So you tell me how America went so horribly wrong. Those of us fighting for freedom and justice and against oppression, gender apartheid, individual rights are slammed, smeared, libeled, and marginalized on a daily basis.
And the real men of evil are held up and exalted. Known jihadists and their enablers are "internationally acclaimed." They teach at universities, and head up large foundations and chair departments.
Now this. Farrakhan should be relegated to the outermost fringe of society. Instead he is "keynoting a city event"? Just this week, Farrakhan said that the " Jews are pushing the US into war."
Nation of Islam leader says his comments on Jews are meant "to pull the cover off Satan" and "Zionists dominate the US government and banks."
CNN called Farrakhan one of their "intriguing" people after he said, “What you are looking at in Tunisia, in Egypt … Libya, in Bahrain … what you see happening there … you’d better prepare because it will be coming to your door.”
Note the use of "Minister" -- in hell, perhaps.
Louis Farrakhan to keynote city event by Mike Wereschagin
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEWMinister Louis Farrakhan, the firebrand leader of the Nation of Islam, is scheduled to headline a three-hour, sold-out show at Pittsburgh's August Wilson Center for African American Culture on Friday.
Farrakhan, 77, of Chicago, who has been accused of anti-Semitism and praised as a leader of black empowerment, will be the guest on a live broadcast of The Bev Smith Show, whose lineup that night includes Assistant U.S. House Minority Leader Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., and Melanie Campbell, president of the national Coalition on Black Civic Participation.
"People who are anxious for a change and who want a better life will be there," said Smith, who lives Downtown. She titled the nationally syndicated broadcast "The Disappearing Black Community and How We Can Get it Back."
Farrakhan most recently generated controversy during a four-hour speech at an annual Nation of Islam conference in Illinois, when he said he considers Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi a friend and criticized pop singer Rihanna's music as "filthy."
Farrakhan typically travels with an entourage from the Fruit of Islam, the paramilitary wing of the Nation of Islam. The group was involved in a bizarre standoff with Secret Service agents last year when President Obama attended a barbecue at the house of a friend who lives on the same street as Farrakhan. As reporters and Secret Services agents stood outside a news van parked by Farrakhan's home, 22 Fruit of Islam agents showed up to stand guard outside the house, according to a news pool report of the incident.
His remarks in Pittsburgh will focus on what blacks need to do to rebuild their communities and regain the purpose of the civil rights struggles of previous generations, said Smith, who worked with Farrakhan during the Million Man March in Washington in 1995.
"His job is to tell us what we are doing wrong," Smith said.
Campbell, a national civil rights leader, works on youth leadership programs, grassroots organizing and issues affecting women and girls. Clyburn, the third-ranking House Democrat, was first elected in 1993. They will talk about organizing and the importance of civic engagement, Smith said.
Tickets were free and no longer are available, said August Wilson Center spokeswoman Treshea Wade. The center gave away enough tickets to fill the 486-seat auditorium, plus another hundred in an overflow room. Because the live broadcast begins at 7 p.m., Wade said extra security measures are being discussed, but didn't say what those are.
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