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The first 43 presidents of our country have been white male. The first 4,000 members of the House of Representatives were non-Muslim. To my knowledge, we've only had one practicing Muslim in congress.
So Colin Powell's question caused me to do a double-take. Colin Powell asked, 'Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? ... Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim American kid believing that he or she could be president?' during his endorsement of Barack Obama.
If a 20-year old Muslim American soldier, Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, can die for our country ... it seems we should have no issue with the idea of a Muslim American being our nation's president. Khan died in Iraq and his mother is shown grieving over his headstone in Arlington Cemetery.
If there are aspiring Muslim Americans dreaming about being president ... they should note that it requires hard work. Barack Obama earned his opportunity for the presidency by doing well in school ... doing well in his marriage and as a father ... doing well in his chosen vocation.
63 years in a row, from 1921 thru 1984, we had white women winning the crown as 'Miss America'. That changed in 1984 when we had two Black women holding that title -- Vanessa Williams and Suzette Charles.
This blog is committed to sharing good news about people of African descent each and every Tuesday ... we call it Good News Tuesday and I wish that other bloggers would join this weekly meme!
Dr. Walton is a Social ethicist and African American religious studies scholar. He is currently an assistant professor of religious studies at my alma mater (University of California, Riverside). His research addresses the intersections among religion, politics, and popular culture.
"Harvard Divinity School is among the premier centers of theological education and hubs of academic inquiry," Walton said. "I am honored and humbled to join such an amazing scholarly community, particularly since HDS has a proven track record of neither resting on its reputation nor being lulled asleep by its laurels. Its continued commitment to recruiting and cultivating cutting-edge scholars of religion in general, and of American religion in particular, makes it the place I want to be."
Walton's scholarly work is grounded in the progressive strand of the African American religious tradition and informed by the creative potentiality and rhythmic sensibility of hip-hop culture. His first book, Watch This! The Ethics and Aesthetics of African American Religious Broadcasting, is an important intervention into the study of African American and American religion. As he explains, those working on Christian religious broadcasting have given little attention to the phenomenon outside of white, conservative, evangelical communities, while Black liberation theologians have yet to give careful attention to televisual representation as a site of theological production.
"Jonathan Walton thinks historically, ethically, and theologically," said Amy Hollywood, Elizabeth H. Monrad Professor of Christian Studies at HDS, who chaired the faculty search committee." His intellectual range, his energy, and the interdisciplinary nature of his work on African American religions make him uniquely suited to HDS and to the University as a whole."
Drawing on British cultural studies, Walton explores the interrelationship between the media used by African American megachurches and the theologies thereby conveyed. He argues for forms of theological innovation within the productions of black televangelism that are enabled-perhaps even generated-by the media that televangalists use, and he asks what the implications are for black theology and the study of African American religion when one attends to these particular forms of religious and theological expression.
"He is an exciting young scholar whose field work with contemporary religious communities will bring an added dimension to our course offerings and faculty coverage here at HDS and at Harvard more broadly," said Dean William A. Graham. "I feel strongly that with this appointment, together with that of Mayra Rivera Rivera, Assistant Professor of Theology and Latina/o Studies, who will also begin her work at HDS on July 1, we are now well staffed in two important areas that we have wanted covered for some time."
Trained as a social ethicist, Walton earned his PhD in religion and society from Princeton Theological Seminary. He also holds a master of divinity degree from Princeton Seminary as well as a BA in political science from Morehouse College in Atlanta. His insights and reflections concerning the intersections of religion, culture, and society have been noted in numerous prominent news media outlets, such as CNN, The New York Times, Time magazine, and NPR.
"I look forward to this challenge," Walton said of his appointment to HDS, "Just as I look forward to contributing to the intellectual, spiritual, and familial climate on campus."
Our next President will either be Barack Obama or John McCain. Barack Obama had a horrific time dealing with the rhetoric coming from Jeremiah Wright. Hopefully, he has put the issue behind him for the duration of the campaign.
