The Last Angry Man

Washington Monthly, Jan, 2001 by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Farrakhan then launched into a rambling speech most notable for its dabbling in numerology. Noting the Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials in the background, Farrakhan argued for their mystical significance: "Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president. Thomas Jefferson, the 3rd president, and 16 and 3 make 19 again," said Farrakhan. "What is so deep about this number 19? When you have a 9, you have a womb that is pregnant. And when you have a 1 standing by the 9, it means that there's something secret that has to be unfolded."

The speech proved to be only a precursor. Three months after the Million Man March, Farrakhan launched his "World Friendship Tour." Touted as a means for Farrakhan to take his message of atonement worldwide, the trip did little more than unite white conservatives and black intellectuals in condemnation of the tour. At the time Farrakhan visited Sudan, the country was under siege internationally for allowing its Muslim citizens to raid and enslave the country's black non-Muslim population. But Farrakhan came to Sudan and dismissed all charges of slavery and praised the "wise Islamic leadership" of dictator Hassan al-Turabi.

In Nigeria, Farrakhan compared notes with then-Nigerian big man Sani Abacha. The Muslim dictator had recently voided elections and brutally suppressed all opposition, jailing dissidents and hanging internationally renowned author Ken Saro-Wiwa. But when Farrakhan came to Nigeria, he reportedly said to Abacha, "They said you hanged one man. So what?"

The trip wasn't the only sign that Farrakhan's new attempts at respectability were, at best, conflicted and at worst, simply insincere. In August of 1996, in light of Farrakhan's new stature stemming from the Million Man March, the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ)--never known as a hotbed of black militants--took the extremely bold step of inviting Farrakhan to address the group at their convention in Nashville. If NABJ expected praise from Farrakhan for giving a forum to the most despised black man in America, they were in for a rude awakening.

Farrakhan laid into the group with a fury that he usually reserved for the Anti-Defamation League. "White folks did not hire you to really represent what black people are thinking, and you don't really tell them what you think because you are too afraid," said Farrakhan according to the Chicago Tribune. "A scared-to-death Negro is a slave, you slave writers."

It was vintage Farrakhan, and everything he had managed to keep under wraps at the recent October march. A few of the journalists in the room applauded Farrakhan's comments, but many more were offended at how their guest speaker had so rudely wiped his muddy wingtips on their carpet. Farrakhan's verbal thrashing was to some extent true, but it did little to help his relationship with black journalists, and it raised questions about the sincerity of his attempts at inclusiveness.

Of course, Farrakhan's behavior really shouldn't have come as any surprise. He has long been a bundle of contradictions, as has the Nation of Islam itself. Contrary to its image as an independent organization, its members are virtually brainwashed to follow their leader and his lieutenants through hellfire. Despite their militant talk, rarely do these self-styled defenders of black people raise arms against their alleged oppressors. They are better known for acts of brutality against their own. Malcolm X's assassination is the best-known example of Nation of Islam "justice," but in 1973, for instance, members of the Nation also stormed the home of a Muslim rival and murdered seven members of the group.