Louis Farrakhan speaks at Southern University

Louis Farrakhan addressed a packed auditorium at Southern University in Baton Rouge this afternoon. The event was part of Farrakhan's tour of regions recovering from Hurricane Katrina. He and other leaders of the Millions More Movement are holding a series of town hall meetings to assess community needs in the Katrina reconstruction.

Farrakhan opened the meeting with a sermon and then ceded the floor to evacuees who wanted to tell their stories. We had to leave before the open mic part of the proceedings. Our NAACP contact had arranged for Kyle, Bob, and me to ride with Farrakahn to the airfield. Unfortunately, that didn't work out. However, Kyle got to meet Farrakhan before he left for Mississippi. I'll post a link to the audio of Farrakahn's address as soon as it's available.

Farrakhan spoke about the meaning of Katrina. He argued that the hurricane was divine punishment visited by God upon America. He said that God was punishing "wickedness in high places": the stolen election of 2000, America's shadowy role in 9/11, the PATRIOT act, the trumped up Iraq war, and systemic racial oppression. Farrakahn also endorsed the theory that one of the New Orleans levees was preemptively dynamited to spare wealthy white suburbs at the expense of poorer black neighborhoods.

But why would God punish a racist American federal government by inflicting disproportionate suffering on black people? The reason, Farrakhan said, is that God sent Katrina to unite the black community. If the community unites in the face of this catastrophe, those who lost their lives will not have died in vain.

Farrakhan wants to lobby the Red Cross and FEMA for transparency. He wants to make sure that the black community is a powerful force within the reconstruction effort. Otherwise, New Orleans will be rebuilt by wealthy white developers who import their own highly paid workers to fill lucrative contracts. Farrakhan warned that if the black community didn't band together and press their case, New Orleans' the city's black heritage would be expunged.

Farrakhan's message was well-received by his 200 audience members. The hall at Southern University was filled nearly to capacity, but the event didn't attract any mainstream media attention.

Comments

[revere]

Total bullshit from Farrakhan. Uniting the black community is worthwhile but not with mystification and lies. I'm sorry, but this kind of crap makes me retch.

[StealthBadger]

Looks like I picked (one of the many) wrong lifetime(s) to be an Atheist. :D

Ah well. At least it's never boring.

[John Emerson]

I hate the way people use Farrakhan as a whipping boy, but this was as bad as Falwell. The truth is bad enough, but he throws in that other stuff.

[StealthBadger]

Sorry. To phrase it constructively: Farrakhan does not want blacks to be a powerful force in the reconstruction of New Orleans. He wants a certain dogmatic point of view to be powerful. That his message is broad enough to include many churches is admirable. That it further marginalizes already-marginal communities is depressing.

[Lindsay Beyerstein]

I'm not endorsing Farrakahn's views. I'm just reporting what he said. I think that when a very influential community leader says that kind of stuff to a very receptive audience, that's newsworthy in and of itself. I want coverage of Fallwell because I want to know what an influential religious leader is telling his followers, likewise for Farrakahn.

[JustDave]

I think Stealth has it right, but it's hard to be so positive talking about stuff like this. Whenever I see naked, manipulative and phenomenally condescending race-baiting like this I remind people that Manson wanted to whip up a fury among the blacks (or a pre-emptive backlash by the whites -- whatever got people killing each other). It was insulting and crazy then; it's the same now.

[ghostcatbce]

I have just about all I can stand of this "God is punishing us for our sins" meme. If God is really on the warpath because of all these "sins", why is Las Vegas still standing? No floods, hurricanes, or tornados there.

[Benji Sasha]

You've got to start by not taking him literally. Peel away the quasi-mysticism and Farrakhan conveyed a valid message.

[Don]

'Peel away the quasi-mysticism '

Why? If he has a valid message let him express it. Plainly and honestly.

[StealthBadger]

'Peel away the quasi-mysticism'

Um... Farrakhan is the leader of the Nation of Islam. That's like trying to peel the quasi-mysticism away from the Pope; no quasi-mysticism, no Pope. Perhaps an extreme example, but from my point of view, it's apples of differing sizes.

I hope he does help people. I hope people get better than the lives they had before the storm. I just worry about how tightly the ends and the means are bound together. I'm not going to wail, gnash my teeth, and tear my hair out about him, though. That would only help the process that's already started.

A story I hope will come out soon is the fate of the considerable number of non-black poor. CNN, Faux, and others have done a remarkable job of reinforcing black=poor in our minds with this storm, and reinforcing it with all the subtlety of an old-school really real unfinished two-by-four upside our heads. Farrakhan has a point that blacks are being shut out of the rebuilding process, but as much as race operates on a personal level in this country, the model of race as a primary factor is missing a great deal. One example: Black poor are seen over and over, reduced to cardboard cutouts rather than human beings. White poor are invisible. Literally, you don't see them. It's as if we're ashamed to admit they exist. Latino or Asian poor? On the Gulf Coast? Forget it.

