But what if the condemnation was coming from other black pastors . . . would that be different? It might be different, but you won’t hear it because the liberal media doesn’t want that voice to be heard. You won’t hear from Bishop Waymond Burton in North Carolina who is very upset with the McCain campaign for coming into his state and castigating an ad that tells the truth about Rev. Wright. You won’t hear from Rev. Bill Owen, Bishop Harry Jackson, Rev. Jesse Peterson, Rev. O’Neill Dozier, Bishop David Perrin, Mason Weaver, etc. etc., who all have churches or ministries that truly do teach the love of Christ, forgiveness, mercy and a need to unite and not divide. We don’t see or hear from brilliant black scholars like Shelby Steele, Walter Williams, Thomas Sowell, and thousands of others who are quietly achieving and destroying stereotypes that have been erected by a class of elitists who must keep blacks forever in this victim class to maintain their political power and control.

I once had the opportunity to host the president of an African country in the U.S. and took him, with several others, to two black churches in DC. Many people asked why we were going to two since all black churches were the same. It was an odd statement that was repudiated at the end of the second service.

The first church we attended was a Rev. Wright type church, complete with racial vitriol, anger, intimidation and oppressive messages that served only to keep that slobbering spirit of racism fat and happy. It was a frightening experience, and other than the two secret service men assigned to the visiting president, there were only three of us who were white. We honestly did not think we would make it out of the church alive. The pastor, who ironically is a friend and had been at our home the night before for a reception, was going on and on about whites being the cause of all of their problems, that there didn’t need to be accountability for any actions because they could not be blamed for anything . . . only white men could because of blah blah blah. There was no love, there was no joy, mercy, forgiveness, impartation of empowerment or sense of purpose . . . there was no Jesus in this “Christian” church that sang the same hymns I grew up with in a Baptist church. The façade of Christianity was embarrassing and an affront to what the true teachings of Christ are all about.

We did not relish the thought of dragging ourselves to the second black church, certain we were going to, once again, be berated and condemned for lacking sufficient pigment in our skin. I was not sure my eardrums could handle another two hours of screaming and rhetorical abuse. But thankfully we went to the second black church only to be greeted with warm hugs, smiles of delight and colored-blind eyes that accepted us as members of the Body of Christ. You could feel the peace and love of the congregation that emanated from the gentleness and strength of their pastor. The presence of the Holy Spirit was palpable and by the end of the service, there was not a dry eye in the room, and even one of the secret service men had tears rolling down his face. What was intended to happen in the first church, but was met with anger and resentment, was accepted with gladness and humility in the second church. The visiting president had wanted to ask forgiveness from the first congregation for his country and his countrymen, selling the ancestors of these black Americans, into slavery. His attempt was heartfelt but was totally rebuked.

At the second church, he was reluctant to say the same thing, but felt compelled to get down on both knees and beg for forgiveness on behalf of his country for the way they had treated the ancestors of this group. Even though not one person in that room had ever sold a slave or been a slave, the spirit of racism, oppression and bondage is very real in people’s lives as though a reality occurred in the flesh. His offer of forgiveness was met with tears and the most amazing outpouring of love and mercy I have ever seen. We were all hugging each other, crying, laughing, loving . . . just experiencing the pure love of Christ in our midst. He told us it was worth his trip to America, just for that one moment.

But that is not the black church we see or hear about in the news. We keep seeing the angry clips looped over and over to give the very erroneous impression that all black churches are like Rev. Wrights and all black parishioners are like Barack Obama being fed this angry bile every single week, for years and years. This stereotype continues to divide the nation, feed the racism monster, and keep a political party in power.

That is why the focus is no longer whether or not Wright’s church is a typical black church or not. That discussion is irrelevant and wholly unacceptable. Besides, based on the liberal manipulation of the masses it would be almost impossible to believe otherwise. How different is Rev. Wright from Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Micheal Eric Dyson, Louis Farrakhan who all say the same things but just with their own personal twist to it. Where are the faces of Bishop Harry Jackson, or Bishop Burton who, as black men, will denounce this anti-Christian “Christianity” and the charlatans who are creating negative stereotypes of an entire class of people? Why aren’t these other voices of reason and wisdom allowed air time to show the American people that blacks don’t hate whites, or that to go to college and do well in school should not be considered “acting white.” Or to succeed as a conservative black in a “white man’s world” does not in anyway justify names like Uncle Sam, Aunt Jamima, Oreo cookie or other hateful pejoratives.

I don’t blame Rev. Wright for fanning the flames of racism, or Barack Obama for warming his political career on their embers. They are the real victims in this whole charade because they have bought the lies and distortions of the people who have historically oppressed them and their ancestors in one form or another . . . whether in physical chains, philosophical and cultural chains, or now the chains of victimization and validation of a lifestyle that does nothing but rob them of the true life of love and joy that God has destined them to have. If the scales fell off and they realized the man they should hate is the one who has robbed their dignity by categorizing all blacks as congregating in the same huddled, victimized masses, then they would stand up and say, no more. They would say, “We will not allow this blind prejudice to suck our souls from us” while the forces who have everything to gain, walk away laughing at these fools who fell for the biggest con in the world.

Blacks are no more monolithic than whites . . . or women, and to suggest it, to treat them as such is insulting, demeaning and . . . oh my gosh . . . really racist.