If the mainstream media persists in demands Barack Obama "denounce" Nation of Islam (NOI) Minister Louis Farrakhan, what are black Americans to do?
In a recent Presidential Debate, moderator Tim Russert challenged Senator Barack Obama about Farrakhan’s "endorsement" of him. As if Farrakhan is the litmus test for black politicians’ views on race, America’s mainstream media’s top newsman repeatedly confronted Obama.
The incident illustrates mainstream America’s conviction that Minister Farrakhan is not an icon among black Americans. The mainstream media maven’s proclamation of Farrakhan’s "anti-Semitism" was a misstep that played to 2.5 Jewish votes at the slight of 30 million blacks.
The stark difference in perspectives between Tim Russert and black Americans regarding Farrakhan can be seen in the actual context of the 74-year-old NOI leader’s 2008 NOI Savior’s Day speech. Farrakhan praised Obama as the only hope for healing the nation’s racial wounds. He said: "We are witnessing the phenomenal rise of a man of color in a country that has persecuted us because of our color. If you look at Barack Obama’s [diverse] audiences and look at the effect of his words, those people are being transformed from what they were. This young man is the hope of the entire world that America will change and be made better."
Why should Obama be put in a position to "repudiate" Farrakhan? If Barack were to repudiate Farrakhan and what he stands for, he would alienate more black American voters than he’d gain in Jewish votes. It’s a Black Thing Russerts of the world don’t understand.
Actually, Farrakhan’s praise for Obama generates broader influence than Rev. Al Sharpton- Jesse Jackson Democrats. What whites call "ranting" by Farrakhan, is pretty good for African-Americans. Farrakhan’s messages of self-determination, family values and collective investments in our own communities’ ring true to a broad cross-section of African Americans. Black conservatives, Republican and Nationalists admire the NOI emphasis on hard work, thrift, and the family. The NOI is based on a set of habits that have a tradition of helping members escape poverty. This must be counted as part of the legacy of Elijah Muhammad.
The NOI started altering the course of black culture and politics in 1930. A fusion of Islam and conservative brand Black Nationalism, the NOI is based on teaching that "Black Americans had been craftily deceived by the dominant Caucasian society, a perverse race of ‘blue-eyed devils’ who used the Bible to enslave black people". That "The white man’s heaven is the black man’s hell" prompted NOI promotion of black businesses, racial separation and creation of a black state as their answer to American racism.
Elijah Muhammad urged his followers "to avoid the white man’s war" - World War II – and was jailed in 1942 charged with sedition and failing to register for the draft. He was released from prison in 1946 and the following year, Malcolm X joined the NOI from prison.
After his release in 1952, Malcolm X devoted himself to building the NOI and catapulted it into a national phenomenon. Members flowed in - one notable newcomer, Louis Farrakhan, was recruited in 1955 by Muhammad and Malcolm X - new temples and schools were opened, and neighborhood commercial enterprises were established. The NOI eschewed politics, bought urban and rural real estate, and became the nation’s richest-ever black organization.
In the autumn of his years, Farrakhan’s enterprises are not as impressive as they were under Elijah Muhammad. But, he’s still an icon. His ability to organize the Million Man March gave him a unique position in the eyes of black Americans. His stances for a drug-free society, moral fidelity and black potential give him credibility and moral leverage. NOI groups have led thousands of black ex-criminals and drug addicts out of poverty into productive lives. In 1995, America’s Black Press awarded him their first "News Maker of the Year".
Does America ’s mainstream think that it can still designate black Americans’ leaders? Tim Russert, et al., doesn’t realize that many blacks view the unrelenting "Farrakhan pop quizzing" as an unwanted intrusion to veto our choices of leaders.
