Reply #6: To Denounce and Reject (Why the Farrakhan litmus test must go) [View All]

[Scurrilous]

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"It was the fall of 1985 when Min. Louis Farrakhan burst onto the New York City political scene. I was a journalism student at Columbia University at the time and, truth be told, I was woefully naive and politically uninformed. I had only a vague idea of who Farrakhan was until he gave a controversial Madison Square Garden speech to 25,000 people.

His arrival would prove to be one of my earliest lessons in the hypocrisy of the media and of the white political establishment. One after another prominent black political leaders were sought out by reporters and asked if they would publicly denounce, condemn, or repudiate Farrakhan. White political leaders called on black leaders who did not respond to promptly do so, and harshly criticized those who refused. It was all very surreal, and even as an inexperienced political watcher and budding student journalist, I knew there was something very wrong with this picture.

Bullying black leaders to represent the entire black race and to speak and think as one, while also treating every loud-mouthed, controversial black leader as if they represent the opinions, political views and personal aspirations of every black American, seemed to me to be a journalistic and political double-standard that was rarely, if ever, applied to white leaders and politicians.

Tuesday night's debate between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama took me back two decades. NBC newsman Tim Russert pointedly quizzed Obama about Farrakhan's recent speech in which he sang the Illinois Senator's praises. (Contrary to some reports, Farrakhan stopped short of endorsing him.) Still, Russert nudged Obama not only to denounce Farrakhan but to outright reject his support. It made me wonder when black people are going to stop being called to account for the deeds and words of other blacks.

First a word about Farrakhan. Yes, his history of anti-Semitism -- and make no mistake about it, that's what it is -- is ugly, hateful, and counterproductive. If Farrakhan were a white man who said about black Baptists what he said about Jewish people, many of us would call for his head. But would we ask every prominent white politician to stand up and publicly repudiate and reject him? Recent history indicates we would not. How many white politicians would even feel any compunction to actually do so?

The larger question is why Farrakhan is the litmus test for black politicians' views on race and not the politicians' own record of comments, actions and legislative votes? Why is it that only after they repudiate Farrakhan are they then deemed not to be closet black militants? Farrakhan does not have the political influence over black people that some white Americans apparently believe. Nor does Rev. Al Sharpton, or Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., or any of the other prominent black people that the media treat as proxies for all black people."

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