Louis Farrakhan Muhammad, Sr. (born
Louis Eugene Walcott; May 11, 1933) is the leader of the African-American religious movement the
Nation of IslamThe Nation of Islam is a mainly African-American new religious movement founded in Detroit, Michigan by Wallace D. Fard Muhammad in July 1930 to improve the spiritual, mental, social, and economic condition of African-Americans in the United States of America. The movement teaches black pride and...
(NOI). He served as the minister of major
mosqueA mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
s in
BostonBoston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
and
HarlemHarlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
, and was appointed by the longtime NOI leader,
Elijah MuhammadElijah Muhammad was an African American religious leader, and led the Nation of Islam from 1934 until his death in 1975...
, before his death in 1975, as the National Representative of the Nation of Islam. After
Warith Deen MuhammadWarith Deen Mohammed also known as W. Deen Mohammed or Imam W. Deen Muhammad, was a progressive African American Muslim leader, theologian, philosopher, Muslim revivalist and Islamic thinker who disbanded the original Nation of Islam in 1976 and transformed it into an orthodox mainstream Islamic...
disbanded the NOI and started the orthodox
IslamIslam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic group
American Society of MuslimsThe American Society of Muslims was a predominantly African-American association of Muslims which was the direct descendent of the original Nation of Islam. It was created by Warith Deen Mohammed after he assumed leadership of the Nation of Islam upon the death of his father Elijah Muhammad. Imam W...
, Farrakhan started rebuilding the NOI. In 1981 he revived the name Nation of Islam for his organization, previously known as Final Call, regaining many of the Nation of Islam's National properties including the NOI National Headquarters
Mosque MaryamMosque Maryam is a large mosque in Chicago, Illinois, United States and the headquarters of the Nation of Islam. It is located at 7351 South Stony Island Avenue in the South Shore area. Louis Farrakhan's headquarters are located on the premises. Originally a Greek Orthodox church, it was purchased...
, reopening over 130 NOI mosques in America and the world.
Farrakhan is a black religious and social leader and a critic of the United States government on many issues. Farrakhan has been both praised and widely criticized for his often controversial political views and outspoken rhetorical style. In October 1995, he organized and led the
Million Man MarchThe Million Man March was a gathering of social activists, en masse, held on and around the National Mall in Washington, D.C. on October 16, 1995...
in Washington, D.C., calling on black men to renew their commitments to their families and communities. Due to health issues, in 2007, Farrakhan reduced his responsibilities with the NOI.
Early life and education
Farrakhan was born
Louis Eugene Walcott (also spelled Wolcott) in The Bronx, New York, the younger of two sons of Sarah Mae Manning (16 January 1900 – 18 November 1988) and Percival Clark, immigrants from the
CaribbeanThe Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
islands. His mother was born in
Saint Kitts and NevisThe Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis , located in the Leeward Islands, is a federal two-island nation in the West Indies. It is the smallest sovereign state in the Americas, in both area and population....
. His father was a Jamaican native and worked as a taxicab driver. After Louis' father died in 1936, the Walcott family moved to Boston, Massachusetts, where they settled in the West Indian neighborhood of the
RoxburyRoxbury is a dissolved municipality and current neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was one of the first towns founded in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630, and became a city in 1846 until annexed to Boston on January 5, 1868...
area.
Starting at the age of six, Walcott received rigorous training in the violin. He received his first violin at the age of six, and by time he was 13 years old, he had played with the Boston College Orchestra, and the
Boston Civic SymphonyThe Boston Civic Symphony is the second oldest orchestra in Boston, Massachusetts....
. A year later, he went on to win national competitions. In 1946, he was one of the first black performers to appear on the
Ted MackTed Mack , born as William Edward Maguiness, was the host of Ted Mack and the Original Amateur Hour on radio and television....
Original Amateur HourThe Original Amateur Hour is an American radio and television program. The show was a continuation of Major Bowes Amateur Hour which had been a radio staple from 1934 to 1945. Major Edward Bowes, the originator of the program and its master of ceremonies, left the show in 1945 and died the...
, where he also won an award. He and his family were active members of the
EpiscopalThe Episcopal Church is a mainline Anglican Christian church found mainly in the United States , but also in Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe...
St. Cyprian's Church in
Roxbury, MassachusettsRoxbury is a dissolved municipality and current neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was one of the first towns founded in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630, and became a city in 1846 until annexed to Boston on January 5, 1868...
.
Walcott attended the prestigious
Boston Latin SchoolThe Boston Latin School is a public exam school founded on April 23, 1635, in Boston, Massachusetts. It is both the first public school and oldest existing school in the United States....
