Rev. Jeremiah Wright's Actions are Like "Crabs in a Barrel"

Hardy Brown

Rev. Wright's comments were unbecoming for a member of the cloth of any faith but especially a Christian and at that point I equated his behavior with those who are trying to impede progress, much like a Gov. George Wallace standing in the college door way during our struggle for civil rights. I have heard many preachers in my lifetime preach sermons similar to the ones Rev. Wright is being criticized for, but I never equated that rhetoric with a lack of patriotism. Instead, that language is an example of the struggle for equal rights we have embarked on since we arrived on the shores of this country. Over the years we have had a Shirley Chisholm, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Alan Keyes and now Barack Obama who have sought the highest office in the nation and most influential position in the world. Out of all of them, Obama is the only one who has ever presented the appearance of having a chance to make it a reality. He has been able to raise the money, assemble the staff, articulate the issues, handle the press, stand the grueling physical challenge and motivate the citizens. He has also been able to galvanize Black and other disenfranchised voters with his messages of hope and change. His efforts symbolize to us that if he can do this (and his color is not a major issue), then anything is possible

Then along comes the enemy and he looks like us. The other crab in the barrel says "hey I've been in the barrel longer than you so I can't let you out." Rev. Wright needs to learn a lesson from one of my favorite movies,  "The Defiant One". In the film two prisoners - one Black and the other White - escape from prison handcuffed together.

 They did not like each other and it was evident as they ran to escape the law. In one scene they jumped into a hole to hide but found it difficult to climb out. After several tries from their own efforts and with the handicap of being connected together thus pulling the other back down, they decided to put aside their racial differences and stand on one another shoulders. In doing so, the one prisoner who got out first had to pull the other one out in order to be able to move forward. It appears Rev. Wright does not want Obama out but the whites who are helping Obama recognize we as a country can not move forward until we are out of this racial hole. We are tied together by blood, land, faith, economic, culture and history just like those prisoners. So Rev. Wright you might not get out -- or want out -- but please do not destroy the dreams and aspirations of others who are in the barrel and want out.

Yes, I am bitter about the time I was denied a job because of the color of my skin. I am angry about being denied several promotions but I have not allowed that to poison my children and keep them in the barrel. I have shared with them my plight with racism so they will not be surprised in this world when someone uses race as a wedge for their own gain. But, I would never keep them from moving forward, from dreaming of a better world, or for aspiring to achieve something that in the past we couldn't even imagine.