It's an ugly, evil situation that defies complete description or modeling, but one thing that systems do is adapt to the environment around them. For years, no-one spoke of poor blacks. Watts helped to start changing that, despite Moynihan's idea of "benign neglect." Now, the system has adapted: they are given face time, made the subject of hours of debate, and cried and ranted over, even as they suffer and die. And while this show goes on, a great deal happens in the background (such as the hiring of Blackwater USA, the way people are being interred and dispossessed, the parceling out of rebuilding contracts to commercial developers) that we should be paying attention to.

A parting thought: With 9/11, to badly paraphrase a modern professor of Theology, it is no longer a question of whether or not there are conspiracies. Only whether you believe conspiracies are carried out exclusively by Muslim extremists. Why, if the Bush Administration is so incompetent, then why were they ready to clean up what is important to them? (You can say coincidence, but how many times can you say it?) Watch the administration through the eyes of Business Administration, instead of Political Science, or Sociology. Then things look at once more organized and a lot less sane.

[GaijinBiker]

I'm not endorsing Farrakahn's views. I'm just reporting what he said. I think that when a very influential community leader says that kind of stuff to a very receptive audience, that's newsworthy in and of itself. I want coverage of Fallwell because I want to know what an influential religious leader is telling his followers, likewise for Farrakahn.

The difference is, a Majikthise post about Fallwell saying something stupid would conclude with a 20-megaton snark bomb. By letting Farrakahn's views stand alone and uncriticized, the implication is that they are somehow undeserving of or above criticism.

Fortunately, many of the commenters here have picked up the slack.

[Thad]

GaijinBiker, you (and DP) seem unable to distinguish between reporting an event that you witnessed first-hand versus commenting on an event that has already been reported in the media. The Farrakhan speech had not yet been reported in the media at the time Lindsay wrote this post, so, since she was making the first report, I think she felt some obligation to do straight reporting and refrain from commentary. I'm pretty sure she also felt that Farrakhan's words speak for themselves. It should be obvious to anyone who has followed this site at all that Lindsay does not endorse or approve of Farrakhan's statements, so I'd appreciate it if people would refrain from putting words in her mouth. Reporting what Farrakhan said in no way constitutes an endorsement.

[revere]

As the first commenter to take umbrage at Farrakhan's remarks, let me say that I was not indicting Lindsay when I did so. Lindsay for whatever reasons (and Thad has listed some) chose not to make an editorial comment. As someone pointed out, there was no shortage of opinions on the odious nature of Farrakhan's remarks from others. I understand also the expectation that there would be some judgment up top since that has been the practice of this truly wonderful blog, so I'm not surprised at the tenor of some of the comments. I think Lindsay (and Thad) should consider it a compliment in two ways: readers who respect Lindsay felt able to speak their minds here; and the perceived disconnect with past practice should be seen as a sound endorsement of Lindsay's wonderful sensibilities.

Since I was the first commenter, maybe I can ask we now close up the topic? I'm not trying to shut off discussion but I don't see there is anything beyond already strongly stated positions in play here. Nothing will be gained but bruised feelings among people who love and respect each other, a pretty dismal outcome.

[Benji Sasha]

Disallowing the religious nonsense, let's encapsulate the few opinions and ideas articulated by Farrakhan:

1) Farrakhan...argued that the hurricane was divine punishment visited by God upon America [for]: (a) the stolen election of 2000; (b)America's shadowy role in 9/11; (c) the PATRIOT act; (d) the trumped up Iraq war; and (d) systemic racial oppression.

"Farrakahn also endorsed the theory that one of the New Orleans levees was preemptively dynamited to spare wealthy white suburbs at the expense of poorer black neighborhoods."

"But why [is the] racist American federal government...inflicting disproportionate suffering on black people? The [good news], Farrakhan said, is that [the natural disaster known as] Katrina [has served to] unite the black community. If the community unites in the face of this catastrophe, those who lost their lives will not have died in vain."

"Farrakhan wants to lobby the Red Cross and FEMA for transparency. He wants to make sure that the black community is a powerful force within the reconstruction effort. Otherwise, New Orleans will be rebuilt by wealthy white developers who import their own highly paid workers to fill lucrative contracts. Farrakhan warned that if the black community didn't band together and press their case, New Orleans' the city's black heritage would be expunged."