, and later the
English High SchoolThe English High School of Boston, Massachusetts is the first public high school in America, founded in 1821. Originally called The English Classical School, it was renamed The English High School upon its first relocation in 1824. The current building is located in Jamaica Plain.-History:Since its...
, from which he graduated. He completed three years of college at
Winston-Salem Teachers CollegeWinston-Salem State University , a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina, is a historically black public research university located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. It is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund.Winston-Salem State has been...
, where he had a track scholarship.
Marriage and family
Walcott was married to Betsy Ross while he was in college. (She later took the name
Khadijah FarrakhanKhadijah Farrakhan, or Mother Khadijah, birth name Betsy Ross, is the wife of Louis Farrakhan, the Supreme Leader of the Nation of Islam. She is also known as the First Lady of the Nation of Islam.-Biography:...
). She still lived in Boston, Massachusetts, and was pregnant with their child. Due to complications from the pregnancy, Walcott dropped out after completing his junior year of college to devote time to her and their child.
Career
In the 1950s, Walcott started his professional music career by recording several
calypsoCalypso is a style of Afro-Caribbean music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago from African and European roots. The roots of the genre lay in the arrival of enslaved Africans, who, not being allowed to speak with each other, communicated through song...
albums as a singer under the name "The Charmer". He also performed on tour. In February 1955, using part of his middle name, Eugene, "Calypso Gene" was headlining a show in
ChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
,
IllinoisIllinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, entitled "Calypso Follies." One of his songs was on the top 100 Billboard Chart for five years in a row. There he first came in contact with the teachings of the
Nation of IslamThe Nation of Islam is a mainly African-American new religious movement founded in Detroit, Michigan by Wallace D. Fard Muhammad in July 1930 to improve the spiritual, mental, social, and economic condition of African-Americans in the United States of America. The movement teaches black pride and...
(NOI) through Rodney Smith, a friend and saxophonist from
BostonBoston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
,
MassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. Walcott and his wife Betty were invited to the Nation of Islam's annual
Saviours' DaySaviours' Day is a holiday of the Nation of Islam commemorating the birth of its founder, Master Wallace Fard Muhammad, February 26, 1877. It was established by Elijah Muhammad....
address by Elijah Muhammad. Prior to going to Saviour's Day, due to then-Minister
Malcolm XMalcolm X , born Malcolm Little and also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz , was an African American Muslim minister and human rights activist. To his admirers he was a courageous advocate for the rights of African Americans, a man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for its...
's popularity in the media, Walcott had never heard of Elijah Muhammad, and like many outside of the Nation of Islam, Walcott thought that Malcolm X was the leader of the Nation of Islam.
In 1955, Walcott fulfilled the requirements to be a registered Muslim/registered believer/registered laborer. He memorized and recited verbatim the 10 questions and answers of the NOI's Student Enrollment. He then wrote a Saviour's Letter that must be sent to the NOI's headquarters in Chicago. The Saviour's Letter must be copied verbatim, and have the identical handwriting of the Nation of Islam's founder, Master Wallace Fard Muhammad. After having the Saviour's Letter reviewed, and approved by the NOI's headquarters in Chicago in July 1955, Walcott received a letter of approval from the Nation of Islam acknowledging his official membership as a registered Muslim/registered believer/registered laborer in the NOI. As a result, he received his "X." The "X" was considered an algebraic placeholder, used to indicate that Nation of Islam's members original African family names had been lost. They acknowledged European surnames were
slave nameA slave name is a name given to a person who is or has been enslaved or a name inherited from enslaved ancestors. Modern use of the term applies mostly to African-Americans and West Indians who are descended from slaves, and are thereby capable of having a "slave name".-Ancient Rome:In Rome, slaves...
s, often assigned by the slaveowners to mark their ownership. Members of the NOI used the "X" while waiting for their Islamic names, which some NOI members received later in their conversion. Hence, Louis Walcott became Louis X.
Elijah MuhammadElijah Muhammad was an African American religious leader, and led the Nation of Islam from 1934 until his death in 1975...
then replaced his "X" with the "holy name" Farrakhan, an Arabic name meaning "charmer".
The summer after Louis' conversion, Elijah Muhammad stated that all musicians in the NOI had to choose between music and the Nation of Islam. Louis X did so only after performing one final event at the Nevel Country Club.
Louis X quickly rose through the ranks. After only nine months of being a registered Muslim in the NOI and a member of Muhammad's Temple of Islam in Boston, where
Malcolm XMalcolm X , born Malcolm Little and also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz , was an African American Muslim minister and human rights activist. To his admirers he was a courageous advocate for the rights of African Americans, a man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for its...
was the minister, the former calypso-singer turned
MuslimA Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
became his assistant minister. Eventually he became the official minister after Elijah Muhammad transferred Malcolm X to Muhammad's Temple of Islam No. 7 on West 116th St. in Harlem, New York City. Today the mosque is a Sunni Muslim masjid (mosque) named in honor of Malcolm X, Masjid Malcolm Shabazz. Louis X continued to be mentored by Malcolm X, until his assassination in 1965. After Malcolm X's dismissal from the NOI, and
hajjThe Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so...
