The Conservative Voice says Hannity and Limbaugh noticed Farrakhan's remarks. I'm sure their analyses were scintillating...
Conservative blogger James Estrada says Farakhan quoted the wrong text:
Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan was quoting the Bible this weekend at the 2006 State of the Black Union Conference. He was talking about how the Bible calls for a “baptism of fire” and, in his judgment, “America must burn.” Isn’t the Bible the holy book of infidels – Christians and Jews? Why would a Muslim quote the Bible? Farrakhan also spoke of how Osama bin Laden may not have done what he’s “accused” of doing. Most rational people know Farrakhan is a lunatic. So who were those people applauding this guy?
If the majority of blacks find comfort in this kind of rhetoric, then it is they that need to experience a true baptism of fire. Unfortunately, black ministers of the Christian faith are busy cow-towing to the Democrat Party.
Original post: The seventh annual State of the Black Union conference was held over the weekend in Houston. I was bracing for fireworks from the appearance of fiery actor/activist Harry Belafonte. But on the same panel with him, and Cornell West, was Min. Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam.
That's where the fireworks should be today... BET's "man of the year" called on the African-American nation to essentially separate itself from white America, and to let the American house "burn down."
News coverage of the event has focused on Farrakhan's comments (and on his comments the following day at a Savior's Day rally). And as always happens when a group of Black folk get together to talk about public policy (or for a high profile funeral...) the coverage has also focused on criticism of the Bush administration during the event.
It should be noted that Smiley invited several prominent Republicans, including Michael Steele, an African-American candidate for governor in Maryland, Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, also a gubernatorial candidate, and members of the Bush administration, including most notably, HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson, to be panelists at the conference, but all either decliend, or accepted the invite but then failed to show up on panel day. (The exception was a lone woman who's a Republican state senator from I believe it was Ohio.) Jackson, for one, was apparently staying in the same hotel as Smiley, but still didn't make it to his place on the dais. It's hard to argue that only one side was represented at a conference when the other side doesn't show up... It makes you wonder whether the conservatives/Republicans themselves really believe they have an argument Black America wants to hear... (and the excuse that the audience wouldn't have been receptive is bunk. President Bush got a very respectful reception, as did his father, at the Coretta King funeral. Now the speeches he had to sit through were another matter, but if you don't like the speeches, don't do stuff to bring them on...)
Meanwhile, Illinois Gov. Blagoyevich is under fire (in the MSM and the blogosphere) for including a NOI advisor on his hate crimes panel...
More on the conference from Black America Web, including some disconcerting statistics about the state of black America.
This year, Tavis Smiley, who puts the conference together, went beyond just the panel and actually had a group of economic, legal, political and sociological experts contribute to a book, called the Covenant With Black America (linked here). The goal of the book, according to Smiley's foundation, which also organizes the conference, is to
"…outline(s) how individuals, groups, communities and the body politic can move forward to make this nation better. When we make Black America better, we make all of America better. We all want an America as good as its promise."
Despite the good intentions, Smiley is sure to catch flak today over Farrakhan's participation in the conference, which is a shame since very important issues -- from home ownership to economic empowerment and money management -- were tackled at the conference, which spanned three panels over about six hours on CSPAN (and not, by the way, on BET...)
The context for this and other discussions about the economic and social state of the Black community takes place amid a general dimunition in economic opportunity for middle class and lower middle class Americans, and a yawning wealth gap that goes beyond the color line.
Farrakhan essentially argued that Black Americans need to pull away from the American mainstream, and form our own institutions (including a department of education, a division of cultural affairs and for some reason, a department of foreign policy...) but his calls for separation, ones he's made before, aren't really all that relevant today. Separation is not an option. We African-Aemricans (those of us who come from immigrant stock and those here since slavery) live in America, are Americans, and have to succeed or fail here. We need to be a part of the various institutions that make up this country. Tavis and other panelists, including Belafonte, made that point emphatically after Farrakhan had made his waves and left the building.
Let's see if the coverage of the event includes a serious treatment of all the issues raised at the conference, rather than just the fireworks.
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"[T]he practice of arbitrary imprisonments, have been, in all ages, the favorite and most formidable instruments of tyranny.' Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 84, August, 1788
