Comments by "Paddle Duck" (@paddleduck5328) on "The Women's March Has an Antisemitism Problem" video.
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The Million Man March was a gathering en masse of African-American men in Washington, D.C., on October 16, 1995. Called by Louis Farrakhan, it was held on and around the National Mall. The National African American Leadership Summit, a leading group of civil rights activists and the Nation of Islam working with scores of civil rights organizations, including many local chapters of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (but not the national NAACP) formed the Million Man March Organizing Committee. The founder of the National African American Leadership Summit, Dr. Benjamin Chavis, Jr. served as National Director of the Million Man March.
The committee invited many prominent speakers to address the audience, and African American men from across the United States converged in Washington to “convey to the world a vastly different picture of the Black male”[1] and to unite in self-help and self-defense against economic and social ills plaguing the African American community.
The march took place in the context of a larger grassroots movement that set out to win politicians’ attention for urban and minority issues through widespread voter registration campaigns.[2] On the same day, there was a parallel event called the Day of Absence, organized by female leaders in conjunction with the March leadership, which was intended to engage the large population of black Americans who would not be able to attend the demonstration in Washington. On this date, all blacks were encouraged to stay home from their usual school, work, and social engagements, in favor of attending teach-ins, and worship services, focusing on the struggle for a healthy and self-sufficient black community. Further, organizers of the Day of Absence hoped to use the occasion to make great headway on their voter registration drive.[3]
Although the march won support and participation from a number of prominent African American leaders, its legacy is marred by controversy over several issues. The leader of the march, Louis Farrakhan, is a controversial figure whose commentary on race in America has led some to wonder whether the message of the march can be disentangled from that of its organizer.
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SirToby, I don’t really care about arguing what exact percentage responsibility Farrakhan had. I don’t like the guy a all.
You seem to be downplaying it and angry he’d get any credit and I’m confused why. Most of the references to the Million Man March I read refers to it as his march.
I certainly didn’t didn’t create it out of thin air, and I have no reason to exaggerate one way or the other. If you have more sources (thanks for sourcing) that state otherwise, I’m always interested to learn more. I’m fine giving credit to different groups and icons being involved, and we could just leave it at that. I’m just not a huge fan of erasing history because it’s uncomfortable.
This is an excerpt from an article on mother jones about Keith Ellison’s past with Farrakhan’s Nation of Islam in the nineties:
Ellison’s aspirations as a community leader led him into an alliance with the Nation of Islam.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/02/keith-ellison-democratic-national-committee-chair/
If reclamation was the idea animating Ellison as he entered his 30s, Farrakhan was black America’s leading evangelist for it, commanding huge crowds for speeches that could last hours.
In 1995, Ellison and a small group of pastors and activists he’d worked with on policing issues (including the leader of the local NOI chapter) organized buses to take black men of all religions from the Midwest to attend Farrakhan’s Million Man March.
In his book, Ellison describes the event, held in October 1995, as a turning point in his flirtation with Farrakhan. After filling those buses and attending the march, he was struck by the smallness of Farrakhan’s message compared with the moment.
The speech was rich in masonic conspiracies and quack numerology about the number 19. What was the point of organizing if it built up to nothing? Ellison says he was reminded of an old saying of his father’s, which is attributed to former House Speaker Sam Rayburn: “Any jackass can kick down a barn, but it takes a carpenter to build one.”
Ellison has said that he was never a member of the Nation of Islam and that his working relationship with the organization’s Twin Cities study group (the national organization’s term for its chapters) lasted just 18 months.
He has said that he was “an angry young black man” who thought he might have found an ally in the cause of economic and political empowerment, and that he overlooked Farrakhan’s most incendiary statements because “when you’re African American, there’s literally no leader who is not beat up by the press.”
In his book, Ellison outlines deep theological differences between the group and his mainstream Muslim faith.