, an Arabic word meaning pilgrimage, to
MeccaMecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
,
Saudi ArabiaThe Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
, several "revolving ministers," meaning ministers who took turns preaching until an official minister was secured at a particular temple, were used at Muhammad's Temple of Islam No. 7 in Harlem. This occurred before and after Malcom's death. The day that Malcom Shabazz died in Harlem, Farrakhan happened to be in
Newark, New JerseyNewark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
on rotation, 45 minutes away from where Malcolm X was assassinated. After Malcolm X's death in 1965, Elijah Muhammad appointed Farrakhan to the two prominent positions that his predecessor, Malcolm X held before being dismissed from the NOI. Farrakhan became the national spokesman/national representative of the NOI until Elijah Muhammad's death in 1975 (a position Farrakhan still calls himself today). He was also appointed in 1965 minister of the influential Harlem Mosque (Temple), where he served from 1965 to 1975.
Considered by many to be a former (and by some, a present) competitor to Malcolm X, Farrakhan made numerous incendiary statements about him, contributing to what was called a "climate of vilification". This may have contributed to what ultimately led to the assassination of Malcolm X at a time when he was beginning to distance himself from the NOI after his hajj to
MeccaMecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
. Three men from a
Newark, New JerseyNewark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
, NOI mosque were convicted of the killing and served prison sentences. Farrakhan was the keynote speaker at the Newark temple the same day that Malcolm X was assassinated.
Leadership
Warith Deen Mohammed, the seventh son of Elijah and Clara Muhammad, was declared the new leader of the
Nation of IslamThe Nation of Islam is a mainly African-American new religious movement founded in Detroit, Michigan by Wallace D. Fard Muhammad in July 1930 to improve the spiritual, mental, social, and economic condition of African-Americans in the United States of America. The movement teaches black pride and...
at the annual Saviour's Day Convention in February 1975, a day after his father died. He made substantial changes to the organization in the late 1970s, taking most members into a closer relationship with traditional (orthodox) Sunni Islam, and renaming the group, Bilalian, and eventually the
American Society of MuslimsThe American Society of Muslims was a predominantly African-American association of Muslims which was the direct descendent of the original Nation of Islam. It was created by Warith Deen Mohammed after he assumed leadership of the Nation of Islam upon the death of his father Elijah Muhammad. Imam W...
to indicate the apparent change. He rejected the deification of the founder Wallace D. Fard as Allah in person, the mahdi of the Holy Qur'an and messiah of the Bible, welcomed White worshippers who were once considered beneath them devils and enemies in the NOI as equal brothers and friends. In the beginning of these changes, Chief Min. Warith Deen Mohammed gave some Caucasians X's, and extended efforts at inter-religious cooperation and outreach to Christians and Jews. Changing his position and title from Chief Minister Wallace Muhammad to Imam Warith huddin Mohammad, and finally Imam Warith Al-Deen Mohammed, he was responsible for the most massive conversion of over 2,000,000 members of the Nation of Islam to traditional Islam without bloodshed in the United States of America.
Farrakhan joined Imam Warith Al-Deen Mohammed who he followed, and eventually became a Sunni Imam under him for 3 1/2 years from 1975-1978. Imam Mohammed gave Imam Farrakhan two attributes of Allah as his middle names, Abdul-Haleem. In 1978, Imam Farrakhan distanced himself from Mohammed's movement. In a 1990 interview with
Emerge magazine, Farrakhan said that he had become disillusioned and decided to "quietly walk away" rather than cause a schism among the members. In 1978, Farrakhan and a small number of supporters decided to rebuild what they considered the original Nation of Islam upon the foundations established by
Wallace Fard MuhammadWallace Fard Muhammad was a minister and founder of the Nation of Islam. He established the Nation of Islam's first mosque in Detroit, Michigan in 1930, and ministered his distinctive religion there for three years, before mysteriously disappearing in June 1934. He was succeeded by his follower...
, and Elijah Muhammad. This was done without publicly stating the intent.
In 1979, Farrakhan's group founded a weekly newspaper entitled
The Final CallThe Final Call is a newspaper published in Chicago. It was founded in 1979 by Minister Louis Farrakhan and serves as the official newspaper of the Nation of Islam.-History:...