I wonder why John McCain hasn't disavowed his realtionship with Rev. John Hagee, the McCain supporter who said God created Hurricane Katrina to punish New Orleans for its homosexual "sins."
Another 'spiritual guide' that John McCain needs to explain to the American people is Rev. Rod Parsley. Parsley is the televangelist megachurch pastor from Ohio who hates Islam. According to David Corn of Mother Jones, Parsley has called on Christians to wage war against Islam, which he considers to be a "false religion." In the past, Parsley has also railed against the separation of church and state, homosexuals, and abortion rights, comparing Planned Parenthood to Nazis.
John McCain actively sought and received Parsley's endorsement in the presidential race. Does McCain share the vicious anti-Islam views. Since the media won't question McCain about his deeply bigoted pastor, I thought it would be only right to share this information with any villagers that might drop by my blog.
How can McCain get away with aligning himself to a religious leader who's called for an all-out war on Islam, someone who draws no distinctions between Muslims and violent Islamic extremists? [SOURCE]
Have you heard of Rev. Parsley before? What do you think of this situation as it relates to McCain's presidential aspirations?
Barack Obama responded to the recent videos of Rev. Wright in The Huffington Post. He wrote as follows:
The pastor of my church, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who recently preached his last sermon and is in the process of retiring, has touched off a firestorm over the last few days. He's drawn attention as the result of some inflammatory and appalling remarks he made about our country, our politics, and my political opponents.
Let me say at the outset that I vehemently disagree and strongly condemn the statements that have been the subject of this controversy. I categorically denounce any statement that disparages our great country or serves to divide us from our allies. I also believe that words that degrade individuals have no place in our public dialogue, whether it's on the campaign stump or in the pulpit. In sum, I reject outright the statements by Rev. Wright that are at issue.
Because these particular statements by Rev. Wright are so contrary to my own life and beliefs, a number of people have legitimately raised questions about the nature of my relationship with Rev. Wright and my membership in the church. Let me therefore provide some context.
As I have written about in my books, I first joined Trinity United Church of Christ nearly twenty years ago. I knew Rev. Wright as someone who served this nation with honor as a United States Marine, as a respected biblical scholar, and as someone who taught or lectured at seminaries across the country, from Union Theological Seminary to the University of Chicago. He also led a diverse congregation that was and still is a pillar of the South Side and the entire city of Chicago. It's a congregation that does not merely preach social justice but acts it out each day, through ministries ranging from housing the homeless to reaching out to those with HIV/AIDS.
Most importantly, Rev. Wright preached the gospel of Jesus, a gospel on which I base my life. In other words, he has never been my political advisor; he's been my pastor. And the sermons I heard him preach always related to our obligation to love God and one another, to work on behalf of the poor, and to seek justice at every turn.
The statements that Rev. Wright made that are the cause of this controversy were not statements I personally heard him preach while I sat in the pews of Trinity or heard him utter in private conversation. When these statements first came to my attention, it was at the beginning of my presidential campaign. I made it clear at the time that I strongly condemned his comments. But because Rev. Wright was on the verge of retirement, and because of my strong links to the Trinity faith community, where I married my wife and where my daughters were baptized, I did not think it appropriate to leave the church.
Let me repeat what I've said earlier. All of the statements that have been the subject of controversy are ones that I vehemently condemn. They in no way reflect my attitudes and directly contradict my profound love for this country.
With Rev. Wright's retirement and the ascension of my new pastor, Rev. Otis Moss, III, Michelle and I look forward to continuing a relationship with a church that has done so much good. And while Rev. Wright's statements have pained and angered me, I believe that Americans will judge me not on the basis of what someone else said, but on the basis of who I am and what I believe in; on my values, judgment and experience to be President of the United States.
Did Barack Obama answer the questions you had about this issue?
seems we should have no issue with the idea of a Muslim American being our nation's president. Khan died in Iraq and his mother is shown grieving over his headstone in Arlington Cemetery.
wo Black women holding that title -- Vanessa Williams and Suzette Charles.
