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The Press, The Nation of Islam and
Minister Louis Farrakhan
It is amazing and quite
enlightening how the press when it deals with Minister Farrakhan in
particular, always attempts to paint a picture of someone that he is not. In
the latest case of the entertainer Michael Jackson, Minister Farrakhan is
now being vilified as the one behind some sinister idea of taking control of
Michael Jackson’s entire life and wealth. For the new younger people in the
media who are writing most of the stories, it is almost impossible for them
to have a 49-year history of Minister Louis Farrakhan. His work on behalf of
the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, Black people in America and throughout the
world is well known, but needs to be re-emphasized. These young reporters
have come very late to this table and their research reaches as far as the
archival material of past opinions from press articles, which are generally
skewed and very narrow. Those who are in the press today represent a new
generation and they need to look at Minister Farrakhan’s long history. They
may or may not be interested or their editors may say it is not important.
According to the New York Times, an unnamed source said that Minister
Farrakhan met with Michael Jackson and gave him “fatherly advice.” Michael
Jackson states he is totally innocent of the charges placed against him. We
do know Minister Farrakhan has been sought out for counseling by people who
have faced difficult circumstances, in particular, in dealing with the
American media’s history of vicious and unrelenting attacks against
African-American prominent and public figures. It is well known also that
the western media’s depictions of the general Black population throughout
the world is biased and negative at best.
I happen to be a person that can go back and recount Minister Farrakhan’s
work. I know something of his work in defending our people in Boston in the
years of 1956 – 1965, although I was not there with him. However, when the
Honorable Elijah Muhammad assigned him to New York City in 1965, I began to
work closely with him. In the ten years that we worked together in New York,
I witnessed and participated in Minister Farrakhan’s consistent defense of
our people. He was not seeking their money, fame or notoriety, but he did it
out of the genuine goodness of his heart. In my years with Minister
Farrakhan, he would constantly remind us of a verse in the Holy Qur’an that
reads “ Do no favor seeking gain”, and from the Bible he would often repeat
to us, “Not by might or power but by My Spirit, sayeth the Lord.” He would
caution those who have committed themselves to the work of redeeming our
people, that their motives must be pure. Those that stand afar and try to
judge do not know these words and deeds of Minister Farrakhan.
When Muhammad Ali was under attack for not going into the war in Vietnam, it
was Minister Farrakhan who lectured in and out of the mosques around the
country in defense of Muhammad Ali’s stand. There was a Black woman in New
York named Martha Davis who had a drug rehabilitation program when heroin
was wreaking havoc on the Black community, particularly in Harlem. When this
sister was attacked in the press, Minister Farrakhan went to her aid and did
not ask about her personal life. He knew that this was a Black woman trying
to do good for a community and she was under attack and without hesitation
Minister Farrakhan openly defended our sister. Our brothers of the Black
Panther Party were imprisoned in New York in 1971. During that time a
rebellion-hostage situation took place in the city jails, led by the Panther
brothers. It was Minister Farrakhan who came to their aid and made it
possible for a negotiation to take place to end the stand off. However, the
vicious policemen/correctional officers beat the brothers viciously upon
their surrender. Unbeknownst to the officers who were administrating the
beatings, it was filmed from a rooftop and that film eventually became
public. The Minister was on point in his defense of those brothers. During
the same year the Attica rebellion happened and again, it was Minister
Farrakhan who defended those brothers. While he was on his way to help in
the standoff, Governor Nelson Rockefeller called for an assault on the
prisoners killing 36 of our brothers and only a few correctional officers
died in the violence. Once again Minister Farrakhan was on point in
defending our brothers.
Many can recall in recent history when the Chicago Black politicians and
civic leaders during the “Operation Silver Shovel” and “Operation Greylord”
entrapment cases were indicted and some sent to jail. It was Minister
Farrakhan who came to the aid of Mayor Harold Washington, Alderman Allen
Streeter, Alderman Jesse Evans, and others. He spoke out against and
attacked the way the cases were brought against Chief Malik (Jeff Fort),
Charles Knox, Rev. Charles Koen, Congressman Mel Reynolds, Nasi Asiel Ben
Israel and the Hebrew Israelite brothers and sisters, and he personally
helped some of them in many cases financially with their defense. They were
under attack due to the governmental setups and scams used to bring them in
court. Minister Farrakhan went on record protesting the way that they were
handled. He also exposed the underlying motives of the governments’ plans,
which gave a more balanced perception to their circumstance. He didn’t do
this for money or fame but because he felt that the enemies of the rise of
Black people would always attack those out front. He would often say to me
that, “none of us come to the table as angels, we are all human beings.”