, Inc. intended to be similar to the original
Muhammad Speaks Newspaper that many allege was started by
Malcolm XMalcolm X , born Malcolm Little and also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz , was an African American Muslim minister and human rights activist. To his admirers he was a courageous advocate for the rights of African Americans, a man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for its...
. It is a mouthpiece for Farrakhan's statements. In 1981, Farrakhan and his supporters held their first Saviour's Day convention in
ChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
,
IllinoisIllinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, and took back the name of the Nation of Islam. The event was similar to the earlier Nation's celebrations, last held in Chicago on February 26, 1975. At the convention's keynote address, Farrakhan announced his attempt to restore the Nation of Islam under Elijah Muhammad's teachings.
In October 1989, at a press conference in Washington, DC, Farrakhan described a 1985
visionIn spirituality, a vision is something seen in a dream, trance, or ecstasy, especially a supernatural appearance that conveys a revelation.Visions generally have more clarity than dreams, but traditionally fewer psychological connotations...
which he had in the country of
MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. He was carried up to "a Wheel, or what you call an
unidentified flying objectA term originally coined by the military, an unidentified flying object is an unusual apparent anomaly in the sky that is not readily identifiable to the observer as any known object...
", as in the
BibleThe Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
's
Book of EzekielThe Book of Ezekiel is the third of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, following the books of Isaiah and Jeremiah and preceding the Book of the Twelve....
. During this vision, he heard the voice of
Elijah MuhammadElijah Muhammad was an African American religious leader, and led the Nation of Islam from 1934 until his death in 1975...
, the long-time leader of the Nation of Islam (1934–1975).
On January 12, 1995,
Malcolm XMalcolm X , born Malcolm Little and also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz , was an African American Muslim minister and human rights activist. To his admirers he was a courageous advocate for the rights of African Americans, a man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for its...
's daughter
Qubilah ShabazzQubilah Shabazz is the second daughter of Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz. In 1995, she was arrested in connection with an alleged plot to kill Louis Farrakhan, who she believed was responsible for the assassination of her father. Shabazz maintained her innocence...
was arrested for
conspiracyIn the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...
to assassinate Farrakhan. According to
Stanford UniversityThe Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
historian
Clayborne CarsonClayborne Carson is an African American professor of history at Stanford University, and director of the Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute. Since 1985 he has directed the Martin Luther King Papers Project, a long-term project to edit and publish the papers of Martin Luther...
, "[her family] resented Farrakhan and had good reason to because he was one of those in the Nation responsible for the climate of vilification that resulted in Malcolm X's assassination". Some critics later alleged that the FBI had used paid informant Michael Fitzpatrick to frame Shabazz, who was four years old when her father was killed. Nearly four months later, on the first of May, federal prosecutors dropped their case against Shabazz.
That year in October, Farrakhan convened a broad coalition of one-million men in Washington, D.C., for the
Million Man MarchThe Million Man March was a gathering of social activists, en masse, held on and around the National Mall in Washington, D.C. on October 16, 1995...
. Farrakhan and other speakers called for black men to renew their commitments to their families and communities. The event was organized by a wide variety of civil rights and religious organizations and drew men and their sons from across the United States of America. While Farrakhan was the keynote speaker, many other distinguished African American intellectuals addressed the throng including:
Maya AngelouMaya Angelou is an American author and poet who has been called "America's most visible black female autobiographer" by scholar Joanne M. Braxton. She is best known for her series of six autobiographical volumes, which focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. The first and most highly...
;
Rosa ParksRosa Louise McCauley Parks was an African-American civil rights activist, whom the U.S. Congress called "the first lady of civil rights", and "the mother of the freedom movement"....
;
Martin Luther King IIIMartin Luther King III is an American human rights advocate and community activist. He is the eldest son and oldest living child of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King. His siblings are Dexter Scott King, Rev. Bernice Albertine King, and the late Yolanda Denise...
,
Cornel WestCornel Ronald West is an American philosopher, author, critic, actor, civil rights activist and prominent member of the Democratic Socialists of America....
,
Jesse JacksonJesse Louis Jackson, Sr. is an African-American civil rights activist and Baptist minister. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as shadow senator for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. He was the founder of both entities that merged to...
and Benjamin Chavis. An attorney at the time and not yet a politician, current
President of the United StatesThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Barack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
confirmed that he attended the Million Man March. The count however fell far below the hoped-for numbers. The National Parks Service estimated that approximately 440,000 were in attendance
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/36682/the-3-to-5-million-man-march. In 2005, together with other prominent African Americans such as the New Black Panther Party leader
Malik Zulu ShabazzMalik Zulu Shabazz is an American attorney and the National Chairman of the New Black Panther Party. He is a frequent guest on television talk shows, such as Face the Nation, Meet the Press, The O'Reilly Factor, and Hannity.-Early life and legal career:Shabazz was born and raised in Los Angeles,...
