Rev. Wright cancels Houston appearances
DALLAS (AP) - March 26, 2008 The Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth announced on its Web
site that Wright will not attend the State of the Black Church
Summit and awards banquet in Dallas. The school was planning to
present Wright with an award Saturday.
Wright has also canceled plans to speak at three services in a
Houston church Sunday. He canceled plans Tuesday to speak at a
church in Tampa, Fla.
In a speech last week, Obama sharply condemned Wright's remarks
damning America for its treatment of minorities and saying the U.S.
government invented AIDS to destroy black people.
The Rev. Marcus Cosby, pastor at Houston's Wheeler Avenue
Baptist Church, told Houston television station KTRK and the
Houston Chronicle that safety concerns had prompted Wright's
decision.
Cosby told the Chronicle that Wright cited three reasons for
canceling: "the safety of the institution to which he has been
invited; the safety of his family, which has been placed in harm's
way; and for his own safety."
Wright also canceled his appearance Tuesday in Florida at a
Tampa-area church. The hosting church said it asked Wright to
cancel his scheduled three-day appearance because of security
questions.
Joan Harrell, minister of communications for Trinity United
Church of Christ in Chicago, where Wright was pastor for nearly
four decades, didn't immediately return a phone call from The
Associated Press on Wednesday.
Videos of remarks Wright has made have been circulating widely
on the Internet and news programs. Wright's sermons to his
predominantly black congregation have included him shouting "God
damn America" for its treatment of minorities. He has said the
U.S. government invented AIDS to destroy "people of color" and
has also suggested that U.S. policies in the Middle East and
elsewhere were partly responsible for the 2001 terrorist attacks on
New York and Washington.
"I think we have taken Dr. Wright out of context with sound
bites," Cosby said. "After all these years, I am not going to
kick him to the curb over sound bites."
In a speech last week, Obama sharply condemned Wright's remarks
and the preacher's refusal to acknowledge progress in race
relations. But the Illinois senator refused to repudiate Wright.