In Black America; National Association Of Black Journalists Dallas Fort-Worth/ABC with Louis Farrakhan, Part 1

Bye. From the Longhorn Radio Network, the University of Texas at Austin, this is in Black America. I bring you greetings from the State of Tennessee and all of your friends who are honored that you're here. The National Association of Black Journalists brings an outstanding value to the City of Nashville and to the State of Tennessee.

And we want to officially welcome you and to assure you that all of our services will be made available to you so that your stay in this state in this city will cause you to come back and visit with us again. We're honored that all of you are here and that you have allowed us to assist you in every way. Welcome to Nashville, the home of music, all music, the home of Fisk University, Tennessee State University, Muharram Medical College, American Baptist College, Vanderbilt University, Peabody College, Belmont University, all of those institutions that are ready to serve you. If we can assist you in any way, please know that we are ready to do that. Last August in Nashville, Tennessee, the National Association of Black Journalists held his 21st Annual Convention and Jobs Fair. More than 1800 broadcast, print professionals and students, gather for five days to debate relevant issues, express concerns, share ideas and help chart the course for the future of the fourth and fifth of states and the community at large. In Nashville had a historic meaning, particularly for African Americans. Nashville played an important role in the civil rights movements of the 1960s with students from Fisk University, Tennessee State University and Muharram Medical College, being among those who staged sit-ins at downtown lunch counters.

Many of those students participated in the Freedom Rights that led to bus terminals throughout the South being integrated. I'm John L. Hanson Jr. and welcome to another edition of In Black America. On this week's program, the National Association of Black Journalists, 21st Annual Convention, Part 1, In Black America. We are here to talk about the issues. We are here to bring some of the foremost news makers of this country to this hall, not just to Nashville, but to you, so that you can press them on the issues. Talk about your concerns and somewhere along the way, have a little fun. We've been doing this for a long time, and I think by now we've got a little bit of experience in having fun in our ABJ conventions.

So whatever you do, and this kind of goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway, have some fun here. But go back to your respective newsrooms and your respective companies and industries and your towns and your cities, and take what you've learned here and use it, because that's the greater cause that we're all trying to achieve. We are setting up this stage so we can bring to you the first plenary of our National Convention, and that's after the Million Man March. Arthur Finale, president of the National Association of Black Journalists, founded on December 12, 1975, in ABJ is the largest minority journalist organization in the world. The organization was created to unify African-American journalists, bringing recognition to their achievement in the newsrooms of America, and to throwing some ties between black and white media. What began with only 44 members in the beginning, operating with no staff, little capital, and no national office, now has grown to over 3,000 members and an operating budget in excess of $1 million.

This year's convention opening speaker was the man credited with turning his vision of a Million Man March into a reality, when more than 1 million men responded to his call to convene on Washington DC last October 16th for a day of atonement. Minister Lewis Farcon, the nation of Islam leader, made in historic first appearance before in ABJ, the organization received more than it had expected, members were body searched before they were allowed to enter the hall. The minister also admonished black journalists working in mainstream media, not to fall into the trap of trying to please the master at the expense of hiding the truth. The following are excerpts of the minister's remarks, there are some audio break up from the hall house system, Minister Lewis Farcon. To your esteemed president, to brother Warner Sanders, and to each of you members of the national association of black journalists, I'm very, very honored. To have this opportunity to speak to a most influential group of our brothers and sisters.

You have a tremendous responsibility, being journalists and being black, and how to approach your esteemed profession, with honesty, integrity, and yet not fall into the world. And to the editorial trap of trying to please a master by saying the things that pleases the master and denying the truth that you know. This estate, the fourth estate, is really the protector of democracy.

