Articles Feature

Facebook Bans Farrakhan, Far Right Figures

by richard12747

Sect Leader Once Among Blacks’ Most Admired

Sam Adams, Iconic Journalist, Professor Dies at 93

Deadline is May 17 to Nominate a J-Educator

 

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Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan delivered a tribute April 10 to the late rapper and entrepreneur Nipsey Hussle at the memorial outside of The Marathon Clothing, the hip-hop artist’s store in South Los Angeles. He is flanked by Minister Tony Muhammad, his Los Angeles representative. (Credit: Haroon Rajaee/Final Call)
Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan delivers a tribute April 10 to the late rapper and entrepreneur Nipsey Hussle at the memorial outside of The Marathon Clothing, the hip-hop artist’s store in South Los Angeles. Holding the bullhorn is Minister Tony Muhammad, Farrakhan’s Los Angeles representative. (Credit: Haroon Rajaee/Final Call)

Sect Leader Once Among Blacks’ Most Admired

Facebook has banned Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, once one of the most admired figures among African Americans, along with several far-right and anti-Semitic figures, the social media giant announced on Thursday.

The banning also includes “Infowars host Alex Jones, Milo Yiannopoulos and Laura Loomer, for being ‘dangerous,’ a sign that the social network is more aggressively enforcing its hate-speech policies at a moment when  bigoted violence is on the rise around the world,” Elizabeth Dwoskin and Craig Timberg reported for the Washington Post.

According to Bloomberg, “When Facebook bans an individual or organization, it typically also removes posts from other users who praise or support them. In this case, a Facebook spokesperson said that people will be able to post about or praise these banned users, though they won’t be allowed to share any of their views or opinions that Facebook considers hate speech or calls for violence.”

Facebook has more than 2.38 billion monthly active users worldwide. Farrakhan, who will be 86 on May 11, has led the Nation of Islam since 1978 and has seemingly been accused of anti-Semitism at least since then.

In an Oct. 14 speech in Detroit, Farrakhan said, “[w]hen they talk about Farrakhan, call me a hater, call me an anti-Semite; stop it I’m anti-termite.

“I don’t know anything about hating anyone because of their religious preference. But just like they called our ancestors in the 1930s ‘voodoo people,’ they figure ‘anti-Semite’ would be a good thing to put on us. . . .

“You cannot find one Jew that one who follows me has plucked one hair from his head. You haven’t found us defiling a synagogue. Our Qur’an teaches us if we see something like that stop it. . . .”

The “anti-termite” line prompted Facebook to remove a video clip of the speech for violating Facebook’s terms of service.  Some saw the remark as a joke, but given the history of allegations of anti-Semitism, others did not. Twitter let the clip remain, saying that its proposed new policies around “dehumanizing” tweets had not yet gone into effect.

The Nation of Islam did not immediately respond to Facebook’s ban, but on Wednesday, the Nation’s newspaper, the Final Call, published an opinion piece by Richard B. Muhammad headlined, “White Nationalism, White Hatred Is America’s Problem, Not Louis Farrakhan.”

“The ugly and deadly side of American life surfaced once again with the killing of a woman and an assault on a Jewish house of worship in California,” the piece began. “Once again, a young White man, a self-proclaimed race warrior allegedly grabbed a military style weapon and decided to extinguish an enemy.

“This is another sign of the fraying of society and deep, deep seated, old animosities and White resentment. Those sick of accommodation and bellyful with the feeling that this country is no longer theirs. Their psyches, their spirits, their identities and their futures are threatened, and they are not going down without a fight. They see U.S. society and the American government as the enemy.

“That’s your problem: White nationalism, White hatred and White rage — and White denial.

“The problem is not Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan, his movement nor his followers. . . .”

Hip-hop veteran Snoop Dogg defended Farrakhan Thursday in an Instagram video. “Facebook and Instagram just banned Minister Louis Farrakhan. I want to know for what? All he ever do is tell the truth. But y’all gon’ ban him, though? All right, what if we ban y’all? What if we stop fuckin’ with y’all, Facebook and Instagram? The fuck y’all gon’ ban Minister Louis Farrakhan? For puttin’ truth out there,” he said.

Dwoskin and Timberg continued in the Post, “Facebook said it was going to remove the accounts, fan pages, and groups affiliated with these individuals on both Facebook and its sister site, Instagram, after it reevaluated the content that they had posted previously, or had examined their activities outside of Facebook, the company said. The removal also pertains to at least one of the organizations run by these people, Jones’ Infowars.

