Source on Louis Farrakhan

“Well, I think this has everything to do with Minister Farrakhan trying to rehabilitate himself and trying to regain - trying to gain some sort of mainstream legitimacy. If he really was on Barack Obama's side, he wouldn't say anything about him. So I think that's the first thing you have to look at. I think that's about Minister Farrakhan, you know, as his days start to dwindle down. He's had some health issues. You know, he's apologized about Malcolm X. I think this is primarily about that. And I think there's a sort of recklessness there.”

“While the double standard is galling, there is no ethical defense of Farrakhan’s anti-Semitic remarks. Mallory’s refusal to specifically disclaim Farrakhan’s anti-Semitism is a stain on her work and advocacy. But the argument that Mallory’s interest in Farrakhan is not rooted in anti-Semitism – that she could support Farrakhan’s advocacy for black equality despite his bigoted blind spots – is a more plausible and, frankly, common posture than most of the media is willing to recognize.”

“Farrakhan, after all, does not preach anti-Semitism in a vacuum, but as part of a narrative intended to name the cause of black oppression. Unlike other forms of ethnic prejudice, Farrakhan’s rhetoric is rooted less in a belief in Jewish inferiority, but in a conviction that they are responsible for black suffering – a conviction that is systemically false, but which is informed by a complicated history in which the two communities, forced into close proximity by anti-Jewish and anti-black prejudice, at times found themselves in cycles of exploitation and resentment. This is how Farrakhan could claim: “I have never hated Jews. I am critical of aspects of Jewish behavior in relationship to black people,” while also characterizing them as “devils.” Thus, Farrakhan’s anti-Semitism, while inexcusable, can be seen by some as merely a supplement to the project of black liberation – a project which many blacks understandably prioritize.”

“Well, Louis Farrakhan is one of the leading lights of the Nation of Islam. He was a disciple of both the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X. He was a very talented singer who joined the Nation of Islam in the 1950s and quickly rose as Louis X into the upper ranks of the organization, and throughout the 1960s and '70s, really became sort of this charismatic speaker who many considered sort of the heir apparent to Malcolm X. So after the Nation of Islam is reorganized under Louis Farrakhan in the 1980s, he really becomes this grassroots political leader who in many quarters is seen as the boldest critic of white supremacy during the Reagan era.”

“I have to say not many people intimidate me or make me nervous. However, Farrakhan is one who does. At least that's what I thought going into the interview.”

“If the Democrats have a minor socialist problem, they have a major problem in the form of Jew-hating weirdos, preeminent among them the Reverend Louis Farrakhan of the so-called Nation of Islam. Farrakhan has been an out-and-proud Jew-hating weirdo for many decades now, but Democrats still feel the need to make gestures of obeisance before him: Anti-Trump leaders such as Tamika Mallory and Linda Sarsour of the Women’s March have embraced Farrakhan and courted his favor. Barack Obama came a-calling in 2005 when he was ramping up his political career. The Congressional Black Caucus has consulted him. Bill Clinton stood alongside him at Aretha Franklin’s funeral, implicitly elevating the cult leader. California Democrats Barbara Lee and Maxine Waters attend Farrakhan’s public events, and Obama-administration veteran Eric Holder recently posed for a picture with him.”