Obama Homiletics

I'm sure you have all read Sen. Obama's (D.-Ill.) speech by now. And I know you have heard people make much of the fatherhood beginning at conception part of it. And you are probably already aware of the historical inaccuracies (the time lines of his parents courtship and the march in Selma do not match up as he infers they do) in the speech. Nevertheless, this speech is a superb piece of political rhetoric, and I'd like to point out a few of the things that make it so great. (I don't vote for pro-aborts or collectivists so I can't vote for him. But I do think his speechwriter is very very good.)

Intro to the Speech
1. He begins by thanking the host and acknowledging the living and dead heroes of the civil rights movement. THis is part of getting the audience on his side. Very very important.

2. He manages expectations by noting his own discomfort at having to follow so many great preachers.

3. He evokes the memory of Abraham Lincoln, the first Republican President in an attempt to draw in people who might oppose him.

4. He delivers greetings from the deservedly famous Rev. Moss and Dr. Wright to the people at Brown Chapel AME Church, thereby showing them that "he's one of us". But he uses this greeting to segue into the main body of his speech and the theme of the Moses and Joshua. It is a beautiful and organic transition.


The Great Theme of the Speech

1. He mentions those who went before having endured many difficulties, some even giving their lives for the cause of civil rights (FYI: the group of rights that in post-WWII America are called civil rights are not only what past ages thought of as civil rights, but also include political and legal rights.) in his phrasing we hear echoes of the famous passage of Hebrewes 11 where St. Paul describes the sufferings of the Old Testament Prophets. This taps directly into the emotions of his church-going audience.

2. Then from "enduring" he moves into marching, building a sense of expectation through successive paragraphs each including the phrase "because they marched"

"And so because of what they endured, because of what they marched; they led a people out of bondage."
"And it's because they marched that the next generation hasn't been bloodied so much. "
"...because they marched that we elected councilmen..."
"It is because they marched that we have..."
"...because they marched that I got the kind of education I got, a law degree, a seat in the Illinois senate and ultimately in the United States senate. "
"It is because they marched that i stand before you here today."

(I didn't hear the speech but son of a peneecostal preacher in me sure hopes he puched the word marched every time he said it.)


3. He reaches out to the Democratic Party martyrs, Sen. Robert Kennedy and Pres. J.F. Kennedy and effectivly enlists them as his supporters by tying them to African liberation and his own opportunity to come to the United States.

4. He evokes not only the memory of the Holy Prophet Moses when he says of him "he didn't cross over the river to see the Promised Land" but also the memory of Martin Luther King Junior who said, "And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land!" (I've Been to the Mountaintop, Apr. 3. 1968)


What He Sees as the work of the "Joshua generation" (This is where I thought the speech almost but not quite broke down.)

1. Remind people (balck Americans, presumably) where they come from: A deeper well than money and materialism - public service.

2. The battle for equality must be continued - afirmative action

3. Economic rights - collectivized medical industry, nationalization of public school funding, more equitible federal disaster relief. (He seems to think the 10% match was waved in FL and NYC because of skin color. It was waved because of party loyalty. FL had a republican governor. NYC a republican mayor. New Orleans is Democratic through and through. Same thing happens when Marin county floods. When Pres. GHW Bush was asked to send them disaster relief money he merely quoted the percenteage of people who voted for him in Marin County. It was less than 30%. They got no money.)

4. What saves this sectin of the speech is his use of the word hope. He uses the word 3 times, linking this section back to an earlier part of the speech and to President William Clinton (Maya Angelou famously but wrongly called him the 'first black president"), who was born in Hope, Arkansas.

5. In talking about school funing he mentions the responsibility of parents and seems to be adopting Bill Cosby's argument. This is probably an attempt to win the votes of the morally-conservative black voter. If so, it is a shrewed move for it is something Hillary Clinton can't do, and it keeps the Republicans from taking these voters away from the Democratic Party.

Conclusion

1. He presumes a conversation with the pastors. Acknowledging that they are better speakers than he. But there is more to it than that. He is preparing the listeners for the conclusion of the speech by bringing them back to where the speech started, recognition of the living civil rights movement leaders and current pastors of the black churches.

2. He acknowledges his own weakness by appealing to Moses and Joshua again.

3. He enlists the support of the listeners to at least pray for him, which being Christians they are obliged to do.

Now, in case you haven't been keeping track, here are the people he has counted as his supporters: The living and dead leaders of the civil rights movement, including Dr.King, the Holy Propets Moses and Joshua, Pres. Abraham Lincoln, Bill Cosby, Pres. Clinton, Pres. Kennedy, Sen. Robert Kennedy, St. Paul, all the marchers in Selma those many years ago, and the audience in Brown Chapel AME on March 4. That, regarless of your political convictions, is a great oratorical feat. My hat is off to Sen. Obama. Great speech, Senator. Thank you for making this an interesting race.



SELMA, ALA.--From the pulpit of the historic Brown Chapel A.M.E. church, White House hopeful Barack Obama talks about the job of the "Joshua generation" and his own claim to a place in the civil rights movement.

Remarks of Senator Barack Obama
As Delivered
Selma Voting Rights March Commemoration, Brown Chapel A.M.E Church
March 4, 2007
Selma, Alabama

Here today, I must begin because at the Unity breakfast this morning I was saving for last and the list was so long I left him out after that introduction. So I’m going to start by saying how much I appreciate the friendship ... (Read the rest of the speech here.)