“ ‘We’ve always banned individuals or organizations that promote or engage in violence and hate, regardless of ideology. The process for evaluating potential violators is extensive and it is what led us to our decision to remove these accounts today,’ Facebook said in a statement. . . .”

At the time of the Million Man March, which Farrakhan led in 1995, Farrakhan was viewed as one of black America’s most admired leaders. The march drew hundreds of thousands to the National Mall in Washington, though the number was disputed.

Farrakhan has preached black nationalism and self-sufficiency. A Gallup Poll in 1995 found that “50% of black Americans say Minister Farrakhan represents their views ‘very’ or ‘somewhat’ well; 84% say the same about Jesse Jackson.”

Asked how Farrakhan fares now in its polling, Gallup spokesperson Jennifer Donegan told Journal-isms by email, “We don’t have anything recent.”

When Louis Farrakhan was a constant presence in the headlines, television’s “In Living Color” spoofed him and “Star Trek” in a 1990 episode called “The Wrath of Farrakhan.” Actors included Damon Wayans, Jim Carrey, Kim Wayans and Kipp Shiotani. (video)

Sam Adams, Iconic Journalist, Professor Dies at 93

It was just in March that the Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times reprinted "‘Highways to Hope,' a series in which Adams and his wife, Elenora, reported on their journey through 12 southern states just months after segregation was outlawed in 1964. (Credit: Tampa Bay Times)
It was just in March that the Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times reprinted “‘Highways to Hope,’ a 1964 series in which Sam Adams and his wife, Elenora, reported on their journey through 12 Southern states just months after segregation was outlawed. (Credit: Tampa Bay Times)

Samuel L. Adams Sr., a pioneer civil rights journalist whose four-decade career included 26 years teaching and mentoring journalism students at the University of Kansas, has died at 93, the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Kansas announced Wednesday.

Adams died on April 17, according to an April 25 death notice in his hometown newspaper, the Waycross (Ga.) Journal-Herald, the school noted.

“During his 42-year career, he served as an award-winning journalist, an educator at five universities, a national political consultant, a civil rights activist and started the first black radio newscast on the nation’s first black-owned station, Atlanta’s WERD 860,” the notice said.

“He was a friend of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King[;] the two debated the role of the black press and the ministry in the civil rights movement. The list of people he interacted with included Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, Civil Rights Activist Vernon [Jordan], Civil Rights Activist Medgar Evers, Actor and Activist Ossie Davis, Comedian and Activist Dick Gregory and 1972 Presidential Candidate Hubert H. [Humphrey], just to name a few.

“He had a knack for being where the action was. In 1963, he was the only black reporter from the major media covering the integration of the University of Alabama, standing only 10 feet from Governor George Wallace, who defiantly blocked the doorway to a classroom in Tuscaloosa.

“He was there to cover the violence in Birmingham when peaceful demonstrators were thrashed with fire hoses.

“He was there in Washington, D.C., when King delivered his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech.

“He was at the Watergate building during the 1972 break-in, serving as the Deputy Director of the Minorities Division and the Assistant Director of Communications for the Democratic National Committee.

“He worked as a reporter for the Atlanta Daily World, a copy editor for the Des Moines Register, and an investigative reporter for the St. Petersburg Times. He was an educator at the University of South Florida, the University of Wisconsin, the University of Kansas, Hampton Institute and the University of the Virgin Islands. He mentored many black students who had successful careers — three of them would win Pulitzer Prizes — one of his proudest achievements.

“While at the University of Kansas, he founded the Ida B. Wells Award, given annually by the National Association of Black [Journalists] (NABJ) to honor people who have shown exemplary achievement advancing, hiring and promoting minorities in the news media. Ironically, the NABJ awarded Samuel this award in 2002, after his retirement, and earlier awarded him a ‘Lifetime Achievement’ Award in 1997. . . .”

It was just two months ago that the Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times reprinted “Highways to Hope,’ a series in which Adams and his wife, Elenora, reported on their journey through 12 Southern states just months after segregation was outlawed in 1964. The paper was then known as the St. Petersburg Times.

“Fear rides with Negroes who drive through the South,” Adams wrote. “We were frightened — my wife Elenora and I — as we drove for 15 days through 12 southern states.

“I have lived with fear so long I am hardly aware it’s there. But Elenora couldn’t hide her fears as we drove north from St Petersburg in late October on our 4,300 mile journey.

