The shine is off Senator Barack Obama’s campaign for president. He did it to himself, His damage control was incomplete, and then he dug himself in deeper by compounding the problem with a civil rights speech in South Carolina.
by Geoff Staples
Sometimes the seemingly insignificant tells us more about a candidate than anything else. Such is the case with Senator Barack Obama. Obama organized a series of gospel concerts for black evangelicals in South Carolina. The objective was to bring them into the Obama for President camp.
Donnie McClurkin, a black gospel singer who claims to be cured of his homosexuality through Jesus Christ, headlined the events. (To see Mr McClurkin prance around the stage, you would never guess he had gone back into the closet.)
When challenged about McClurkin by LGBT and civil rights groups, Senator Obama ignored the concerns and not only kept McClurkin on the program, but allowed him to talk to the audience from the stage. Mr. McClurkin, as would be expected, told them that homosexuality is a sin and he had been cured through prayer.
Senator Obama apologized, and hired a gay evangelist to appear at later concerts in the series.
Totally Unnecessary
Senator Obama made a mistake that demonstrates his lack of experience – a primary concern about his candidacy. Worse, it was totally unnecessary. He could have allowed McClurkin to sing, but not make a speech. He could have engaged another gospel singer who doesn’t have McClurkin’s baggage. McClurkin’s comments and McClurkin himself were not a requirement for Obama to successfully reach out to black evangelicals. To me, that is the saddest and most hurtful aspect of the entire affair.
Insulting and incomplete apology
Unfortunately, Senator Obama’s apology was far from complete. It was fine as far as it went. The people who attended that Obama event didn't go there to hear gay people denounced from the stage. Barack Obama owes that audience an apology for subjecting them to Donnie McClurkin’s diatribe against gays.
He must do this for the gay and lesbian youth present and to discourage those who felt empowered to assault or murder gays and lesbians by McClurkin's comments.
Obama also owes the audience an apology for his own prejudice in assuming that black evangelicals hate gay people, and want to hear them denounced. That’s a pretty ugly assumption to make about any group of people.
Obama tarnishes himself further
So, far all Obama has done is make an incomplete apology and step into it again.
Senator Obama delivered a civil rights speech in South Carolina which compounded the offense by scrupulously limiting it to blacks. He didn’t mention the struggle for civil rights of any other group. The motivation is blatantly obvious: he didn't want to mention gays & lesbians; as a result, he couldn't mention anyone else.
I’ve seen this before. A Dallas city council candidate that had made a statement in his literature about civil rights and had the typical list – gender, race, religion, etc. –– but he had left off gays and lesbians. The candidate told me he would fix it, and he did. He removed the list so that he wouldn’t have to add gays and lesbians to it.
I have never seen anyone I respected be so hypocritical as to pander to bigotry in a civil rights speech until Obama’s Civil Rights speech in South Carolina yesterday. It is common practice at least, and required under these circumstances, to make mention of the other groups that have struggled along with blacks for civil rights.
In his speech, Obama said this:
"It would have been easy for them to stay home. To heed the voices of caution and convenience that said, “wait,” “the timing isn’t right,” or “the country just isn’t ready.” It would have been easy for them to give in to the fears that no doubt kept them awake some nights." -- Sen. Barack Obama; Clarendon, S. C.; November 2nd, 2007
Sadly, Senator Obama is praising the courage of black civil rights workers for overcoming fear to move ahead. while heeding his own inner voices of caution and convenience that said, “wait,” “the timing isn’t right for gay rights,” or “blacks just aren’t ready gay rights’. So, he gave in to the fears and took the easy way out.
Where is Sister Souljah when you need her?
During the 1992 presidential election, Bill Clinton went before a black group and denounced black music that celebrated drugs, violence, mysogenation, and homophobic bigotry. That was dubbed his “Sister Souljah Moment” because he singled out Sister Souljah for criticism.
Senator Obama may come up with another way to repair the damage. Absent that, here’s my suggestion: Go before a black evangelical audience and apologize to them for including Donnie McClurkin. Tell them, Senator Obama, that you are ashamed and embarrassed that you didn’t understand what that said about black evangelicals was prejudiced and actually harmful, not only to reconciliation with gay and lesbian groups, but to audience members who might be gay or lesbian.
Senator Obama, do you have the political courage to make this right? If not, you clearly do not have the maturity, experience, values, or integrity to be the Democratic Party nominee for president.
