Louis Farrakhan speaks at UC Berkeley

Louis Farrakhan speaks at UC Berkeley

John Coté

Sunday, March 11, 2012

UC Berkeley on Saturday was once again the crucible of the free speech debate.

The birthplace of the Free Speech Movement in the 1960s hosted another iconoclast from the era, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, whose speeches and writings have been denounced by critics for decades as bigoted, homophobic and anti-Semitic.

Farrakhan was invited as a speaker for the ninth annual Afrikan Black Coalition Conference organized by the Black Student Union, and his appearance was denounced by other student groups and the subject of an online petition "opposing his hateful words and character" that garnered about 350 signatories.

At least two opinion pieces authored by student leaders denouncing Farrakhan's appearance were published in the campus newspaper, the Daily Californian, including one by Shawn Lewis, president of the Berkeley College Republicans, who wondered where was Chancellor Robert Birgeneau's condemnation of Farrakhan after the chancellor and others were quick to denounce as racist the college Republicans "Increase Diversity Bake Sale" last September to protest affirmative action-type policies.

President's letter

Even UC President Mark Yudof weighed in on the Farrakhan appearance, writing in an open letter that "we cannot as a society allow what we regard as vile speech to lead us to abandon the cherished value of free speech."


But that only required that people "condemn these merchants of hatred when they come into our community," Yudof wrote.

There were no protesters outside Wheeler Auditorium before Farrakhan's speech, and only one after.

That was Noah Ickowitz, a student senator who said Farrakhan had every right to appear on campus, and Ickowitz had every right to protest a speech he said advocated black empowerment at the expense of other groups.

The Nation of Islam leader seemed to relish the controversy, telling the young crowd in the nearly full 700-seat auditorium that opposition to him addressing them was simply a sign of decades of slave-master mentality by white America.

"To those who dare, who arrogantly thought that they could frighten this generation as they used to frighten our parents ... so I ask you, 'What are you afraid of?' " Farrakhan said. "What is it I might say to your students, or your slaves?"

It was a theme he returned to on several occasions in a wandering speech that lasted about two hours and ran from foreign policy to the failings of an education system he said was designed to prevent young African Americans from becoming a threat to white dominance.

Moments of controversy

Throughout, the core theme was African American self-reliance and empowerment. But there were certainly moments of controversy.

Farrakhan at one point briefly adopted a faux Asian accent and used gibberish after asking the audience if they had ever seen the Chinese picketing, drawing a gasp from some in the crowd.

One female student quietly muttered "Oh no," when Farrakhan said he had "a word to the Jewish students" before warning against a U.S. or Israeli attack on Iran.

He garnered a standing ovation at the end.

Sadalia King, a 23-year-old UC Davis student, said she had come to hear the 78-year-old Farrakhan to witness someone she has studied.

"Knowing he's a controversial figure, I knew he was going to say something," said King, adding that she sympathized with those who opposed his appearance. "I think there's a generation gap ... Just like your grandparents. You know they might say something a little crazy, but you're still going to love and respect and appreciate them."

John Coté is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. jcote@sfchronicle.com

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http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/03/10/BAA91NIPG9.DTL