Without a free press, there is no real democracy. Free press, what does that really mean? Did you free, yes, to state your ideas, thoughts, and opinions in a democratic society? But a free press is not a controlled press. A free press is that free to determine what the truth is and to write and speak that truth to the betterment of that society. The founding fathers of this great nation knew that in order to protect this nation and to keep it forever in the light of God, perpetually moving toward perfection, freedom of speech and freedom of the press,

and freedom of religion and freedom of assembly must be protected. Without free speech, we are hindered from saying the things that might correct a democracy that has gone off course. Without a free press, we cannot say the things that would keep the nation from falling into the abyss after the nation reaches its zenith and becomes wealthy and powerful and influential yet corrupt. Good men don't buy newspapers for good purposes. Good men don't buy television stations for the part of the masses.

The masses are being felt ignorance, stupidity, garbage, in the name of news, in the name of media, in the name of television, in the name of entertainment. So is he? And whatever a man is, that's what that man is. And if you feed your public filth and ignorance and degeneracy, then what should you expect from them when you have the right and the privilege to feed the human mind? Then to feed the human mind lies mixed with truth, skewing the truth, hiding the truth, manipulating the truth for this one's benefit into that one's degradation. Is not my idea of protecting democracy and the fundamentals of a democracy.

You say, wait a minute Farrakhan, I didn't come here to have you lecture us on our business. I didn't come to lecture you on nothing else but your business. And since you invited me, I think I have a right to talk to journalists about what you are supposed to be doing. You are national association of black journalists that work for white institutions. And what for did not hire you to really represent what black people are really thinking? And you don't really tell them what you, because you are too afraid of the little cheap gift that you have. And this does not protect democracy. And it does not represent the black community. We are suffering ones that put you right to what shouldn't you stand up and represent the best of what we are.

You didn't get there because you were so skilled. Some Negroes got to throw in some Molotov cocktails one day. And white folks didn't want to come up town and they had to raid the black press to find some black person who would do the job. They pulled you away from the black press and they brought you into the mainstream media. And you became happy to be mainstream. This is not the river job. This is a corrupt stream. And now we got to purify it to protect the nation that you say you love. And the people from whom you came that demand better from you. You don't know me.

And that's sad. I would like to see democracy protected because in a free society I don't have the right to hall of fire in a crowded theater except that there is a fire. In a democracy every voice has a right to be heard and wait. Because to label somebody, well he's a hater. What does that mean? What does that really mean? He's a bigger. He's an anti-Semite. You mean to tell me with all the hatred, the bigotry, the anti-Semitism that is in this world.

Louis Farrakhan now is the chief among all of that. You mean the truth not into this somewhere. If the man is telling the truth about what he says, whether it is critical of you, critical of me, critical of our people, critical of a government, critical of America, critical of Jews, critical of Christians, critical of Muslims. I have the right to say what I believe. And you have the right to record what I say. If I say it and do, mix it up. And if you affair with me, then the public would see a truthful man, a sincere man, a committed man that wants to see his people free and my people can never be free as long as thought control.

My manipulation is practiced by people in the media and you know exactly what I'm talking about. Now don't invite me no more. If you don't want me to talk to you like a brother that loves you and sees the value of this group. Don't get caught up in the Mercedes Benz and the imaging and how you look on TV. Get caught up in what you mean to a democratic society and what you mean to a suffering people. It's sickening to turn on the news. What's the news? Murder, mayhem, violence, rape, fire, death. Don't you have anything else to report? You say, well that's what the people need.

If you want to hear, no. Listen, you have allowed the manipulation by advertisers. You could be in the middle of a great interview. If it's time for commercial, thank you very much. It ain't about truth. It's not about informing the public. What are you doing? You got to ask yourself that. See, I face myself in the mirror every day. I know I don't hate Jews because you have not helped me. Do you know who and what you are or have you lost your mind? I'm your brother. We have a suffering people out there because liars and deceivers are tricking our people day in and day out.

You know it, but you can't say it. You can't write it, but I can. And that's the difference between a free black man and some controlled black people. That's the difference. There is no free press if you're afraid for your job. You grab a fax and somebody editorializes, well, you can't say that. And your byline is on it. Brothers and sisters, you know I'm telling the truth. People who own the newspapers for which you work, they have an opinion. They have a philosophy. They have a guiding principle that they skewed a news.