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I agree. I’m just pointing out where all this recent controversy has been drummed up from.
excerpts: Dems denounce Farrakhan rhetoric amid pressure from GOP
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/03/08/louis-farrakhan-democrats-448241
Several Democratic lawmakers denounced Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan’s anti-Semitic rhetoric Thursday after facing pressure from Republican officials and religious groups to account for their past contacts with the controversial activist.
“I’ve spent my life fighting discrimination in every form, from anyone. I unequivocally condemn Minister Farrakhan’s anti-Semitic and hateful comments,” Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.)
tweeted Thursday. “This vitriol has no place in our society.”
Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) also disavowed the religious leader, writing on Twitter: “Farrakhan's anti-Semitic messages are upsetting & unacceptable. I always condemn hate speech of any kind.”
Farrakhan’s history of derogatory remarks toward Jews and white people resurfaced in recent weeks after it was reported that at least one organizer of the 2016 Women's March in Washington attended a February event at which the Nation of Islam leader proclaimed that “the powerful Jews are my enemy.” Farrakhan bemoaned what he called the “satanic Jew” and took aim at Caucasians, saying: "White folks are going down. And Satan is going down.”
The comments prompted a wave of backlash, with Republicans demanding that Women’s March leaders and Democratic officials forcefully denounce the rhetoric.
On Tuesday, the Republican Jewish Coalition called on seven Democratic lawmakers to resign, saying they “sat down with Farrakhan for personal meetings” while in office.
The group targeted Reps.
Andre Carson (D-Ind.),
Maxine Waters (D-Calif.),
Danny Davis (D-Ill.),
Al Green (D-Texas),
Lee and
Meeks
in their calls for resignation, along with Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.),
the deputy chair of the Democratic National Committee, over “Farrakhan ties.”
Carson distanced himself from Farrakhan’s rhetoric in a statement to POLITICO.
“As a Member of Congress, I have met with a diverse array of community leaders, including Minister Farrakhan,
to discuss critical issues that are important to my constituents and all Americans,” he said Thursday.
“While many of these leaders have long track records of creating positive change in their communities, this does not mean that I see eye to eye with them on all beliefs or public statements.”
Carson added: “Racism, homophobia, islamophobia [sic], anti-Semitism, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance have no place in our civil discourse.”
Davis initially responded by disavowing bigotry without explicitly naming the Nation of Islam leader in a statement earlier this week. But the Illinois lawmaker delivered a direct rebuke of Farrakhan Thursday evening.
"Let me be clear: I reject, condemn and oppose Minister Farrakhan’s views and remarks regarding the Jewish people and the Jewish religion," Davis said in a statement.
Ellison, whose praise of Farrakhan in 1995
was resurfaced by the Republican National Committee this month,
told the Washington Post that he had already addressed the issue, having previously disavowed the controversial leader and his rhetoric.
Last month, Ellison criticized his political detractors for resurfacing the issue, telling CNN that his “opponents keep pushing this out there in order to try to smear and distract from the key issues, but there’s no relationship.”
Representatives for Waters and Green did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday.
The controversy over the Democratic lawmakers’ past interactions with Farrakhan drew the attention of some within President Donald Trump’s inner circle, with his eldest son Donald Trump Jr. and former press secretary Sean Spicer claiming news outlets are not holding legislators accountable on the topic.
“Strange how little coverage this is getting and how few (if any) are disavowing,” Trump Jr. tweeted Thursday. “It’s almost as though they condone and perhaps even agree with it. The silence is deafening. Truly sick.”
Spicer added on Twitter that it’s “not difficult for Capitol Hill reporters to ask the Democrat members to account for their association to #farrakhan & also ask @TheDemocrats leaders - as they would if this was a Republican.”
Farrakhan’s remarks at the February event also received significant attention from conservative media figures, drawing segments on Fox News’ prime-time lineup and grabbing headlines on right-leaning outlets like The Daily Caller and The Weekly Standard.
Davis, in his initial statement, pushed back against “right-wing blogs” covering the issue, accusing them of seeking to “impugn my character” and create a “divide” between the Jewish and African-American communities.
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