Perry Ealim was elated to learn he'd won a local business award from the Anne Arundel County NAACP and promptly sent a mass e-mail asking friends and associates, largely fellow Republicans, to join him at the November award ceremony.
But most aren't so eager to dine with the guest speaker for the evening, President Barack Obama's controversial former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.
"I am happy for your honor, however I cannot support an organization that would have a racist/bigot such as Mr. Wright as [its] speaker," wrote James Pelura, outgoing chairman of the Maryland Republican Party.
"I'm so sorry you will be in his company," one woman wrote.
"I am disappointed that you are not reprimanding the NAACP," another wrote.
Local elected officials, including Del. Don Dwyer and County Executive John R. Leopold, Republicans who have honored Ealim for his work on minority businesses, aren't coming. Most of the Democrats Ealim knows happen to be busy that evening, too.
Ealim, a lifelong Republican who is black, said refusing to attend Wright's speech is "more divisive than anything he could say." He said he does not agree with some of Wright's comments, nor does he support all of the NAACP's positions, but he is eager to accept his award and hear Wright.
"I am intelligent enough that I can listen to someone talk and separate truth from non-truth," he said.
Wright, the fiery minister at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, where Obama was a longtime parishioner, grabbed national attention during the presidential campaign last year. Internet videos of old sermons showed Wright condemning America and saying that Sept. 11, 2001, was the country's "chickens coming home to roost." An unapologetic speech before the Detroit NAACP, in which he said blacks and whites have different styles of speech and clapping, further stoked the controversy.
In response, Obama gave a speech in Philadelphia about racial discord and resigned from the church. Since then, Wright has largely remained out of the spotlight. A Web site for him lists no speaking dates and no recent site updates. He did not return e-mails Tuesday.
Pelura said he is happy for Ealim but said the situation is "akin to an organization honoring someone and having an ex-grand knight of the KKK be the speaker. We have enough of [Wright's] comments out there to show how he feels about whites and about America."
He said Republicans plan to support Ealim in other ways, perhaps with certificates of appreciation.
Jacqueline Boone Allsup, president of the Anne Arundel County NAACP, which is holding the Nov. 20 Freedom Fund Dinner and awards ceremony, said the selection of Wright has drawn some complaints - but she expects it to be one of the best-attended events in the chapter's history.
"We believe he should not be judged by snippets of newscasts but rather on citizens having the opportunity to hear him for themselves and make their own judgments," Allsup said. She said Wright will receive an honorarium for the appearance and declined to disclose the amount.
Ealim, 57, owns Merge Business Development Systems, a small company that trains minority and woman business owners on how to increase their revenue. The Arizona native has been in Pasadena for about six years and has been active in trying to steer contracts associated with BRAC, the military base realignment, to local small businesses.
He said he is a Republican because he agrees with the party's small-business values. Barbara Ealim, a Democrat, describes her husband as "an old-school Republican" rather than a social conservative.
Ealim said he sent an e-mail Oct. 19 to about 40 people, announcing his award and giving details about the dinner.
"The response has been - whoa," he said.
A few days after his initial e-mail, with replies and phone calls rolling in, Ealim sent out a second dispatch:
"The reaction amazed me and triggered my own displeasure. ... There is a lesson here that we all can benefit from if we use the appearance of the Reverend Jeremiah Wright as a teachable moment. Instead of hiding behind the short, clearly out-of-context snippets of a sermon, that was intended for his membership, let's gain a better understanding of what it really meant."
Not all of the responses have been disheartening, Ealim said. One local banker replied saying he'd be there with a table of 10. Another banker replied to Ealim's reply, "Well-said. I will be there to support you."
Allsup said the crowd could be triple the number who attended the last Freedom Fund Dinner, when 300 showed up to hear Earl S. Richardson, president of Morgan State University.
