrawn its invitation to Dr. Wright,'' he said.
Obama has decided to distance himself from Wright as well. On April 29 he denounced Wright’s recent comments as “divisive and destructive.” Obama said, “I find these comments appalling. It contradicts everything that I’m about and who I am.”
The degree offer was withdrawn in March, before Wright reignited the controversy by saying, in televised appearances on April 28, that the United States was attacked on Sept. 11 because it engaged in terrorism toward others, and that the government was capable of using the AIDS virus to commit genocide against minorities. Wright’s media tour and inflammatory comments have caused strong reactions from black leaders, columnists and political analysts.
The honorary degree Wright would have received was a doctorate in sacred theology.
Headline Link: No honorary degree for controversial pastor
Northwestern withdrew the offer for the honorary degree in March, after recorded excerpts of Wright’s sermons, in which he denounces the U.S. government and suggests its policies are to blame for the Sept. 11 attacks, began circulating online and were broadcast on television. School spokesman Alan Cubbage insists Wright's invitation wasn't rescinded because of his views, but instead because the school does not want to compromise the celebratory atmosphere of graduation.
Source: Bloomberg
Background: Obama breaks ties
Barack Obama broke from his controversial former pastor this week, ahead of Tuesday’s primaries in North Carolina and Indiana. The two contests represent the two largest states remaining in the Democratic Party’s prolonged primary season.
Source: findingDulcinea
Related Topics: Black leaders criticize Wright
The Los Angeles Times reports on other black religious leaders criticizing Rev. Wright for his comments and exposure in light of the ongoing presidential campaign. “I wish that Jeremiah, my friend, had kept his eye on the prize,” said the Rev. Frank Madison Reid III. “And the prize here for America, for all Americans, is that we can elect the first black man for the presidency.”
Source: The Los Angeles Times
Opinions & Analysis: Enough is enough
Many columnists are speaking up following the Wright controversy. “I'm sorry, but I've had it with Wright,” writes columnist Eugene Robinson in The Washington Post. Robinson said “it’s obvious that he's a man of great charisma and faith,” but that “Wright insists on being seen as something he's not: an archetypal representative of the African American church. In fact, he represents one twig of one branch of a very large tree.”
Source: The Washington Post
Peter Canellos of the Boston Globe wonders why it took Obama so long to denounce the statements of his former pastor, noting that traditional political practice requires candidates to face controversial aspects of their past sooner rather than later.
Source: Boston Globe
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