“There is far less reason for a Negro to be afraid now. Yet fear remains, and some of our northern friends refuse to drive through the South to visit us.

“Take Warren Fowler, a Negro, an electrical contractor and city commissioner of Pontiac, Mich. He and his family want badly to come to St. Petersburg for a vacation. But they fear every gasoline stop, every restaurant, every motel.

“The slaying last summer of Washington, D.C. educator and Army colonel Lemuel [Penn] as he and two other Negroes drove through Georgia en route home made most Negroes more fearful.

“Actually, fear of slipping ‘out of a nigger’s place’ and meeting violence dominated Negro thinking long before the Penn murder. . . .”

Reporting on the Lifetime Achievement Award that NABJ awarded Adams in 1997, Dann Hayes of KU noted, “The 1967 stories he broke in Mississippi and Florida helped lead to a national campaign to investigate hunger in America and helped result in changes in national policy for fighting hunger. He was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in journalism in 1964 and 1965. . . .”

In 1969, Adams won the Sigma Delta Chi Green Eyeshade Sweepstakes Award for a series of stories on a farm called Camp Happy near Fort Meyers, Fla. “By posing as a migrant worker, Adams found that the camp was charging workers far more money for food and housing each month than they could possibly earn,” Dean Ford wrote in 1973 for the Jayhawk Journalist at the University of Kansas.

“You have to be sensitive to human feelings if you are going to be a good reporter or a good person,” Adams told Ford. “Knowing how to write isn’t worth a dime unless you have something to write, which also depends in part on what you bring to the events that you are covering.”

About 65 people attended services April 27 at Harrington Family Funeral Services in Waycross, said assistant manager Deondre Tisby. He added that another service is planned, as many were not able to attend. Time and place have not been determined.

Sam Adams, depicted in 1973 article in the Jayhawk Journalist.
Sam Adams, depicted in 1973 article in the Jayhawk Journalist.

Deadline is May 17 to Nominate a J-Educator

Beginning in 1990, the Association of Opinion Journalists, formerly the National Conference of Editorial Writers, annually granted a Barry Bingham Sr. Fellowship — actually an award — “in recognition of an educator’s outstanding efforts to encourage minority students in the field of journalism.”

AOJ merged in 2016 into the American Society of News Editors, which is continuing the Bingham award tradition.

Since 2000, the recipient has been awarded an honorarium of $1,000 to be used to “further work in progress or begin a new project.”

Bill Celis
Bill Celis

Past winners include James Hawkins, Florida A&M University (1990); Larry Kaggwa, Howard University (1992); Ben Holman, University of Maryland (1996); Linda Jones, Roosevelt University, Chicago (1998); Ramon Chavez, University of Colorado, Boulder (1999); Erna Smith, San Francisco State (2000); Joseph Selden, Penn State University (2001); Cheryl Smith, Paul Quinn College (2002); Rose Richard, Marquette University (2003).

Also, Leara D. Rhodes, University of Georgia (2004); Denny McAuliffe, University of Montana (2005); Pearl Stewart, Black College Wire (2006); Valerie White, Florida A&M University (2007); Phillip Dixon, Howard University (2008); Bruce dePyssler, North Carolina Central University (2009); Sree Sreenivasan, Columbia University (2010); Yvonne Latty, New York University (2011); Michelle Johnson, Boston University (2012); Vanessa Shelton, University of Iowa (2013); William Drummond, University of California at Berkeley (2014); Julian Rodriguez of the University of Texas at Arlington (2015) (video); David G. Armstrong, Georgia State University (2016) (video); and Gerald Jordan, University of Arkansas (2017); Bill Celis, University of Southern California (2018).

Nominations may be emailed to Richard Prince, ASNE Opinion Journalism Committee, richardprince (at) hotmail.com. The deadline is May 17. Please use that address only for ASNE matters.

 

 

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Richard Prince’s Journal-isms originates from Washington. It began in print before most of us knew what the internet was, and it would like to be referred to as a “column.” Any views expressed in the column are those of the person or organization quoted and not those of any other entity.
 
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About Richard Prince

View previous columns (after Feb. 13, 2016).

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1 comment

Greg Thrasher May 2, 2019 at 8:34 pm

Facebook has zero credibility in Black America it was a willing suitor and platform for Russian propaganda under the cloak of various Black Progressive advertiser

Farrakhan is still respected and admired in many venues of Black America… Black America defines its agency and philosophies not Facebook

Greg Thrasher
Director
Plane Ideas
Alternative Think Tank
Detroit/DMV

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