This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2008, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Posted: 7:51 AM- Like many in America, the Rev. France Davis tuned in Tuesday to hear what Sen. Barack Obama had to say. His radio on, the pastor of Salt Lake City's Calvary Baptist Church listened as the Democratic presidential candidate delivered from Philadelphia a speech on race.
"He confronted the big bad wolf that's been in this room since the [presidential] race started," Davis said. "He said what he needed to and did so with a great deal of respect. . . . In my mind, it was a historic occasion."
Tuesday's speech was delivered as controversial remarks by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama's former but longtime pastor, were being played over and over again.
Obama "approached it very thoughtfully and was straightforward," Davis said. "He tried to deal with all the aspects of . . . his former pastor's remarks," while reminding listeners about the importance of issues such as education and medical care, and "I think to get this out on the table and talk about it at this time was wise on his part."
The Salt Lake City pastor said he hopes this speech will help Americans move forward, but he knows there are some who will continue to harp on Wright's comments, hold them against Obama and make leaps as to what this means about black churches, indeed the black community, in general. He's even gotten the calls to prove it.
Just Thursday morning, he got off the phone with a woman who demanded to know why black churches were spouting hatred. She, he added, admitted she had never stepped foot in Calvary Baptist. This raised a point he said he hopes people will take to heart: the importance of people visiting communities or congregations "different from their own." Only with increased understanding, he said, can a community be stronger overall.
As for the caller's attempts to blame the candidate for Wright's words, Davis "told her that Obama is no more repsonsible for the words of his pastor than we are for the words an elected senator or governor might say."