BLACK VALUE SYSTEM

Statement of Purpose

We honor Dr. Manford Byrd, our brother in Christ, because of the exemplary
manner in which he has thrice withstood the ravage of being denied his
earned ascension to the number one position in the Chicago School System.

The Black Value System

These Black Ethics must be taught and exampled in homes, churches,
nurseries and schools, wherever Blacks are gathered. They must reflect the
following concepts:

Commitment of God

"The God of our weary years" will give us the strength to give up
prayerful passivism and become Black Christian Activist, soldiers for Black
freedom and the dignity of all humankind.

Commitment to Self-Discipline and Self-Respect

To accomplish anything worthwhile requires self-discipline. We must be a
community of self-disciplined persons, if we are to actualize and utilize
our own human resources instead of perpetually submitting to exploitation by
others. Self discipline coupled with a respect for self, will enable each of
us to be an instrument of Black Progress, and a model for Black Youth.

Disavowal of the Pursuit of "Middleclassness"

Classic methodology on control of captives teaches that captors must keep
the captive ignorant educationally, but trained sufficiently well to serve
the system. Also, the captors must be able to identify the "talented tenth"
of those subjugated, especially those who show promise of providing the kind
of leadership that might threaten the captor's control.

Those so identified as separated from the rest of the people by:

Killing them off directly, and/or fostering a social system that
encourages them to kill off one another.

Placing them in concentration camps, and/or structuring an economic
environment that induces captive youth to fill the jails and prisons.

Seducing them into a socioeconomic class system which while training them
to earn more dollars, hypnotizes them into believing they are better than
others and teaches them to think in terms of "we" and "they" instead of
"us".

A visit to the church's bookstore shows they have been true to their word.
It is full of "Afrocentric" books, many of which make the usual
preposterous Afrocentric claims, such as that Cleopatra was black:

The book store also shamelessly hawks Mr. Osama's books:

But Trinity Church's proselytizing doesn't stop with re-writing history and
promoting its parishioners.

Here is the latest sermon from its pastor, Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. (pdf
file):

WHAT'S GOIN' ON?

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Marvin Gaye's powerful "message song" is a song that made him famous
because it went against the "Motown entertainment rule." It raised serious
questions about the culture, the country and governmental policy.

His song raised questions about Black-on-Black violence, about drugs,
about war and about the way in which we were living (or not living) in a
very difficult period of history.

I use his words today on the third Sunday of a New Year to keep before you
the painful truth of who we are and where it is we are in this racist United
States of America! What's goin' on?

We have lost over 3,000 boys and girls in an illegal and unjust war, and
the media is on a feeding frenzy about Barack Obama's church. Where is the
outrage about the 3,000 dead American military personnel and the 600,000
dead Iraqi civilians who are dead for no reason other than greed and ego?
What's goin' on?

This past Wednesday, January 17th, the House of Representatives
deliberated on a bill to cut interest rates on federally subsidized student
loans. On Thursday, January 18th, the House of Representatives considered
legislation that would repeal some royalties and tax incentives from the oil
and gas industries and redistribute that money to alternative and renewable
energy such as bio-fuels.

The media, however, is not covering that news. The media wants to know
about Barack Obama's pastor. What's goin' on?

On the weekend leading up to Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday, the House
of Representatives passed a bill requiring the United States Secretary of
Health and Human Services to negotiate drug prices for the Medicare program.
The President who is "staying the course" and sending 1,500 more troops to
their death has issued a veto threat against the measure and there is no
public outcry and no media outrage. What's goin' on?

The President, who is "staying the course" and sending 21,500 more troops
to their death has issued a veto threat against the measure and there is no
public outcry and no media outrage.

The President's "New Plan" (more troops, more death and more war) promises
an insane escalation - in Iraq, Iran and beyond! With the torture of Abu
Ghraib, the complete destructions of cities like Fallujah and over 600,000
deaths due to collateral damage, the President complained in his speech that
there had been "too many restrictions" on the actions of the United States
Forces in the Iraq war.

The President's "New Plan" (more troops, more death and more war) promises
an insane escalation - in Iraq, Iran and beyond!

Am I the only one who heard that? What's goin' on?

I celebrate forty years of ordained ministry this weekend. I bask in the
40-year glow of God's Grace, God's forgiveness and God's lessons about
humility.

The e-mails that I have been getting this week, the news clippings that I
am being sent and the racist blogs that are flooding the Internet make me
know, however, that even as I bask, the work ahead for the church of Jesus
Christ is just as serious and difficult today (if not more so) as it was
forty years ago when I was ordained during the Vietnamese War!

The President tries to frame the justification for his insanity by using
language describing the debate in this country over the war as "a great
struggle between those who believe in freedom in moderation and extremists
who kill the innocent."

The reality, however, is that the entire war in Iraq and the larger "war
on terror" have been based on lies, half-truths and distortions to serve the
agenda of the United States imperialism. Where is the public outcry? Where
is the outrage? What's goin' on?

There is more focus on what the Bears may or may not do as they play a
football game against New Orleans than there is on the 3,000 homeless who
are still living or displaced in the real life game called "New Orleans."

Those poor Black and white displaced citizens of New Orleans (not imported
team members playing for New Orleans), who have no place to go and no place
to live because of this administration's illegal war and its billions of
dollars wasted on prosecuting that war, join with me in asking, "What's goin'
on?"

Excuse me! The victims of Hurricane Katrina are no longer on the radar
screen of the media. Only Barack, his church, his pastor and white
arrogance!

I invite your sincere prayers this weekend. The generation of ministers
behind me has its work cut out for them in some incredible and overwhelming
ways!

Sincerely yours,

Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr.

So much for the separation of church and state.

Speaking of which, here is what is being promoted at the top of the church's
home page as we speak:

MEET SENATOR BARACK OBAMA!!!

On Sunday, January 28th, immediately following the 11:00 a.m. worship
service, meet Senator Barack Obama, author of the best-selling book,
Audacity of Hope. Purchase your copy of Audacity of Hope in the Akiba
Bookstore and have it personally signed by Senator Obama. You do not want to
miss this monumental experience!

Where is the ACLU?

And can you imagine the uproar if a white candidate belonged to a church
that promoted a white value system?