Not the same sermon. However, ever since Obama became a major figure in Illinois politics (when he was elected senator in 2004), I’ve been watching the televised weekly sermons from Trinity United Church of Christ and they like showing off the celebrities in the audience.
It is customary for members of that congregation to nod their heads and shout “Amen!” This is especially true when the orator says something that is racially inflammatory to white people.
Oprah Winfrey, for example, attended regularly until about 2005. But at least Oprah had enough sense to distance herself from Dr. Wright. Some African-American players for the Chicago Bulls and the Chicago bears have also attended on occasion.
Obama, like most of the other members of the congregation, will respond to racially inmflammatory rhetoric by nodding his head and shouting “Amen!” But Dr. Wright’s replacement is Rev. Otis Moss III, who is much more subtle.
Moss practices what I call “dog whistle politics.” He uses code words and phrases that do not create convenient sound bites for outsiders to understand, but his followers can understand them all too well, and they respond. Also, the delivery (inflection, tone of voice, hand gestures, pauses etc.) does not translate well to the printed page.
But make no mistake about it: Trinity United Church of Christ is fostering racial contempt, resentment and divisiveness in the United States.