Obama's Protestant Denomination: Church's Cleveland Hdqts. Denounces E-mail Campaign Smear

CLEVELAND (TDB) -- The Cleveland headquarters of the United Church of Christ -- the 1.4 million member Protestant denomination to which Barack Obama belongs -- itself has received queries related to the poison-pen e-mails now circulating about the Illinois senator's Christian faith. One example turned up last week. It appeared in a lengthy series of comments responding to a denunciation of an Internet smear campaign aimed at Obama's home church, Trinity UCC in Chicago. The Rev. John H. Thomas, the general minister and president of the Cleveland-based denomination, on Jan. 11 called the attacks on Trinity "absurd, mean-spirited and politically motivated." His blast at the e-mail smear started the comment chain rolling.

By Thursday, somebody asked the Cleveland headquarters:

"I would only have two things that I would like to be a correct answer: One, was Senator Obama sworn into office using the Koran? Two, Does he not salute, pay homage to, and place his hand over his heart when the Pledge of Allegiance is being recited? I need to know the truth about these concerns."

Somebody fired back:

"NO! That is a lie, spread by right wing web bloggers. He was sworn in on the Bible. He is a Christian and is a MEMBER of THIS church . . . or why would he even be here talking about this? And he ALWAYS places his hand over this heart for the pledge, just like I do. That photo was taken, as far I have heard, just before the pledge started and he had yet to raise his hand. Please folks, these ridiculous lies are ruining our opportunity for honest discourse!"

That was followed by this comment Feb. 2:

"I was planning to vote for Obama, but I have to wonder now. Did I miss something, or has no one mentioned Farrakhan's involvement with the Sudanese slavery issue . . . I admire Obama for really researching his decision regarding the war in Iraq, but did he research this guy (Farrakan)? He would have to be clueless and naive not to know what poison Farrakan is?"

So it looks like the church -- which has some 6,000 congregations -- has been sucked into the maelstrom of the battle for the White House. From what I can tell, there has been no effort to either censor or moderate the comments on its web site.

[UPDATE: 2:56 PM -- Jerid Kurtz at Buckeye State Blog reports the Columbus Dispatch printed a letter to the editor today that slams Obama's church. He's of the opinion it is a slur. The Dispatch letter echoes the debate that has cropped up on the denomination's own online portal. Nobody seems to have paid much notice to the church's top leader, who sees a smear campaign at work. Just to be clear, The Daily Bellwether would like to print what Rev. Thomas says: "Our national offices in Cleveland, as well as other settings of the UCC, have been forwarded countless e-mails that obviously derive from a similar source. They contain misleading statements obviously meant to undermine the integrity of one of our most vibrant, mission-driven congregations." Thomas says the flurry of e-mail messages began after the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses, all claiming that Trinity UCC is a 'racist' congregation, in part, because its motto is Unashamedly Black, Unapologetically Christian.]

Cleveland Indians' Chief Wahoo: He's Bad For Mental Health

CLEVELAND (TDB) -- As baseball takes its mid-season All-Star break, it now looks like the Indians stand on the verge of having a better year than their mascot, Chief Wahoo. The American Sociological Association has joined with the American Psychological Association and says the mascot -- along with other uses of Native American nicknames and logos by sports teams -- is a threat to sound mental health.

The mascots, including Wahoo, have long been denounced for reinforcing mean-spirited racial stereotypes. But the sociologists said they are worse -- they are harmful to people of color.

"Negative psychological outcomes for Native youth include lowered self-esteem, lowered view of one's future potential, and more negative views of one's own Native people," said Laurel R. Davis Delano, who did research for the American Sociological Association. The group voted earlier this year to urge the discontinuation of mascots, logo and nicknames like Chief Wahoo.

The group's position statement includes a bibliography of several research studies over the years that document its concern.

The American Psychological Association adopted a similar resolution in 2005. It cited the "potential negative impact the use of American Indian mascots, symbols, images and personalities have on the mental health and psychological behavior of American Indian people."

Sen. Barack Obama's Protestant denomination, the Cleveland-based United Church of Christ, has pushed for elimination of Chief Wahoo. And the UCC has enlisted support from the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. Mark Pelavin, the associate director of the Religious Action Center, said in Reform Judaism Magazine's Winter 2005 edition:

"But sometimes were are asked to add something to our agenda. One example is joining the fight to change the names of certain American sports teams -- the Atlanta Braves, the Washington Redskins, and the Cleveland Indians -- which offend Native Americans. If most Jews gave the issue a moment's thought, they'd say, 'the Native Americans have a point' and then move on. It's not an issue of particular concern to us as a community, but it's very important to the United Church of Christ, which is headquartered in Cleveland and has taken this on as a major issue. As part of their campaign to rename the Cleveland team, they asked us to sign letters to team owners and join in some quiet meetings with team officials, and we were glad to do so."


[Note: I have not been able to find anything Obama, D-Ill., has said about Chief Wahoo or the Indians. It would be interesting to learn his thoughts. I do have the complete text of a speech the Democratic presidential candidate delivered last month at his church's national synod, a speech he called the "Politics of Conscience." Obama said "we all have the capacity to do justice and show mercy; to treat others with dignity and respect; and to rise above what divides us and come together to meet those challenges we can't meet alone."]