"...If a critic is asked to quote any hateful remark Farrakhan has made over the last 30 years, they are left grasping for whatever they can, like a desperate drug addict trying to find money for crack. They are addicted to hating Farrakhan, even if there is little reason to do so, even if they’ve never heard him speak for more than 30 seconds. Brainwashing is difficult to overcome and it might be more painful to acknowledge the truth than it is to keep taking his words out of context.
Farrakhan’s greatest strength is his authenticity. He and The Nation of Islam have shown a type of unconditional love for black people that even the black community itself cannot comprehend. They stand by us when we are at our worst, and have been arguably the most consistent and self-determined institution in our community. The Nation of Islam shows us that black people can prosper with dignity, and without begging others to save us. The capacity of members of the nation to forgive and accept us for who we are is an extraordinary breath of fresh air in a world where we are taught to hate everything about our dark skin and ambiguous culture. Farrakhan and his organization make us PROUD.
When the police, government and educational systems have abandoned us, The Nation of Islam was always there. When we’ve needed an economic program, they’ve worked to put one together. When our role models were being shipped away to American slave camps (aka prisons), the men of The Nation of Islam were the cleanest, sharpest, most articulate and polite men in the entire neighborhood.
The use of propaganda to defame one of the most respected men in the African American community wins absolutely no friends for the Anti-Defamation League. Their insistence that Farrakhan is not even worthy of a meeting is insulting and hurtful to The African American community and indicative of disrespect for the black community as a whole. It is also reflective of a fear that revealing the truth through a direct meeting with the minister would undermine many decades of propaganda that have been used to paint him as some kind of deranged and violent bigot.
The same was done to The Black Panthers.
The same was done to Malcolm X.
The same was done to Marcus Garvey.
The list goes on and on...
Farrakhan is certainly NOT the hate-filled caricature that has been created in mainstream media. Such a fictional portrayal of one of black America’s most respected leaders is not only one that is easily disproven by the minister’s own Youtube channel, but it’s one that causes all of us to question the credibility of those who seek to feed such a lie to the American public..."
few highlights from the essay. I'm not apart of the NOI but I do respect Farrakhan and I'm glad Dr Watkins wrote this article.
Dr Boyce Watkins: It's time to start telling the TRUTH about Farrakhan – Financial Juneteenth
Farrakhan’s greatest strength is his authenticity. He and The Nation of Islam have shown a type of unconditional love for black people that even the black community itself cannot comprehend. They stand by us when we are at our worst, and have been arguably the most consistent and self-determined institution in our community. The Nation of Islam shows us that black people can prosper with dignity, and without begging others to save us. The capacity of members of the nation to forgive and accept us for who we are is an extraordinary breath of fresh air in a world where we are taught to hate everything about our dark skin and ambiguous culture. Farrakhan and his organization make us PROUD.
When the police, government and educational systems have abandoned us, The Nation of Islam was always there. When we’ve needed an economic program, they’ve worked to put one together. When our role models were being shipped away to American slave camps (aka prisons), the men of The Nation of Islam were the cleanest, sharpest, most articulate and polite men in the entire neighborhood.
The use of propaganda to defame one of the most respected men in the African American community wins absolutely no friends for the Anti-Defamation League. Their insistence that Farrakhan is not even worthy of a meeting is insulting and hurtful to The African American community and indicative of disrespect for the black community as a whole. It is also reflective of a fear that revealing the truth through a direct meeting with the minister would undermine many decades of propaganda that have been used to paint him as some kind of deranged and violent bigot.
The same was done to The Black Panthers.
The same was done to Malcolm X.
The same was done to Marcus Garvey.
The list goes on and on...
Farrakhan is certainly NOT the hate-filled caricature that has been created in mainstream media. Such a fictional portrayal of one of black America’s most respected leaders is not only one that is easily disproven by the minister’s own Youtube channel, but it’s one that causes all of us to question the credibility of those who seek to feed such a lie to the American public..."
few highlights from the essay. I'm not apart of the NOI but I do respect Farrakhan and I'm glad Dr Watkins wrote this article.
Dr Boyce Watkins: It's time to start telling the TRUTH about Farrakhan – Financial Juneteenth
