UC Berkeley’s place in the American story represents the best in scientific, social and cultural innovation. Its scholars have found treatments for heinous afflictions and advanced justice with their research and words. When we fight, we fight for freethinking justice, as exemplified by the Free Speech Movement of the 1960s. The uproar of criticism concerning Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan’s upcoming visit to campus, then, is a far cry from what our campus symbolizes.
Farrakhan will speak at the 2012 Afrikan Black Coalition Conference this weekend. Hosted by UC Berkeley’s Black Student Union, the event brings black college groups from within the UC system “and beyond” to discuss “academic policy, campus climate, and matriculation.” Farrakhan’s scheduled attendance as a keynote speaker has drawn heat for statements he has made regarding homosexuals, Jews and women.
Members of the community have every right to be enraged that Farrakhan is coming to campus. What Farrakhan has said about gays, Jews and others is certainly deplorable. But to suggest the minister be disallowed from appearing at UC Berkeley does a disservice to the high ideals and commitment to free speech every student is taught to hold dear. A distinction ought not to be made between free speech for UC Berkeley and “free speech someplace else,” as four ASUC executives have stated.
Indeed, the campus climate at UC Berkeley is less fragile than many seem to think. Farrakhan’s mere presence on campus does not damage or attack any group. He is not being given a platform on which to proselytize or spew hateful rhetoric. Rather, the minister was invited to speak as an empowering, motivating figure for a specific audience that chooses to listen. The BSU values Farrakhan’s undeniable legacy as a leader for the black community. Do not confuse his scheduled presence as an approval of homophobia or anti-Semitism.
Not everybody has to be comfortable with Farrakhan coming to campus. Still, the notion that the minister’s words preclude him from speaking at UC Berkeley is misguided. Instead of seeking to squelch his freedom of speech because of some mythical idea that it will harm the campus community, take full advantage of this chance to discuss the wrongs conjured by the mere mention of Farrakhan’s past.
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“…They made Brazil, where several Portuguese Jews had established sugar plantations and mills, the most important area of sugar production in the world.”
“…The Jews of Brazil were not important as proprietors of mills but rather as financial agents, brokers, and export merchants. When Brazil came again under Portuguese rule in the second half of the 17th century, many Jews emigrated to Surinam, Barbados, Curaçao, and Jamaica, where they acquired large sugarcane plantations and became the leading entrepreneurs in the sugar trade.”
ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 19 – [Hans Pohl / Henry Wasserman] – pg 294
Of course—black slaves were the MOST IMPORTANT resource necessary to run such an operation as what was being set-up in the West (The Promised Land) from that time till now.
This editorial was clearly written by half-wits. It says, “The BSU values Farrakhan’s undeniable legacy as a leader for the black community.” Should that legacy of leadership be laden with Farrakhan’s overt anti-Semitism, homophobia, and sexism? What kind of a “leader” is that?
After centuries of African Americans themselves being brutalized by white bigots, how inane is the BSU to bring to campus one of the most outspokenly prejudiced people prominent in the black community? Does BSU and the people who wrote this editorial not see the small masterpiece of irony in this invitation to an odious bigot?
What if an evangelical group of Christians brought David Duke to campus and called him a leader of the fundamentalist Christian community? After all, Duke has often called himself a “good Christian.” We all know well how the Daily Cal and the BSU would respond to an appearance of someone like Duke.
So what is the difference between a David Duke and a Louis Farrakhan? They are both Ministers of Hate.
The BSU should be embarrassed for inviting this thug to campus and deeming him a “leader.” There are doubtless members of the campus African American community who are ashamed of the BSU for tendering an invitation to this disgusting bigot, but it is likely that they are too intimidated by their brethren to say so…