The following is my own transcription of this interview with Jeremiah Wright’s successor and Sen. Obama’s new pastor.
NPR: Pastor Moss, what did you think of Senator Obama’s speech yesterday?
Moss: I thought he did an absolutely brilliant job of raising and framing the question of race and poverty and religion in America.
NPR:You know, it’s interesting, Sen. Obama, quote, “condemned” in unequivocal terms some of Jeremiah Wright’s previous statements. He said that some of those statements were “appalling.” It must have been interesting for you to listen to a member of the congregation say that he was “appalled” by some of the statements that have come there from the pulpit
MOSS: Well, as a pastor one always understands that there are people that disagree completely with the pastor. It does not especially surprise me, especially with the diversity of the congregation we have at Trinity, people disagree constantly with the pastor, with some of the ministries, and a variety of things that are happening in the church.
NPR: Are you uncomfortable with the harsh spotlight that’s been placed on the church?
MOSS: You know, I’ve been baptized by fire. I feel like Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, throw into the fiery furnace – and it has been an interesting experience – but it has also an experience that has brought the entire church together.
NPR: Jeremiah Wright, in his sermons and in the clips we’ve heard repeatedly, has suggested that the US has a role in disturbing drugs within the black community, that the US is culpable in the spread of HIV and AIDS, that the US has a “blind policy” when it comes to Israel. Are these the kinds of things that you have said from the pulpit since you took over the leadership in the church?
MOSS: I think that what Pastor Wright has put forth is a particular distrust that the African American community has historically had in reference to their relationship with forward movement in our community. And so the Tuskegee Experiment raises questions. If you go into any barbershop, those kind of questions are raised. And so everyone comes with a particular remix; and I come with a particular remix to the pulpit.
NPR: But as part of a member—as part of a member of this new generation, is that a concept that you embrace, that the government was involved in the distribution of drugs or in the spread of HIV and AIDS?
MOSS: Well, I think that in terms of that particular narrative, I think that we need to be very, very honest in terms of that our government has the ability to place a Hubble Telescope in the sky, but yet we have not had the political will to shut down drugs coming into our community. And from that perspective I think that that’s something that we can look at terms of policy that we just have lacked the political will.
NPR: One of the things that’s been a flashpoint in this controversy is that your church calls itself “unashamedly black and unapologetically Christian.” Do you think it would be appropriate or acceptable for a predominantly white religious institution to call itself “unashamedly white and unapologetically Christian” or “unapologetically Jewish?” Would that be appropriate?
MOSS: I think it’d appropriate for a congregation to talk about they were “unapologetically German and unapologetically Christian,” there were “unapologetically Greek Orthodox and unapologetically Christian.” I think what is lacking in the discussion is the nuance that the idea of “white” or “black, per se, is socially constructed. So that people of African descent cannot identify whether you are “Ebo” or “Ghanaian” and so we utilize the term “black.” Only within the African American community – those who are the descendents of enslaved Africans – is the question raised “Should you celebrate your culture? Should you celebrate who God made you?” And so the question of “is it ‘unashamedly white,’ is it ‘unashamedly black’?” is something that needs to be nuanced in that way. And that the majority culture has always had the assumption that we are celebrating culture that is connected to Europe. And so it is important that we become kind of a multicultural, broad spectrum of our understanding [sic] of what it means to be a part of the human family.
NPR: Do you understand, though, why some see that credo and say “Wait a minute that’s a double standard. We wouldn’t dare say that about our congregation; even though it might be predominantly white, we would never say that it’s ‘unapologetically white’”?
MOSS: I think that anyone who operates within the religious tradition knows that they are bringing certain pieces to the table in terms of their culture. And it is not a double standard. The real double standard is saying that “you can’t say it.” To say that we can’t say that you’re “unashamed” of being black, then the opposite must be, and we must say that we are “ashamed” of being black.
NPR: Pastor Moss, what do you do going forward. If Barack Obama remains a member of you’re congregation – it sounds like he is going to do just that – it seems like people are going to be watching very carefully everything you say. Everything you do at the pulpit.
MOSS: Hey, I’m excited about that because I hoping that some people will get saved in the process. That they will come to know the unconditional love of Jesus Christ. They will come to know through the church, which is a citadel of hope, that will be able help people who are in the aid[?] of despair.
NPR: Otis Moss III, thank you for speaking to us.
MOSS: Thank you very much. It’s been a delight talking with you.
Posted by Tom in Audacity of Hype, Race