Daughter: Rev. Wright NOT publishing book in October

A New York magazine cover story last week reignited the debate over Rev. Jeremiah Wright when it stated - without attribution - that the former pastor of Sen. Barack Obama was releasing a new book.

But his daughter, Jeri, told me today that the story is absolutely false.

"The only book we're working on is the history of Trinity (United Church of Christ) and I haven't even started editing that," Wright told Essence.com.

After I reached out to her, she called her father, who is teaching and ministering in Ghana (I ran into him last month when I was in the West African nation) and said he "laughed" when she asked about the book.

"He said that he also got an email, but was unable to respond since he's in email hell," Wright said, meaning in a place in Ghana where it's difficult to send and receive email.

"I asked him if he was writing and he said, 'Nope. I'm not publishing anything. I'm not going on any book tours.'"

Rumors about a pre-election book by Wright have been surfacing for the last few months, and intensified since the New York article.

It even has caused a stir among Obama supporters, who were also chasing down the rumor to see if there was any legitimacy to it.

I even got calls from executives in the publishing world inquiring as to whether the story is true.

Jeri Wright says when her dad returns to another part of Ghana, he will issue a formal response to the New York article reiterating that what they reported is false. Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

Comments

[rcwblessed]

I'm very relieved to hear that the rumor mill got this one wrong!

GodSpeed Obama '08!

[rob]

THANK THE LORD!!!!! read about this on another blog and I swear my blood pressure went up! This potential Obama presidency has caused all Black people that I come in contact with everyday through work or on a personal level to have an abundance of pride and joy!
Roland, i know you are an Independant and for all I know you could vote for John Mcain, I'm not made at you for that but, just the possibility that Barack H. Obama could be our next Prez has got to make your psyche (as a Black man) explode!!! I think about my grandfathers, father, uncles, male cousin's and my heart is overjoyed. p.s. Rev Wright you are loved but puhleeeeeze, keep it to yourself until after Nov 4th.....

[Nichelle]

Thank. GOD!!!

[J Allen]

For Rev. Wright life goes on. Its "SAD" that Rev. Wright has to live in the Shadows of comments African Americans have secretly talked about amongst ourselves for years....... How many of us heard that "Tha White Man" created AIDS-- rather we believed it or not?

I Honor and Respect Senator Obama, but things are starting to get a bit silly around Town (Chicago). People cant make "NO" mistakes without a HIGH PENALTY from the African American Community even if those people are African American!

Yesterday I heard a (Thoughtless IDIOT) say "I'm glad Bernie Mac is gone, just another problem Obama does not have to deal with". Its statements like that -- that make me hate the Political Process!

http://community.myfoxchicago.com/blogs/JimAllen

[Nichelle]

That idiotic Bernie Mac comment was an aberration. Don't throw all of us Obama supporters in with that lot. This election is bigger than Barack Obama the individual.

[KSM]

As a white person I found Wrights sermons to be very disturbing. He seems to hold me responsible for actions that I had nothing to do with. It is a bad mark that Obama not only sat under his preaching for 20 years but willingly exposed his daughters to such racism.

If Wright wrote another book, I would not be sure I could trust what he says.

My hope is that soon people will judge others by the "content of their character, rather than by the color of their skin".

[charles]

"How many of us heard that "Tha White Man" created AIDS-- rather we believed it or not?"

That was a problem for Wright because it's a racist conpiracy theory. Since when are whites and asians, or any other type of person, immune to the HIV virus? It's also spread through very specific behavior, not casual contact, i.e. unprotected sex and intervenus drug use. Did that supposed evil genius who created HIV think that only african americans were going to engage in that behavior? Do the people like Wright who spread this conspiracy think that primarily afican americans engage in unprotected sex and intervenus drug use?

[Jerome]

This is pretty much the level of discourse that can be expected when you pick political candidates by the color of their skin.