, the activist
Al SharptonAlfred Charles "Al" Sharpton, Jr. is an American Baptist minister, civil rights activist, and television/radio talk show host. In 2004, he was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. presidential election...
, Addis Daniel and others, Farrakhan marked the 10th anniversary of the Million Man March by holding a second gathering, the
Millions More MovementThe Millions More Movement was launched by a broad coalition of African American leaders to mark the commemoration of the 10th Anniversary of the Million Man March. A mass march on Washington, DC, was held on October 15, 2005, to galvanize public support for the movement's goals...
, October 14–17 in Washington D.C.
Recent activity
- 2005, a Black Entertainment Television
Black Entertainment Television is an American, Viacom-owned cable network based in Washington, D.C.. Currently viewed in more than 90 million homes worldwide, it is the most prominent television network targeting young Black-American audiences. The network was launched on January 25, 1980, by its...
(BET) poll voted Farrakhan the 'Person of the Year'.
- 2006, an AP-AOL "Black Voices" poll voted Farrakhan the fifth-most important black leader, with 4 percent of the vote.
Hurricane Katrina
In comments in 2005, Farrakhan stated that there was a 25 feet (7.6 m) hole under one of the key
leveeA levee, levée, dike , embankment, floodbank or stopbank is an elongated naturally occurring ridge or artificially constructed fill or wall, which regulates water levels...
s that failed in New Orleans following
Hurricane KatrinaHurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
. He implied that the levee's destruction was a deliberate attempt to wipe out the population of the largely Black sections within the city. Farrakhan later said that New Orleans Mayor
Ray NaginClarence Ray Nagin, Jr. is a former mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Nagin gained international note in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the New Orleans area....
told him of the crater during a meeting in
Dallas, TexasDallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
. Farrakhan further claimed that the fact the levee broke the day after Hurricane Katrina is proof that the destruction of the levee was not a natural occurrence. Farrakhan has raised additional questions and has called for federal investigations into the source of the levee break. He also asserted that the hurricane was "God's way of punishing America for its warmongering and racism".
Experts including the Independent Levee Investigation Team (ILIT) from the
University of California, BerkeleyThe University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
have countered his accusations. The report from the ILIT said "The findings of this panel are that the overtopping of the levees by flood waters, the often sub-standard materials used to shore up the levees, and the age of the levees contributed to these "scour holes" found at many of the sites of levee breaks after the hurricane."
Former support for Barack Obama
In 2008, Farrakhan publicly supported then-Senator
Barack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
who was campaigning at the time to become the president of the United States of America, at the same time criticizing the United States' problems.
The Obama campaign quickly responded to convey his distance from the minister. "Senator Obama has been clear in his objections to Farrakhan's past pronouncements and has not solicited the minister's support," said Obama spokesman Bill Burton. Obama "rejected and denounced" Farrakhan's support during an
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
presidential candidate debate.
Conservative internet sites such as World Net Daily reported that during his February 24, 2008, "Saviours Day" speech Farrakhan called Obama "the
MessiahA messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
". Quoting in context, Farrakhan said, "Sen. Obama is not the Messiah for sure, but anytime, he gives you a sign of uniting races, ethnic groups, ideologies, religions and makes people feel a sense of oneness, that’s not necessarily
SatanSatan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
’s work, that is I believe the work of God."
Following the
2008 presidential electionThe United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, then the junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain, the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. Obama received 365...
, Farrakhan explained, during a
BETBet or BET may refer to:* A wager in gambling* Basic Economics Test * Bet , the second letter in many Semitic alphabets, including Aramaic, Hebrew, Phoenician and Syriac* Brunauer-Emmett-Teller isotherm. See BET_theory...
television interview, that he was "careful" to never endorse Obama during his campaign. "I talked about him — but, in very beautiful and glowing terms, stopping short of endorsing him. And unfortunately, or fortunately, however we look at it, the media said I 'endorsed' him, so he renounced my so-called endorsement and support. But that didn’t stop me from supporting him."
Farrakhan no longer supports Obama, whom he has since called the "first Jewish president", due to Obama's support for the
2011 military intervention in LibyaOn 19 March 2011, a multi-state coalition began a military intervention in Libya to implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, which was taken in response to events during the 2011 Libyan civil war...
, which Farrakhan strongly opposes due to his own support for
Muammar al-GaddafiMuammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...
. At a 31 March 2011 press conference held at the Mosque Maryam, Farrakhan warned that the United States could be "facing a major earthquake as part of God’s divine judgment against the country for her evil".
