What Change Will Obama Make?

Louis Farrakhan

Among the strange cast of characters endorsing Barack Obama is Louis Farrakhan, the Supreme Minister of the Nation of Islam. Born Louis Eugene Walcott on May 11, 1933 in the Bronx, New York, he was raised in the Jamaica section of Boston. Wolcott attended Boston Latin School and English School, and studied the violin beginning at the age of six. By the age of thirteen, he had performed with the Boston College Orchestra and Boston Civic Orchestra. As a youth, he attended the Episcopal St. Cyprian's Church in the Roxbury section of Boston.

For two years, he attended the Winston-Salem State Teachers College where he had gone to run track, but left to be with his wife, the former Betsy Ross, who was pregnant with their first child. He subsequently dropped out of college to be with his family.

In the 1950s, in order to support his family, Walcott took up a career as a calypso singer in Chicago, recording several albums under the name “The Charmer.” He came into contact with the teachings of the Nation of Islam (NOI) in 1955 while appearing as the headliner at a Chicago nightclub. He joined the Nation of Islam as Louis X. Shortly thereafter, his spiritual mentor, Elijah Muhammad, instructed all musicians in the NOI to give up the music world completely within thirty days from the date of his announcement. Farrakhan did so after performing one last time at the Nevel Country Club. Years later, his detractors would refer to Farrakhan as “Calypso Louie.”

After joining the Nation of Islam, Farrakhan quickly rose through the ranks to become Minister of the Nation of Islam's Boston Mosque. He was appointed Minister of the influential Harlem Mosque in 1965 and served in that capacity until 1975.

In 1977, after turmoil erupted in the Nation of Islam, Farrakhan walked away from the movement rather than cause a schism among its membership. In 1978, he announced plans to rebuild the movement along the original lines established by Elijah Mohammad and Wallace Fard Muhammad. In 1979, the organization’s original newspaper Mohammad Speaks was reborn as The Final Call. In 1981, Farrakhan and supporters held the first annual Nation of Islam Saviors' Day convention in Chicago since 1975. In his keynote address, Farrakhan made his first public announcement of the restoration of the Nation of Islam under Elijah Muhammad's teachings.

On October 16, 1995, Farrakhan, convened a coalition of nearly one million men in Washington, D.C. Called the “Million Man March,” the gathering brought together Farrakhan, New Black Panther Party leader Malik Zulu Shabazz, Al Sharpton and other prominent black Americans. In October, 2005, the tenth anniversary of the Million Man March was held in Washington.

Farrakhan has been a controversial figure in the American political arena and is responsible for uttering a number of controversial or incendiary comments over the years. He has been a vociferous advocate of African-American interests and a frequent critic of American society. Farrakhan currently resides in Kenwood, an affluent neighborhood on the south side of Chicago, and part-time at the Nation of Islam farm in New Buffalo, Michigan.

Farrakhan is widely recognized as an electrifying speaker with an ability to attract large crowds to hear his speeches, which can last up to three hours. Many credit his charismatic personality with the success of the Million Man March.

In 2002, Louis Farrakhan traveled to Zimbabwe in support of President Robert Mugabe's proposed seizures of white-owned land and property. These seizures, which were accompanied by violence and death, contributed to the collapse of farming and the agricultural economy. Farrakhan said he was in "full support" of Mugabe's policies "as it was aimed at correcting a historical injustice."

Farrakhan has often been a center of controversy because of statements which critics claim have been racist or homophobic, although Farrakhan has categorically rejected these charges. He has, for example, referred to Jews, Koreans, and Vietnamese who bought up property in poor black neighborhoods as "bloodsuckers" and maintains that "murder and lying comes easy for white people."

His comments regarding the destruction of large parts of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina implied that the levees’ destruction was a deliberate attempt to wipe out the population of largely black sections within the city.

Farrakhan has been accused of calling Judaism a "gutter religion," though he and his supporters deny this.

On October 9, 2008, Farrakhan expressed his unequivocal support for Barack Obama, stating:

"You are the instruments that God is going to use to bring about universal change, and that is why Barack has captured the youth. And he has involved young people in a political process that they didn't care anything about. That's a sign. When the Messiah speaks, the youth will hear, and the Messiah is absolutely speaking."

He also said that “the war in Iraq, the nation's faltering economy and the increased number of natural disasters were signs of "a nation in peril." He said those problems provide the broader context for Obama's rise.

Farrakhan’s comments proved embarrassing to the Obama campaign and prompted the candidate to disavow Farrakhan and disassociate itself from him.

"Senator Obama has been clear in his objections to Minister Farrakhan's past pronouncements and has not solicited the minister's support," said Obama spokesman Bill Burton. Obama himself "rejected and denounced "Farrakhan's support in an NBC debate.

Farrakhan subsequently denied his comments constituted an endorsement saying, he would not tell any one of his followers how to cast their vote, but that they should vote "their own self-interest."

More on Farrakhan:

Farrakhan Says Obama Is Jesus and Elijah
White Folks, You Owe Us The Whole Country!
Read more on Wikipedia.