(is this standard practice or am i just special?)

this was a reply to the <a href="http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/04/04/the_santa_clausification_of_ma/">santaclausification</a> of king post and a comment which objected to my holding rev. wright and dr. king in the same breath.

Hi Don-
Unfortunately you have been misinformed by the media. Black liberation theology is not separatist at all-- <a href="http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/2008/03/cotton-picking-dialogue.php">as I have written elsewhere</a>, pro-black is not the same as anti-white, and there is absolutely nothing separatist about Trinity United Church. I challenge you to find a single passage or link in which Rev. Wright or any other adherent to Black liberation theology advocates hatred of white people, violence against white people, separation as a nation from white people, or anything else other than self-love in the face of a system of white supremacy designed to teach Black people to view themselves as inferior.

And as for the so what question: isn't it sad that we would accept sanitized history? Isn't it unfortunate that we, the American people, are not deemed mature enough to handle the full truth? And, by the way, who gets to decide what gets expunged from the official record? Perhaps our acceptance of this "reality" is why the quality of our national discourse is so poor and it is rare to find critical thinking skills among our electorate. 

And MLK's dream; do you really believe that King's philosophy was static and ended with the "dream" in 1963? Do you think his philosophy was unrelated to the prophetic traditions of the black church that formed one of the two pillars of black liberation theology? As per <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Hal_Cone">James Cone</a>, pillar one was King's prophetic call for radical love and justice, which were the teachings of Jesus; the second was the self-love and self-respect of Malcolm X, but without the call for self-defense. I highly recommend <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Martin-Malcolm-America-Dream-Nightmare/dp/0883448246">this book</a>, which shows the direct link between the teachings of King and the teaching of Wright.

I find nothing shameful in the truth. If that means our convenient concept of King is no longer functional, so be it. This is not about a political moment-- Obama, Wright or anybody else-- this is about the need to challenge ourselves on all fronts, including the dogmas we rely upon in our daily lives. Buying more stuff just ain't enough to call this good living.

Newsflash: <a href="http://www.highlandercenter.org/n-rosa-parks.asp">Rosa Parks was not simply "tired" either</a>. She was a trained civil rights organizer who knew exactly what she was doing. 

peace,
gkp