When I recently heard that the keynote speaker for the Afrikan Black Coalition Conference was going to be Minister Louis Farrakhan, I was disappointed. For a campus that prides itself on openness and inclusivity I can’t think of a more divisive speaker. When Farrakhan spoke at a national convention just Read More…
Just as the outcry concerning Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan’s visit to campus betrayed UC Berkeley’s tradition of enlightened discourse, so too did parts of the minister’s speech here on March 10. Nothing should have prevented this controversial figure from speaking at a conference hosted by the Black Student Read More…
I would like to reiterate that I and the other student leaders who created the petition about hosting Louis Farrakhan at UC Berkeley “completely support the annual Afrikan Black Coalition Conference as an indispensable contribution to the empowerment of black students across the state of California.” The BSU had the First Amendment right to Read More…
Continuing contention over the scheduled appearance of religious leader Louis Farrakhan at an upcoming conference organized by the UC Berkeley Black Student Union has led to a petition in protest of his speech. Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam, is scheduled to speak on Saturday at the Afrikan Black Read More…
Although we attend a campus that espouses the right to freedom of speech stemming from the Free Speech Movement in the 1960’s, it is sad to see that this freedom is offered to some and denied to others. Freedom of speech does not imply that anyone completely agrees with what Read More…
It’s surprising that UC Berkeley, home of the Free Speech Movement, is unable to handle free speech. I’m referring to, most recently, the widespread hysteria over the Black Student Union’s decision to host the controversial Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan at UC Berkeley. Farrakhan, one of six speakers scheduled Read More…
“With your state filled with homosexuals, filled with degenerates, filled with disease … With all of this going on in your state, you should welcome me like the return of Jesus Christ.” These words are almost too offensive and disturbing to print, and yet they are attributed to a speaker Read More…
A conference organized by the UC Berkeley Black Student Union this weekend will include a speech by religious leader Louis Farrakhan — an appearance that has sparked outcry from members of the campus Jewish community because of Farrakhan’s allegedly anti-Semitic comments. The Afrikan Black Coalition Conference, which will be held Read More…