Health problems
Farrakhan announced that he was seriously ill in a September 11, 2006, letter to his staff, Nation of Islam members and supporters. The letter, published in
The Final CallThe Final Call is a newspaper published in Chicago. It was founded in 1979 by Minister Louis Farrakhan and serves as the official newspaper of the Nation of Islam.-History:...
newspaper, said that doctors in Cuba had discovered a
peptic ulcerA peptic ulcer, also known as PUD or peptic ulcer disease, is the most common ulcer of an area of the gastrointestinal tract that is usually acidic and thus extremely painful. It is defined as mucosal erosions equal to or greater than 0.5 cm...
. According to the letter subsequent infections caused Farrakhan to lose 35 pounds, and he urged the
Nation of IslamThe Nation of Islam is a mainly African-American new religious movement founded in Detroit, Michigan by Wallace D. Fard Muhammad in July 1930 to improve the spiritual, mental, social, and economic condition of African-Americans in the United States of America. The movement teaches black pride and...
leadership to carry on while he recovered.
Farrakhan was released from his five-week hospital stay on January 28, 2007, after major abdominal surgery. The operation was performed to correct damage caused by
side effectsIn medicine, an adverse effect is a harmful and undesired effect resulting from a medication or other intervention such as surgery.An adverse effect may be termed a "side effect", when judged to be secondary to a main or therapeutic effect. If it results from an unsuitable or incorrect dosage or...
of a
radioactive "seed" implantationBrachytherapy , also known as internal radiotherapy, sealed source radiotherapy, curietherapy or endocurietherapy, is a form of radiotherapy where a radiation source is placed inside or next to the area requiring treatment...
procedure that he received years earlier to successfully treat
prostate cancerProstate cancer is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. Most prostate cancers are slow growing; however, there are cases of aggressive prostate cancers. The cancer cells may metastasize from the prostate to other parts of the body, particularly...
.
Following his hospital stay,Farrakhan released a "Message of Appreciation" to supporters and well wishers and weeks later delivered the keynote address at the Nation of Islam's annual convention in Detroit.
Criticism and controversy
Farrakhan has been the center of much controversy with critics saying that his views and comments are antisemitic,
racistRacism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
or homophobic. Farrakhan has categorically denied these charges and stated that much of America's perception of him has been shaped by media. This defense is echoed by religion scholar and anti-Israel activist
Mattias GardellHans Bertil Mattias Gardell is a Swedish scholar of comparative religion. He is the current holder of the Nathan Söderblom Chair of Comparative Religion at Uppsala University, Sweden....
who argues that, when considered in the context of Farrakhan's typically lengthy lectures, many of Farrakhan's controversial comments take on a more nuanced meaning that cannot be conveyed in a sound bite.
Malcolm X's death
Many, including Malcolm X's family, have accused Louis Farrakhan of being involved in the plot to assassinate Malcolm X. For many years,
Betty ShabazzBetty Shabazz , born Betty Dean Sanders and also known as Betty X, was an American educator and civil rights advocate. She was the wife of Malcolm X....
, the wife of Malcolm X, harbored resentment toward the Nation of Islam—and Farrakhan in particular—for what she felt was their role in the assassination of her husband. In a heated 1993 speech, Farrakhan seemed to boast of the assassination:
We don't give a damn about no white man law if you attack what we love. And frankly, it ain't none of your business. What do you got to say about it? Did you teach Malcolm? Did you make Malcolm? Did you clean up Malcolm? Did you put Malcolm out before the world? Was Malcolm your traitor or ours? And if we dealt with him like a nation deals with a traitor, what the hell business is it of yours? You just shut your mouth, and stay out of it. Because in the future, we gonna become a nation. And a nation gotta be able to deal with traitors and cutthroats and turncoats. The white man deals with his. The Jews deal with theirs.
During a 1994 interview,
Gabe PressmanGabe Pressman is the senior correspondent for WNBC-TV. Pressman has been a journalist in the New York City area for over 60 years. He is considered one of the pioneers of United States television news.-Early years:...
asked Shabazz whether Farrakhan "had anything to do" with Malcolm X's death. She replied: "Of course, yes. Nobody kept it a secret. It was a badge of honor. Everybody talked about it, yes." In January 1995, Qubilah Shabazz, the daughter of Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz, was charged with trying to hire an assassin to kill Farrakhan in retaliation for the murder of her father, whom she long believed was responsible for it.
In a
60 Minutes60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
interview that aired during May 2000, Farrakhan stated that some of the things he said may have led to the assassination of Malcolm X. "I may have been complicit in words that I spoke", he said. "I acknowledge that and regret that any word that I have said caused the loss of life of a human being." A few days later Farrakhan denied that he "ordered the assassination" of Malcolm X, although he again acknowledged that he "created the atmosphere that ultimately led to Malcolm X's assassination."
