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Cloud of racism hangs heavy over Obama eulogy for South Carolina pastor Cloud of racism hangs heavy over Obama eulogy for South Carolina pastor
(35 minutes later)
President Obama travels to Charleston, South Carolina, on Friday to deliver the eulogy for Reverend Clementa Pinckney, the pastor of Emanuel AME church who was gunned down last week along with eight others, amid intense speculation over whether he will use such a sensitive moment further to articulate his views on race.President Obama travels to Charleston, South Carolina, on Friday to deliver the eulogy for Reverend Clementa Pinckney, the pastor of Emanuel AME church who was gunned down last week along with eight others, amid intense speculation over whether he will use such a sensitive moment further to articulate his views on race.
The president will make his funeral oration at TD arena at the College of Charleston, in front of more than 5,000 people including relatives and friends of the victims as well as African American, church and local political leaders. He will be joined by first lady Michelle Obama and vice-president Joe Biden and his wife, Jill. The president will make his funeral oration at TD arena at the College of Charleston, in front of more than 5,000 people including relatives and friends of the victims as well as African American, church and local political leaders. He will be joined by the first lady, Michelle Obama, and Vice-President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill.
It will be one of the most closely scrutinized engagements of Obama’s six years in office. With the aftershocks of the gun rampage by an avowed white supremacist still thundering across the Deep South, the president’s main focus will be to celebrate the life of a much-loved pastor whom Obama himself knew well. It will be one of the most closely scrutinized engagements of Obama’s six years in office. With the aftershocks of the gun rampage by an avowed white supremacist still thundering across the deep south, the president’s main focus will be to celebrate the life of a much-loved pastor whom Obama himself knew well.
But he also faces the much more delicate task of offering the nation some kind of moral way forward as it continues to struggle to understand more than a week after the event an act of undiluted racial hatred. State capitals across the south – not just Columbia, South Carolina, where the Confederate flag still flies high – have been wracked with soul-searching since the shooting spree on 17 June, much of it directed towards enduring public symbols of the region’s slave-owning secessionist past. But he also faces the much more delicate task of offering the nation some kind of moral way forward as it continues to struggle to understand more than a week after the event an act of undiluted racial hatred. State capitals across the south – not just Columbia, South Carolina, where the Confederate flag still flies high – have been racked with soul-searching since the shooting spree on 17 June, much of it directed towards enduring public symbols of the region’s slave-owning secessionist past.
Related: The decision to forgive is rooted in faith. The desire to forget is rooted in racism | Anthea ButlerRelated: The decision to forgive is rooted in faith. The desire to forget is rooted in racism | Anthea Butler
In his remarks so far on the Charleston massacre, Obama has tended to emphasize his frustration with America’s lax gun laws which, as he put it the day after the shootings, has forced him “to make statements like this too many times”. He also made reference in that speech to the Emanuel AME church, the scene of the carnage, as a place of worship founded by African Americans seeking an end to slavery.In his remarks so far on the Charleston massacre, Obama has tended to emphasize his frustration with America’s lax gun laws which, as he put it the day after the shootings, has forced him “to make statements like this too many times”. He also made reference in that speech to the Emanuel AME church, the scene of the carnage, as a place of worship founded by African Americans seeking an end to slavery.
But his remarks in public over the past nine days have been restrained, muted almost, in regard to the overt racial nature of the attack. The past nine days have been in keeping with the cautious stance that America’s first black president has consistently adopted when talking directly about the country’s legacy of racial strife.But his remarks in public over the past nine days have been restrained, muted almost, in regard to the overt racial nature of the attack. The past nine days have been in keeping with the cautious stance that America’s first black president has consistently adopted when talking directly about the country’s legacy of racial strife.
Whatever the extent of his comments on race on Friday, it is certain that his eulogy will address the many achievements of its subject. The president will have rich material to work with – the aftermath of last week’s massacre has been marked by an outpouring of affection and praise for the 41-year-old Pinckney in both his public roles, as pastor and as state senator.Whatever the extent of his comments on race on Friday, it is certain that his eulogy will address the many achievements of its subject. The president will have rich material to work with – the aftermath of last week’s massacre has been marked by an outpouring of affection and praise for the 41-year-old Pinckney in both his public roles, as pastor and as state senator.
On Wednesday several thousand mourners filed past Pinckney’s open coffin at the South Carolina state house to pay their respects to a man equally at ease in a place of worship as on the floor of the legislature. On Thursday night a wake was held at his church, a place of worship that was so integral to Charleston’s African American community over so many years that it became known as “Mother Emanuel”.On Wednesday several thousand mourners filed past Pinckney’s open coffin at the South Carolina state house to pay their respects to a man equally at ease in a place of worship as on the floor of the legislature. On Thursday night a wake was held at his church, a place of worship that was so integral to Charleston’s African American community over so many years that it became known as “Mother Emanuel”.
Obama forged his friendship with Pinckney during his first presidential run in 2008, in which South Carolina played a key role as a turning point in the fierce battle for the Democratic nomination between the then-US senator for Illinois and Hillary Clinton. Even then, the contest was notable for its racial undertones. Obama forged his friendship with Pinckney during his first presidential run in 2008, in which South Carolina played a key role as a turning point in the fierce battle for the Democratic nomination between the then US senator for Illinois and Hillary Clinton. Even then, the contest was notable for its racial undertones.
How much further the president chooses to go in the course of his eulogy into the snake pit of modern American race relations remains to be seen. There are signs that as he approaches the end of his term in the White House he is feeling liberated enough to speak more openly – just this week he used the N-word in a podcast, stating that the nation has yet to be cured of racism.How much further the president chooses to go in the course of his eulogy into the snake pit of modern American race relations remains to be seen. There are signs that as he approaches the end of his term in the White House he is feeling liberated enough to speak more openly – just this week he used the N-word in a podcast, stating that the nation has yet to be cured of racism.
He has also indicated that his post-presidency plan is to try to help young black American men cope with the many hurdles that stand in their way. In the wake of the spate of recent unrest over police behavior towards black citizens in cities such as Ferguson, Missouri, and Baltimore, the subject of race is clearly at the front of Obama’s mind, though only rarely does he give the nation a glimpse of his thinking.He has also indicated that his post-presidency plan is to try to help young black American men cope with the many hurdles that stand in their way. In the wake of the spate of recent unrest over police behavior towards black citizens in cities such as Ferguson, Missouri, and Baltimore, the subject of race is clearly at the front of Obama’s mind, though only rarely does he give the nation a glimpse of his thinking.