Reverend Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr., is a Biblical scholar, pastor, and community activist. He was the Pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ (TUCC), an African-American megachurch in Chicago until he retired on Sunday, February 10, 2008 after 36 years of service.
Jeremiah Wright became the pastor at TUCC in 1972 when the church had 87 members. Trinity soon adopted the motto "Unashamedly Black and Unapologetically Christian" and set out to make activism on behalf of African-Americans a key aspect of the church's mission.
Under Jeremiah Wright, the church now has the largest congregation in the United Church of Christ with over 8,000 members.
Jeremiah Wright has published four books and many articles, and is perhaps best known nationally, at least in Spring 2008, for his relationship with Sen. Barack Obama. The title of Barack Obama's book, The Audacity of Hope, was taken from a sermon written by Wright.
Obama first met Jeremiah Wright and joined his church while he was working as a community organizer prior to attending Harvard Law School.
Barack Obama's connection to Wright drew attention in a February 2007 Rolling Stone article which described a controversial speech in which Wright forcefully spoke about racism against African-Americans.
Citing the article and fears that any further controversy would harm the church, Obama scrapped plans of having Wright introduce him at his Presidential announcement.
Barack Obama has often said that he and Rev. Wright sometimes disagree, but he has been a member of the TUCC for 20 years.
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