Obama is much more easily understood and what he is now doing in this country is easily understood once you ‘hear’ this one quote from 2001.
I think the tragedies of the civil rights movement was, because the civil rights movements became so court-focused, I think that there was a tendency to lose track of the political and community organizing, and activities on the ground that are able to put together the actual coalitions of power through which you bring about redistributive change. And, in some ways, we still suffer from that.
On the issue of slavery, America was wrong for many years. The problem was corrected, however, by Americans. It did not take a foreign power to come in and free those who were under the bondage of slavery in this country. There was widespread discrimination after the Civil War. Again, Americans worked together to end all legal discrimination.
Only God can change a heart. Only God can forgive sin. Certainly black Americans have much to forgive. The suffering that we now experience is a direct result of the sin of slavery and the need of restoration. This cannot be legislated. Restoration comes through repentance, forgiveness, and faith in God.
Martin Luther King envisioned an America where a man is not judged by the color of his skin but by the content of his character. This must be the goal of all Americans if we are to remain a free, prosperous people. We must not vote for a man or woman because of skin color. Neither should we vote against a man or woman because of skin color. We must work together to elect a person because of the content of his character.
Our country has arrived at a fork in the road to our future. This is not about black or white. This is about individual freedom and independence – the freedoms that were won for all white Americans by the Revolutionary War and for black Americans by the Civil War. We, all Americans, must begin to pray and work together to follow the path that leads to freedom and independence. Otherwise, we will all go down together. When a government takes control of the decision making and takes away the individual right to decide, everyone loses. History has taught this lesson many times. We must INSIST that our children be taught the truth concerning our history.
