Farrakhan’s Berkeley talk reignites free speech debate

, j. staff

While few critics contested the right of conference organizers, the schools Black Student Union, to invite Farrakhan, many condemned the choice, and bemoaned the bully pulpit given the rabble-rousing Farrakhan to spread his message of hate.

The appearance in a packed 700-seat auditorium, billed as a speech about black empowerment, contained anti-Semitic and hate speech, according to students who spoke to the Daily Californian, the campus student newspaper. A petition signed by more than 350 people was circulated after the speech by Jewish student leaders, opposing Farrakhans speech and character, but not the BSUs right to bring him to the school, according to that publication.

Louis Farrakhan

It made this conference a lightning rod, and that detracted from it, he said.

Nancy Appel, director of the ADL for the San Francisco region, also condemned Farrakhans appearance, while upholding the groups right to invite the fiery minister.

For over thirty years, Louis Farrakhan has been notorious as a purveyor of hate against Jews, whites, and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, among others, Appel said in a press release. It is unconscionable for the organizers of the ABC Conference to have honored him with this invitation to address their annual gathering. Granting Farrakhan this privilege is a slap in the face to all members of the diverse U.C. Berkeley community who strive to make their campus as inclusive and welcoming as possible for everyone.

The statement also called on campus administrators to unequivocally condemn Farrakhans hate mongering.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, there were no protesters outside Wheeler Auditorium during Farrakhans speech, and only one protester afterward, student senator Noah Ickowitz.

Ickowitz told the Chronicle that Farrakhan had every right to appear on campus, and that he, in turn, had a right to protest a speech he saw as advocating black empowerment at the expense of other groups.

The rest is here:
Farrakhan’s Berkeley talk reignites free speech debate