Antisemitism
Many of Farrakhan's comments have been deemed antisemitic by the
Anti-Defamation LeagueThe Anti-Defamation League is an international non-governmental organization based in the United States. Describing itself as "the nation's premier civil rights/human relations agency", the ADL states that it "fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects...
of
B'nai B'rithB'nai B'rith International |Covenant]]" is the oldest continually operating Jewish service organization in the world. It was initially founded as the Independent Order of B'nai B'rith in New York City, on , 1843, by Henry Jones and 11 others....
.
Farrakhan, known for his frequent association and comparison of whites with devils, said in an ABC interview with
Martin BashirMartin Bashir is a British journalist and media personality, currently with NBC News as a contributor for its Dateline program, and an afternoon anchor for MSNBC, hosting Martin Bashir...
on March 9, 2007 that he would refrain from using such rhetoric. Despite this, Farrakhan used this association to great extent later that month in Mosque Maryam in Chicago, including in one fierce declaration where he stated: "Do you know some of these satanic Jews have taken over
BETBlack Entertainment Television is an American, Viacom-owned cable network based in Washington, D.C.. Currently viewed in more than 90 million homes worldwide, it is the most prominent television network targeting young Black-American audiences. The network was launched on January 25, 1980, by its...
? They got BET. They got our hair product people. They got Motown. Everything that we built, THEY got it. But the mind of Satan now is running the record industry. Running the movie industry. Running television."
Jewish distributors
Farrakhan has alleged that Jewish distributors blocked a major urban economic renewal initiative in 1985 he had championed which was dubbed "P.O.W.E.R." for
People Organized Working for Economic Rebirth. The initiative called for a joint enterprise of businesses and organizations, owned or run by Black people, to produce and distribute a line of cosmetics and toiletries sold under the Clean & Fresh (now defunct) label. Major haircare companies, including Johnson Products Co., backed out of the initiative fearing it could lead to accusations of anti-Semitism. Johnson Products owner
George E. Johnson, Sr.George Ellis Johnson, Sr. is an African American entrepreneur and the founder of Johnson Products Company, an international cosmetics empire headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.-Early life:...
maintained that his company's distributors told him that any dealings with Farrakhan's P.O.W.E.R. project would lead to having his own products boycotted. "We knew we could not offend our distribution channels," a Johnson spokesman Dorothy McConner said. "When I saw that," Farrakhan said, "I recognized that the Blackman will never be free until we address the relationship between Blacks and Jews."
"Gutter religion"
In 1984, after returning from a visit to
LibyaLibya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
Farrakhan delivered a sermon that was recorded by a
Chicago Sun Times reporter. A transcript from part of the sermon was published in the
New York Times:
Farrakhan has repeatedly denied referring to Judaism as a "gutter religion" explaining that he was instead referring to the Israeli Government's use of Judaism as a political tool. In a June 18, 1997, letter to a former
Wall Street Journal editor Jude Wanniski he stated:
"Black Hitler" characterization
In response to Farrakhan's speech, Nathan Pearlmutter, then Chair of the
Anti-Defamation LeagueThe Anti-Defamation League is an international non-governmental organization based in the United States. Describing itself as "the nation's premier civil rights/human relations agency", the ADL states that it "fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects...
(ADL) of
B'nai B'rithB'nai B'rith International |Covenant]]" is the oldest continually operating Jewish service organization in the world. It was initially founded as the Independent Order of B'nai B'rith in New York City, on , 1843, by Henry Jones and 11 others....
, referred to Farrakhan as the new "Black
HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
" and
Village Voice journalist
Nat HentoffNathan Irving "Nat" Hentoff is an American historian, novelist, jazz and country music critic, and syndicated columnist for United Media and writes regularly on jazz and country music for The Wall Street Journal....
also characterized the NOI leader as a "Black Hitler" while a guest on a New York radio talk-show.
In response, Farrakhan announced during a March 11, 1984, speech broadcast on a Chicago radio station:
H1N1 Vaccine Conspiracy Theory
On October 21, 2009, Farrakhan told an audience in Memphis that he believes the H1N1 flu vaccine was developed to depopulate the earth. During a gathering to observe the Nation of Islam's Holy Day of Atonement, which also marked the 14th anniversary of the Million Man March in Washington, the Memphis Commercial Appeal reported Farrakhan as saying:
Praise of President Robert Mugabe
In 2002, Louis Farrakhan went to
ZimbabweZimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
in support of President
Robert MugabeRobert Gabriel Mugabe is the President of Zimbabwe. As one of the leaders of the liberation movement against white-minority rule, he was elected into power in 1980...
's intentions to enforce proposed redistribution of white-owned land and property. Farrakhan said he was in "full support" of Mugabe's policies "as it was aimed at correcting a historical injustice".
