New Delhi: US Presidential candidate Barack Obama is back to making headlines on race.
While addressing a meeting in Philadelphia, Obama said racism is a major issue in America.
Obama addressed the issue of race head-on, saying it is a problem America cannot afford to ignore. He drew on America's long history of racial inequality and called upon Americans to move beyond it.
Speaking to supporters at Philadelphia's National Constitution Center, the Democratic presidential candidate urged Americans to reject the "racial stalemate we've been stuck in for years."
Obama has been forced to tackle the issue of racism, following some controversial statements by his former pastor. Obama said he both rejected and understood the racially charged comments made by the Reverend Jeremiah Wright of the Trinity United Church of Christ, where Obama worships.
“They weren't simply a religious leader's effort to speak out against perceived injustice. Instead, they expressed a profoundly distorted view of this country – a view that sees white racism as endemic, and that elevates what is wrong with America above all that we know is right with America; a view that sees the conflicts in the Middle East as rooted primarily in the actions of stalwart allies like Israel, instead of emanating from the perverse and hateful ideologies of radical Islam,” he said.
Obama said as imperfect as Wright may be, he has been like family. He said he could not disown his pastor, who has strengthened his faith and baptized his children.
The Illinois senator also said his own grandmother, who is white, has uttered racial stereotypes that made him cringe.
The African-American senator is locked in a close race with Senator Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination.
Race has emerged as an issue on several occasions in the race. Hillary Clinton's husband, former President, Bill Clinton, and her aide Geraldine Ferraro, had been accused of making allegedly racial statements against Obama.
Comments
0 comment