I have no problem with his above-quoted statements, but then, I view his religiosity as a cultural construct.

The difference between Farrakhan and Falwell is that Fallwell's ultimate aims are far more insidious.

[Benji Sasha]

Actually, paragraph "1" above should be edited further to illustrate my point:

1) During a town hall meeting held to assess community needs in the Katrina reconstruction, Farrakhan spoke about his perception of the black experience in America and stated that he holds a deep-seated anger in connection with the following as it pertains to the African American community: (a) the stolen election of 2000; (b)America's shadowy role in 9/11; (c) the PATRIOT act; (d) the trumped up Iraq war; and (d) systemic racial oppression.

-------------------------------
Also, it occured to me that we shouldn't even be discussing Jerry Fallwell here since he's rarely in the news any more. The "new" Falwell is James Dobson.

[gordo]

Benji Sasha--

America's shadowy role in 9/11? There's a lot more evidence that the Nation of Islam had a not-so-shadowy role in the murder of Malcolm X. Maybe God just delayed the punishment for a generation. Or maybe God was punishing the U.S. because our leading cleric had just called for the murder of Hugo Chavez. Or maybe all these people who are mind-reading God are just using the deaths of thousands of people to aggrandize themselves and pursue personal agendas.

[Benji Sasha]

gordo:

Well, I've never particularly bought the notion that the election of 2000 was stolen. Screwed up? Yes. Stolen? Meh. I stand firmly against the Bush administration but I let go of that election within days of its taking place.

My point here? I'm not saying ALL of Farrakhan's points are valid.

My point is that I tend to look past the religious language whether it's spoken by Farrakhan or Dobson and I try to ascertain the speaker in question's political aim.

Farrakhan used the Baton Rouge address as an opportunity to rail against oppression. I don't think he's wrong on that count.

[Larry]

I have one question....why does anyone with half a brain care what Screwy Louie says? Watching him is like watching Guy Ritchie trying to make a good movie, Britanny Spears trying to tell us her music is relevant or Michael Jackson defend dating little boys! They're all TRAIN WRECKS and we all love to watch a good wreck...thus the popularity of NASCAR.

[Tony J]

I read Farrakhan's remarks that he made at Baton Rouge and find them racist and very divisive! His statement about the levee being blown up to hurt mainly black people, only hurts race relations in America.
This country has made many changes to correct past
injustices that were done to people of color. I am
turned off by leaders who continually throw out the
race card for their own agenda. Lets get leaders in
this country that unite the people, not divide us!
We are all Americans! I don't think that we should
be called "Black Americans", "White Americans", etc.
Men of God, no matter what their religious affiliation
should be a healers of humanity!

[da lurker]

atheism is to religous for me, yeech.

but you gotta admit that the blacks have been shit on quite a bit. and at least this message from god included some truth.

I think you folks are giving Farrakhan a lashing he dosen't quite deserve. this is embarasing, i just linked this article as a liberal view of this Farrakhan deallybob. google had a hundred conservative maddog sites but this seemed to be the only liberal site. most of you folks sound the same as the maddogs. maybe your just infested with trolls rite now.

what about mlk, and the many preacher types that have stood against tyranny everywhere

[Shaniqua]

1) Farrakhan...argued that the hurricane was divine punishment visited by God upon America

Hmmm. Didn't Al Zarkawe in Iraq say the same thing just yesterday?

Aren't Al Zarkawe and Farrakhan both factional Islamic leaders?

Connections?

[Shaniqua]

what about mlk, and the many preacher types that have stood against tyranny everywhere

Martin Luther King didn't stand up against tyranny. He stood against racial inequality.

We don't have tyrants running our country. Never have. Never will.

[Shaniqua]

Farrakhan used the Baton Rouge address as an opportunity to rail against oppression. I don't think he's wrong on that count.

Just exactly how are black people oppressed in this country. Can you give examples, instead of a sweeping generalization.

Black people have the exact same opportunities in this country as anyone else. They just have to work hard for the reward.

They have only had equal rights now for two generations. Don't expect that black people will be running all the companies and have all the high-paying jobs that have been held by whites for 300 years in just 50 years.

Remember, blacks are only 10% of the total population of America. You aren't going to see blacks everywhere in high positions because statistically, there aren't enough blacks to warrant that.

There are poor white people too. Nobody is talking about the poor white people in this country. And there are a hell of a lot more poor white people than poor black people.

[notyou]

Shaniqua,

These people on here don't give the first shit about poor whites, because "po'wite" stories are not sufficiently inflammatory or racially devisive.

[Thad]

Yes, notyou, a quick perusal of Lindsay's archives indicates that she and her commenters never talk about poverty.

Sheesh.