Black slavery over there. How many of you are ready to go there and look at it and come back and report accurately if you have to report against the lies that have been spread. You can't investigate. Let's go to Nigeria. Let's go to Sudan. Let's go to Iran and Iraq. They are terrorists nations. Here's a president that has the power to define. So a president in Congress say, this is a terrorist nation. Which one of you got the courage to say what makes it so? And since you don't have that and I have it, then I'm willing to die for a free press and the freedom of speech and the freedom of religion and the freedom from fear. A scare to death Negro is a slave. You slave writers. Slave media people. I leave you. You're going to remember what I said because you're going to be called to account.

Fear. When it grips a human being, it makes you less than what your God wanted you to be. White folk rule us with fear. It is not white people. It's your fear of them. That you got to be freed from. Some of you scared of our car because he's not afraid. I fear God. And because I fear God, I put my trust in him. And he hadn't failed me yet. And he won't fail you. You big media people. Where's God in your life? You're used to pray at one time, but you're big shot me for people now. You don't have the time for God.

When is the last time you've been to church? When is the last time you actually fell down on your knees and communicated with the creed? That's why you're writing you so stale and insipid. What's this funny? I didn't have no prepared speech. But I'm honored to be here. I'm honored to accept the invitation. They said it didn't have no money to give me. There's a poor group of rich people. So I figured what the hell I might as well say was on my mind. But as I leave you, I want to give you a bit of news.

Do you know that I love you? I'm very serious about this. I'm not a politician. I'm not trying to be popular. But I know how valuable you are, especially to be where you are. And I imagine you're into some horrible fights. And you need each other and you need strength. And you need more faith in God. And I'll tell you brothers and sisters, as I sit down with our host that he might, he might spank me for being a bad boy. But one of Saunders and I have known each other a long time and I have deep and abiding respect for him and a deep and abiding respect for all of you. It may not sound like it.

But I am hurting over the condition of our people. And I am hurting over what role that you could play if you would. And the bit of news that I wanted to give you was each year, for the last six years, there has been a prize offered. For the person each year who has done in the minds of a committee of nine, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the most in their minds for human rights. The prize is named after a man of infamous reputation like myself. It's called the Kadaffee Prize.

It has been won by Nelson Mandela, by the children of the Interfada, by Ahmed bin Bella, the former president of Algeria, by the Native Americans in this struggle. And by a scientist who has fought hard in the fight against AIDS in Africa. This past few months, they nominated Louis Farcon to receive this prize, which carries with it a monetary prize of a quarter of a million dollars. And they said they awarded this prize to me because of my stance as a fighter for justice, for the oppressed, and because of the miracle of the million man march.

By the 23rd of this month, which is Friday, a law goes into force that forbids any American person. From receiving a gift, or anything like that, from Libya, Iran, Sudan, and maybe one or two other nations. I have written to the Department of the U.S. Treasury through our attorneys to say to them that we are requesting a license to receive the prize.

And I'm on my way to Libya, God willing in a few days to accept the prize, on behalf of the brothers and sisters who came to Washington to make the million man march what it is and what it was. There have been many media reports that Gaddafi offered Louis Farcon a billion dollars. After the million man march, Muhammad Gaddafi called on the telephone. He was so excited at what he saw. I could hardly recognize his voice.

Mr. Louis Farcon, speaking before the National Membership, the National Association of Black Journalists. If you have a question or comment or suggestions asked your future in Black America programs, write us. Also let us know what radio station you heard us over. The views and opinions expressed on this program are not necessarily those of this station or of the University of Texas at Austin. Until we have the opportunity again for IBA technical producer Cliff Hargrove, I'm John L. Hanson, Jr. Thank you for joining us today. And please join us again next week. The set copies of this program are available and may be purchased by writing in Black America cassettes, Communication Building B, UT Austin, Austin, Texas, 78712. In the University of Texas at Austin, this is the Longhorn Radio Network.

I'm John L. Hanson, Jr. Join me this week on in Black America. We've also requested a license to receive a billion dollars or less to aid us in our work in America. The National Association of Black Journalists with Minister Louis Farrakhan this week on in Black America.