Granted, it's easier - you only need to see a picture of the candidates - and it could save us billions of dollars every election cycle. We could just send out printed ballots with pictures of the candidates, and have everyone vote and mail them back in. No need to campaign!

Obviously, no one with a functioning brain that still supports Obama has listened to a word he has said. He started off far to the left of Hu Jintao, easily the most Marxist nominee ever for the U.S. Presidency. This candidate could only have garnered the wackiest of our moonbat leftist, less than 10% of the electorate.

He has since thrown them under the bus, along with Pfleger, Wright, Meeks and the other pseudo-Christian race hustlers, and now attempts to run to the right of McCain. Now he is anti-abortion (flip), pro-death penalty (flop), anti-Iran (flip), and pro-gun (flop). His communist Grandfather gets no mention, but his banker Grandmother does (racist!); his communist Mother gets no mention, but his nutty, drunken, child-abondoning Father that he never knew gets a book.

As for crazy Uncle Jerry the Racist, Marxist preacher, I too am glad he has nothing left to say. Serious voters wouldn't listen to his clown act any more now than before, and won't need his advice to vote against Obambi. Wright's a corrupt flim-flam man, and the farthest thing from a Christian. Obama can disown him all he wants - 20 years of praise aren't going to wash off him.

[Jim]

Nice post Jerome

[Warner Todd Huston]

My guess, Wright floated that rumor himself hoping for a payoff from Obama not to write a book he had no intentions of writing.

[Kathy]

Why,why,why- would any sane person vote for someone who holds antipathy for ANY race? David Duke, Rev. Wright, Phleger - ALL the same ilk. We need objective problem solvers - not activists in the White House. Sorry Obama - you are a good person but it can't be you. BTW - Rev. Wright's $1.6 million, gated community house plus 10 million line of credit --- the poor me - hatred business must be very good. To make money by riling up hatred and ill will on poor people is unconscionable! What hyprcrites.

[KansasGirl]

The last thing Ghana needs is this radical preacher. Next thing you know, we'll owe reparations to them too.

[KSM]

we don't need a president who is so vulnerable to blackmail threats from unscrupulous people like Wright.

I can easily imagine Wright saying "If you don't do X I will describe Y in my next book" - whether Y ever happenned or not.

[Alexis]

@KSM all you know about Rev Wright is what the media told you. His sermons were NOT racist for the past 20-25yrs so please dont speak until you do your OWN research. I have heard him preach several times and race was NOT mentioned once. Although I did not agree 100% with everything he said I did agree with him about some of what he was saying and I have heard other black ministers say the same things as well from the pulpit. The black church is a very unique expereince. White people have hung around racist for years does that make ALL white people racist???

[Foodforthought]

DARN! WAS SO LOOKING FORWARD TO HEARING HIM SPEAK AND FURTHER BRING OUT THE TRUTH ABOUT OBAMA.

I DOUBT THAT THIS LITTLE POST FROM ROLAND IS TRUE. HE IS PROBABLY TRYING TO SAVE OBAMA'S HIDE AGAIN. POOR ROLAND, SUCH A PATSY.

[DSF]

Thank God! We wouldn't want the truth to come out before the election! That would be AWWWWFUL!

[bowchikabowbow]

They should replace Colmes with Wright. Now i'd tune into that every night.

[LetThereBeLiberals]

Obligitory disclaimer: white middle aged female red stater. Ok now that's out of the way I'm glad too that Wright isn't coming out with an inflamatory book like he said he was when he spoke in front of the PressClub. I've listened to several of his preaches including the controversial ones and the worst I can say of him is that he has an ego and like many other churches he skates awfully close to the separation of church and politics line. He's not alone in this, I can name quite a few more white preachers who've built their mega churches up to the point where they really do believe they must be godly themselves.

[Dade]

Nice work Roland. I read about the initial rumour on Spectator's CoffeeHouse blog, and had cut and pasted Ben Smith's copy of your report on there before I noticed you had done the same.

