Jeremiah Wright and Obama, Prime Time.

A few weeks ago I would have probably discarded Rev. Jeremiah Wright's recent appearances on TV as nothing more than an opportunistic attempt to steal the shine from Obama's bid for the presidency.

But after giving his interviews a thorough read, I've concluded that Wright's characterization of U.S. foreign policy as genocidal and his assessment of the government's role in sustaining concerted efforts to block the eradication of HIV in poor communities, as being—dare I say it—very essential.

But perhaps more important than his indictments of the state is Wright's timing, its perfect. Let's face it. When was the last time that a presidential candidate had to seriously address issues of foreign policy and domestic progress in terms of imperialism and racial and class justice? Never. Presidential candidates, when addressing the needs of the "common" people chronically refer to the populace as the "middle class." They seldom mention working class people by that name unless they are campaigning in the rural and beltway states. Even then the tone of support for this sector teeters on transitioning them into the middle class income bracket.

So now for the first time in presidential history Wright’s comments have placed social justice, front and center. And while naysayer will have you believe that Obama's ascendancy to the presidency should take precedence—which I happen to agree with, mildly—there is no doubt that placing social justice on the national stage is one huge step forward for all those who truly pursue it: the grassroots organizers who combat everything from police brutality to transgender discrimination to the prison industrial complex.

If Obama indeed fails to win the presidency because he was unable to shake off Wright’s allegations and his association to them, well at least he should take comfort that it wasn’t a sex scandal or an illegal immigrant housekeeper working for him that brought him down. Obama’s an intelligent man of color who clearly understands the collective history of disenfranchised people. No one is above justice they say, and if he’s gong to champion change then he cannot be mad if certain unspoken truths about this nation costs him the race.