Accepted support from Moammar Gadhafi
According to the Associated Press, Farrakhan called the embattled Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi a friend and Muslim brother who's lent the Nation of Islam movement $8 million over the years. Farrakhan explained, "I love Moammar Gadhafi, and I love our president. It grieves me to see my brother president set a policy that would remove this man not only from power, but from the earth." According to the Associated Press, Farrakhan portrayed Gadhafi as a fellow revolutionary and longtime friend to the Nation of Islam, which reportedly used $3 million it borrowed from Libya in the 1970s to acquire the building and land which formerly housed the St. Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church on Chicago's South Side. Years later, a $5 million loan was used to pay back taxes and costs for the home of the movement's former leader Elijah Muhammad. Despite Gadhafi's connection to the Lockerbie Bombing, Farrakhan said, "I don't care what Gadhafi has done wrong, he is not the 'mad dog of the Middle East.'"
Belief in UFOs
In an interview Farrakhan claimed the existence of a ship he calls The Wheel which houses weapons capable of defeating all weapons on earth. He claims that many call UFOs The Wheel, or what Elijah Muhammad called "The Mother Plane." Farrakhan also alleges government conspiracy in covering up reports on these sightings. In an interview with Jamie Maussan on April 11, 2011, he claimed that The Wheel would make itself clear to the population of earth in a matter of "days".
Farrakhan and classical music
When Farrakhan first joined the NOI he was asked by
Elijah MuhammadElijah Muhammad was an African American religious leader, and led the Nation of Islam from 1934 until his death in 1975...
to put aside his musical career as a violinist. After 42 years, Farrakhan decided to take up the
violinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
once more primarily due to the urging of prominent classical musician
Sylvia Olden LeeSylvia Olden Lee was a renowned vocal coach and accompanist, and the first African-American to be employed by the Metropolitan Opera. She was a master of all aspects of European classical music as well as the Negro Spiritual....
.
On April 17, 1993, Farrakhan made his return concert debut with performances of the
Violin Concerto in E Minor by
Felix MendelssohnJakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text...
. Farrakhan intimated that his performance of a concerto by a Jewish composer was, in part, an effort to heal a rift between him and the Jewish community.
The New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
music critic
Bernard HollandBernard Holland is an internationally recognized American music critic. He served on the staff of The New York Times from 1981 until 2008 and held the post of chief music critic from 1995, contributing 4,575 articles to the newspaper....
reported that Farrakhan's performance was somewhat flawed due to years of neglect "nonetheless Mr. Farrakhan's sound is that of the authentic player. It is wide, deep and full of the energy that makes the violin gleam." Farrakhan has gone on to perform the Violin Concerto of
Ludwig van BeethovenLudwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
and has announced plans to perform those of
TchaikovskyPyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...
and
BrahmsJohannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
.
See also
- African-American – Jewish relations
African Americans and American Jews have interacted throughout much of the history of the United States. This relationship has included widely publicized cooperation and conflict, and—since the 1970s—has been an area of significant academic research. The most significant aspect of the relationship...
- Black Liberation Theology
Black liberation theology, sometimes shortened to black theology, is a relatively new theological perspective found in some Christian churches in the United States. It maintains that African Americans must be liberated from multiple forms of bondage — political, social, economic, and religious...
- Black separatism
Black separatism is a movement to create separate institutions for people of African descent in societies historically dominated by whites, particularly in the United States. Black separatists also often seek a separate homeland...
- The Hate That Hate Produced
The Hate That Hate Produced is a television documentary about the Nation of Islam. It was produced in 1959 by Mike Wallace and Louis Lomax.-Background:...
- The Secret Relationship Between Blacks and Jews
The Secret Relationship Between Blacks and Jews is a book published in 1991 by the Nation of Islam. The book alleges that Jews dominated the Atlantic slave trade....
- Millions More Movement
The Millions More Movement was launched by a broad coalition of African American leaders to mark the commemoration of the 10th Anniversary of the Million Man March. A mass march on Washington, DC, was held on October 15, 2005, to galvanize public support for the movement's goals...
- Warith Deen Mohammed
- Mustapha Farrakhan
Mustapha Farrakhan is the Supreme Captain of the Nation of Islam. His is the son of Louis Farrakhan and Khadijah Farrakhan, and the father of Mustapha Farrakhan Jr....
- Mustapha Farrakhan Jr.
Mustapha Farrakhan Jr., also known as Li'l Mu, born in Harvey, Illinois is an American basketball player for the Virginia Cavaliers. He attended Thornton Township High School. He is a grandson of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan and Khadijah Farrakhan, and the son of Mustapha Farrakhan, a...
External links
Farrakhan videos