More grease to your elbows and fingers!

Obama all the way!

[james]

Barack's been saturated in black liberation theology for 20 yrs, for those of you who do no independent research of their own it is quasi-Marxist and radical to say the very least. How is a separationist not borderlining racist? Maybe we should ship Wright off someplace where things are not so diverse. He's a hateful, bitter man, that much is certain. Worse he is profitting off his own racial poison. Barack's election was due to the backing of this politically powerful church on Chicago's south side. He was punching off his politicial resume, and is as calculating a politician as the next one. His mantra of being "different" is hollow, and so is his message. His ideas are certainly nothing new, for those who understand the history of politics in this country.

[KLA]

As a Kansas girl, I'd like to defend the state by saying we are not all silly. But I have to say I was relieved no book tour was scheduled. Even if a bit unfair to Rev. Wright, the example of KS girl number one's statements makes it clear how easily people leap onto the bandwagon of nonsense via cable news gibberish.

[nic]

Funny how Roland can write a quick post about Rev. Wright, not even mention Obama's name, and the trolls go nuts with their tired, uninformed diatribes about Obama's supposed extremism.

Also funny, is how Obama can be reviled for being both "Marxist," and "far right." No white politician in America would/will ever have to endure such a schizophrenic characterization...and only American white trash would be gullible enough to swallow all those pills at once.

Personally, I've never heard Wright say anything I didn't completely agree with. I think a book would be great.

[kcw]

Rev. Wright was a well known and well respected scholar, author, preacher, professor and lecturer well before anyone ever heard of a Barack Obama. No, he does not have a book coming out, although he has already written many. It is too bad that some only know him from those short sound bites and do not wish to expand their knowledge beyond what has been portrayed by the MSM. In conjunction with the Obama campaign, Wright has been so unfairly defamed and depicted. And for those members of the African American community who speak of him so disrespectfully, you simply do not appreciate that he has spent his entire career uplifting the African American community, whereas Obama has not. (Obama has merely given speeches.) And for those whites who believe that Wright is a racist, you are wrong. He has always welcomed people of all races and has given generously to the world community at large. There is far more to his ministry then a few sound bites taken out of context. And with regard to one of the bloggers here, Rev. Wright has lead excellent study trips in Africa for decades, you are uninformed.

[Ringo]

First, there was this:

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee (CNN) -- A man accused of fatally shooting two adults and wounding seven others at a Knoxville church told police the church's liberal teachings prompted him to attack, according to court papers.

http://www.democrats.org/page/community/post/lauraschneider/CCh3

Second, this happened:

The chairman of the Arkansas Democratic Party was hospitalized in critical condition Wednesday after being shot inside party headquarters in Little Rock, FOX News has confirmed.

Three shots were reportedly fired before a man escaped the area in a blue truck. However, the suspect was shot and apprehended following a 25-mile car chase with police, Little Rock police Lt. Terry Hastings told FOX News.

http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/08/13/arkansas-democratic-party-chairman-injured-in-shooting/

Pastor Wright is right.

God is truly damning this nation when those who call themselves Christians see the NEED to settle disputes with lies and violence.

When Bush (the man with God's home address) settles conflicts with lies, violence, and greed, what do you expect from the numerous "Christians" with no ability to think and reason?

What do you expect?

It will only get worse and more will have to die? Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Syria will be better than here. You may have to consider converting to Islam and moving to these other nations to continue YOUR "intelligent" rantings.

[Jeff]

As a white person and a member of the UCC, I never saw what all the fuss was about, really. Last Sunday my (white) pastor said practically the same thing Rev. Wright said. We worship God, not the U.S. of A., the Bible, or any pointy-headed politician of any particular party or persuasion. But let's separate church and state, shall we? And while we're at it, let's separate church and sports. I, too, look forward to Rev. Wright's book when all this madness is over.