Fired CNN contributor Marc Lamont Hill bemoaned the “absurdity” of the idea that Black political figures must condemn Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan in order to retain positions of power.
“There’s this weird litmus test that gets applied to Farrakhan and Farrakhan only,” he explained.
Marc Lamont Hill argued that while he and Louis Farrakhan don’t agree on certain issues, it’s unfair that Black activists and leaders are forced to denounce him. (YouTube video screenshot)
Hill, a seasoned journalist and political commentator, stopped by “The Breakfast Club” on Friday to address his recent firing and the backlash over his comments on Palestine at the United Nations last month, among other things, including the recent shake-up within The Women’s March organization.
Co-host Angela Yee brought up the fact that co-organizers Tamika Mallory, Linda Sarsour and others were essentially being forced out of the women’s rights organization over their refusal to distance themselves from the NOI leader, who’s been criticized for spewing anti-Semitic and homophobic language. Women’s March founder Teresa Shook called on the organization’s co-chairs to step down last month, accusing Mallory and others of steering the movement off course by allowing “anti-Semitism, anti-LBGTQIA sentiment and hateful, racist rhetoric to become a part of the platform.”
Hill, who has met with the Nation of Islam leader several times in the past, acknowledged that he and Farrakhan do not see eye to eye on certain issues, including LGBTQ rights, but said he thought it was unfair that Black Americans are forced to outright condemn the minister for his problematic views when that isn’t the standard across the board.
“For some reason, if you meet with Minister Farrakhan and you don’t throw him away wholesale, then you’re castigated in a way that doesn’t happen with anybody else,” the scholar said, noting that he was never once criticized for his previous work on Fox News.
“I am not comparing them [Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity] to Farrakhan except to say if you think he’s an extremist, I think they’re extreme,” he continued. “So, why is only one set of people untouchable? And why does every Black leader have to ritually denounce Farrakhan in order to sustain a position?”
Hill noted that unlike Democrats and Republicans, Farrakhan doesn’t operate in a political tradition but a “spiritual and religious, Black nationalist tradition” that’s typically more in line with conservative values.
“This isn’t about Minister Farrakahn’s ideology; the question is why he’s positioned as the brook of fire for everyone to pass. The whole idea of it it absurd,” he said.
Hill concluded by arguing that he doesn’t have the luxury of “throwing people who love us away.”
Watch more in the clip below.
