Wright to speak in Suffolk
Published 10:17 pm Thursday, October 8, 2015
The Rev. Jeremiah Wright talks with then-President Bill Clinton at the 1998 White House Prayer Breakfast in this White House photo. Wright will speak in Suffolk later this month.
One of the most well known and controversial pastors in America will speak in Suffolk on Oct. 26.
The Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright — the former pastor of President Barack Obama — will speak at First Baptist Church, 112 Mahan St., at 7 p.m., according to local sources and confirmed on the local church’s Facebook page.
“I think it should be a positive message that he will bring,” said Costellar Ledbetter, the president of the Nansemond-Suffolk branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. She said she plans to arrive early to make sure she gets a seat.
“I don’t know what he is going to talk about, but I’m looking forward to seeing what he has to say to the community,” Ledbetter added. “I’m sure all of us can get something from what he brings.”
Wright served as senior pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, Ill., for 36 years. He is a Pennsylvania native and holds four academic degrees. He attended Virginia Union University — where he is now on the board of trustees with First Baptist Mahan’s pastor, the Rev. Dr. Steven Blunt — before leaving college for six years to serve in the U.S. Marine Corps and Navy.
Wright caused controversy for Obama during his 2008 presidential run when networks excerpted portions of prior sermons by Wright. Some people interpreted some of his statements as unpatriotic, when he suggested that America knew about the 1941 Pearl Harbor attack ahead of time and suggested that America’s actions overseas, including the 1945 bombings in Japan that ended World War II, were to blame for the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. He made other remarks that some interpreted as anti-Semitic.
Obama later distanced himself from the remarks, and he and his wife terminated their membership in the church. Wright ended his pastorship of the church in 2008 and now is pastor emeritus.
As pastor emeritus, he continues leading study tours to various locations in Africa, the Caribbean and Brazil for African-Americans to learn about their past, according to the biography on his website.
Blunt, the pastor at First Baptist Mahan, did not return repeated phone calls and messages left at his office for comment on the church’s invitation for Wright to speak.
