Senator Barack Obama's speech today
offers a glimpse inside black churches and how they are different from primarily white congregations. Obama tried to explain how black churches represent more than the faith life of their members, serving as outreach centers for entire communities.
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Covering Race and Diversity
By Tom Brune, Newsday
and Lynne K. Varner, The Seattle Times
Think and think again.
Start with a broad focus and narrow it to a pinpoint. Don't stop at the obvious. Ask basic questions and challenge perceived notions.
Go deep.
Push yourself beyond preconceived notions. When the conversation with coworkers and the subjects of the story become uncomfortable, you're just getting started.
Embrace complexity.
Seemingly simple ideas or issues usually have deep, many-layered roots. Complex does not mean confusing.
Pierce the language.
Don't settle for spin, hints or symbols. Ask people what they mean and why they think what they are saying. Listen to their answers and keep pushing them.
Write thoughtfully.
Be explicit, clear, direct. Represent everyone mentioned in the story fairly and fully. Make sure you are saying only what you want to say and not something inadvertent. Think through how your headlines, approach and language will affect readers.
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The speech sought to explain Obama's relationship with his minister, who has been the focus of media coverage recently because of sermons he delivered years ago suggesting that blacks continue to be mistreated by whites and that the United States brought the 9/11 attacks on itself.
Salon points out why Obama should not have been surprised by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright's statements.
Obama noted in his speech that race
has been an issue in a presidential campaign that has taken a "particularly
divisive turn" recently as videos of his longtime pastor
have spread. During his speech, he spoke about the importance of unity, saying, "I chose to run for president at this moment in history because I believe deeply we cannot solve the challenges we face unless we solve them together."
Story ideas- The black church experience. How do different congregations interact with the community as a whole? There are some who say black churches are in some ways the embodiment of black communities. The Rev. Wright issue may have something to do with how seldom whites venture into black churches. In an opinion article, The (Chicago) Sun-Times said:
Wright's words also reflect the disparity many blacks feel between the promise of America and their daily reality.
"This righteous anger is about making America accountable to its own
creed," said Dwight Hopkins, a theology professor at the University of
Chicago Divinity School and a Trinity member.
Parishioners in black churches across America hear similar language
from the pulpit each week, typically delivered in a larger, positive
context -- as it was at Trinity -- that no 30-second sound bite could
catch. Wright's message is not about black superiority or separatism,
but about self-determination, about blacks doing for themselves.
- The "anger" issue. Obama said there is a real anger issue among blacks and many whites. Explore the anger. Obama sought to put Rev. Wright's controversial comments into a deeper context as a way of explaining where Wright was coming from:
"Legalized discrimination -- where blacks were prevented, often
through violence, from owning property, or loans were not granted to
African-American business owners, or black homeowners could not access
FHA mortgages, or blacks were excluded from unions, or the police
force, or fire departments -- meant that black families could not amass
any meaningful wealth to bequeath to future generations."