However, if a man has in his heart a desire to defend and stand up for Black
people, then there must be some voice that will stand up for them in the
face of a powerful enemy who uses the press in order to tear leadership
down, especially in the eyes of people who struggle.
Minister Farrakhan defended Reverend Jesse Jackson during his run for the
democratic nomination for the Presidency of the United States. He defended
Reverend Jackson at a time when the press was ripping him apart. As a result
of this defense he received the label of being anti-Semitic. As well, a
series of misquotes was directed towards him during his public speeches in
defense of his brother. Minister Farrakhan also defended Reverend Al
Sharpton over the Tawana Brawley rape-kidnapping case. Was this for money or
an attempt to get his picture in the paper or to be quoted by the press? No!
This is how Minister Farrakhan responds to matters such as this. He feels it
is the right thing to do by defending a brother who was standing up for a
young Black woman who told him her case. Minister Farrakhan defended O.J.
Simpson after he received the innocent verdict and was attacked by the
press. There are other prominent people that Minister Farrakhan has defended
in the face of press attacks, i.e., Jim Brown, Vanessa Williams, Jayne
Kennedy, Public Enemy and his recent counseling of Ja Rule and 50 Cents.
When Marion Barry was under attack Minister Farrakhan took a stand and
defended him in the midst of Black politicians who were distancing
themselves from his situation. He did not defend his actions, but he
defended him as a human being. When Mayor Barry came back to run again for
office, it was Minister Farrakhan who was the one who stood by him, helped
and counseled him. When Reverend Henry Lyons was under attack, even though
the Reverend had not been close to the Nation and was a staunch critic of
the Million Man March, Minister Farrakhan still defended him. When
Congressman Alcee Hastings from Florida was under vicious attack it was
Minister Farrakhan who defended him. When the many mayors across the country
were being indicted and charged, it was Minister Farrakhan who stood up for
these political leaders in our meetings, the public and in newspapers.
Internationally Minister Farrakhan was a strong defender of Muammar Qaddafi
long before Libya gave the Nation of Islam a loan. Therefore, he has a long
history of defending people. Minister Farrakhan also defended former
President Idi Amin of Uganda when the world was attacking him. He found out
personally that there was more to the situation than what the press was
saying about President Idi Amin and the people of Uganda. When we look back
at that history now we find that even the people of Uganda after his death
are saying that a lot of the propaganda on him was not true and that he
really was a man who struggled to take Uganda forward.
Long before the press began to say good things about former President Nelson
Mandela before he was freed from prison it was Minister Farrakhan that stood
up in our congregation and defended President Mandela. When Winnie Mandela
was under attack it was Minister Farrakhan that came forward and defended
her. He met with Winnie at her home in South Africa to discuss directly the
vicious attacks that were being made against her. When the world press was
arrayed against President Sani Abacha of Nigeria, Minister Farrakhan went to
meet with him personally to hear his side and spoke up for the good he was
attempting to do for Nigeria.
I could go on and read off names of countless individuals, both known and
unknown that Minister Farrakhan has gone on record to defend. In this case
Michael Jackson is not any different from any other person that the Minister
has stood up for and sought to help when a crisis entered into their life.
They are painting a picture in the media that we are seeking to control
Michael Jackson’s life and his money. They claim that we are a small cult
trying to take advantage of his circumstances. This is a ludicrous
statement. It is as wrong as the picture displayed in the New York Times on
Saturday, January 3, 2004, where they presented a photo of Minister
Farrakhan’s assistant Brother Ishmael Muhammad stating that he was Brother
Leonard F. Muhammad. They are so sloppy, anxious and reckless in their
coverage to print something negative about the Nation of Islam. They go so
far as to print half-truths about the personal life of individuals to show
that they are unworthy to help, advise and support Michael Jackson in his
time of crisis. This shows their hatred of Black people coming together to
help one other.
Those of us who are close to Minister Farrakhan and who have been supporting
him for years know the compassion, concern and love that he has for any
Black man or woman throughout the world who is under attack by those who for
years have been our open and real enemy. I would hope that the new
generation of young reporters such as, Ms. Sharon Waxman of the New York
Times would do their research (homework) and not be lazy in their reporting
before joining the chorus of the Nation of Islam and Louis Farrakhan haters.
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