In a time of undeniable political strife, Republicans have utilized a familiar strategy from their playbook by deploying Minister Louis Farrakhan as a target.
The controversial leader of the Nation of Islam was spotlighted again when Tamika Mallory and Bob Bland appeared on The View to talk about the Women’s March coming up on January 19th. In an Instagram post from last year, Mallory, who also is a co-founder of the Women’s March, expressed her appreciation for the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan by calling him the “GOAT.” Last year, Mallory, along with other Women’s March founders attended Savior’s Day, the annual convocation of the Nation of Islam that commemorates the birth of its founder, Master Wallace Fard Muhammad.
During his speech, Farrakhan forcefully spoke out against the Jewish community as “the mother and father of apartheid,” adding that “the Jews have control over those agencies of government.”
Whenever accusations of anti-Semitism were levied at the Minister in the past, he has vehemently denied all allegations. “The ADL (Anti-Defamation League) … uses the term ‘anti-Semitism’ to stifle all criticism of Zionism and the Zionist policies of the State of Israel and also to stifle all legitimate criticism of the errant behavior of some Jewish people toward the non-Jewish population,” said Minister Farrakhan in The Final Call.
In an intense discussion, Sunny Hostin, a co-host of The View, questioned Mallory’s association with Farrakhan and asked why she would choose to label him as the “greatest of all-time.” Malory’s response was, “I didn’t call him the greatest of all time because of his rhetoric. I called him the greatest of all time because of what he’s done in Black communities.”
Co-host Meghan McCain did not find Mallory’s answer satisfactory. McCain argued, “I would never be comfortable supporting someone who said, ‘I’m not an anti-Semite, I’m an anti-termite,’ ‘It’s the wicked Jews, the false Jews that are promoting lesbianism, homosexuality,’ “You’re talking about women, you should be talking about all women, including Jewish women and conservative women.”
When McCain pushed back and asked Mallory to condemn Farrakhan’s remarks she said, “I don’t agree with these statements. It’s not my language, it’s not the way that I speak, it’s not how I organize. I should never be judged through the lens of a man.”
Because of Mallory’s relationship with Farrakhan, both the Democratic National Convention and the Southern Poverty Law Center ended the sponsorship support of the Women’s March.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Republicans called on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic party to publicly disassociate themselves from Farrakhan. The GOP recently stripped Rep. Steven King of his committee assignments when supported white supremacist ideology and now they are calling on Democrats to address their “Farrakhan problem” as described by The 5 on Fox News.
Numerous voices, especially on social media, are outraged at the notion that the Republicans and/ or the Jewish community would apply pressure to anyone who chooses to exercise their First Amendment right to support The Minister. There is a growing resentment against people who attempt to criticize Black people who support and meet with The Minister to address issues that are unique to the African-American experience. Despite the backlash, Minister Farrakhan will never buckle to the pressure and neither will many who support him.
Should Tamika Mallory have denounced the words of Farrakhan? Does the Democratic Party have a “Farrakhan” problem?
