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‘Sickening’: Hakeem Jeffries in hot water for defending antisemite uncle in resurfaced editorial

Hakeem Jeffries claimed Dr Leonard Jeffries and Louis Farrakhan were ‘unfairly targeted’ by 'White media'

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK: Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries recently landed in hot waters after a controversial 1992 op-ed written by him during his college days was unearthed by CNN KFile nearly 30 years after its original publication. In the article, Jeffries reportedly defended his uncle, Black studies professor Leonard Jeffries, who faced criticism in the 1990s over his comments about the Jews.

“Dr. Leonard Jeffries and Minister Louis Farrakhan have come under intense fire. Where do you think their interests lie? Dr. Jeffries has challenged the existing white supremist [sic] educational system and long standing distortion of history. His reward has been a media lynching complete with character assassinations and inflammatory erroneous accusations,” Jeffries wrote about Dr Leonard and Nation of Islam Leader Louis Farrakhan in February 1992 for The Vanguard, the Black Student Union (BSU) student newspaper.

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Hakeem Jeffries claimed Dr Leonard Jeffries was ‘unfairly targeted’ by media

In his 1992 article titled ‘The Black Conservative Phenomenon,’ Jeffries defended Dr Leonard and Minister Farrakhan by claiming that they were unfairly targeted by “White media” for challenging “the longstanding distortion of history,” CNN reported. The editorial came after Dr Leonard faced immense backlash for his remarks about the involvement of “rich Jews” in the African slave trade. The professor also accused Jewish executives of launching “a conspiracy, planned and plotted and programmed out of Hollywood” to denigrate Black Americans in films, the publication noted.

He said that Jews were like “skunks” and “stunk up everything,” The New York Times noted from a 1994 Associated Press report. The Anti-Defamation League also quoted Dr Leonard saying, “The evil genius of the Jewish community was to put together their powers to make business their religion and make it part of their culture.” Similar to Dr Leonard, Farrakhan also shared controversial remarks about Jews. He even praised Adolf Hitler in the 1980s as a “great man” and called Judaism a “dirty religion,” the SPCL reported.

Further chaos ensued after BSU invited Dr Leonard to speak at the campus in the wake of the controversies. However, the younger Jeffries, who was a student at Binghamton University at the time, and BSU, reportedly held a press conference to defend the move at the time, the Daily Mail reported. “We have no intention of canceling a presentation that contains factual information, proven through scholarly documents and texts,” Jeffries allegedly said at the time.

The publication also noted that local media reports suggested Dr Leonard defended himself against anti-semitism accusations during his speech but reiterated his statement about ‘anti-black’ Jewish executives in Hollywood. He allegedly compared Jewish opposition to his speech to Nazism saying, “It's ironic that members of the Jewish community felt compelled to take a position that is antidemocratic and… pro-Nazi in its viciousness.”

Speaking about his controversial comments, the educator said “he did not remember it” but added, “Isn't there free speech in America?” Dr Leonard Jeffries was largely condemned by Gov Mario Cuomo and Mayor David Dinkin at the time and eventually stepped down from his position as chair of the Black Studies Department at City University of New York in 1995, as per The New York Times.

‘Their political agenda is not designed to contribute to the upliftment of their people’

Hakeem Jeffries largely criticized Black conservatives and capitalism in his 1992 editorial. He began his article by saying that the “rise of the Black conservative” would threaten to “sustain the oppression of the Black masses,” in reference to the confirmation of Justice Clarence Thomas. The Congressman also compared Black conservatives to “House n*****s” in his article. “During the period of African enslavement, our ancestors were given the duality of the Field N**** and the House N****. The Field N**** labored from dawn 'till dusk, had nothing but contempt for his white master, and most importantly, the majority of Black slaves, who were Field N*****s. In contemporary terms, what we would refer to as ‘the masses,’” Jeffries wrote.

“The House N*****s didn't labor in the field, they were domestic servants. The House N**** was dressed up and was led to believe that he or she was better than those in the field. Most importantly, the House N**** sought to emulate the white master. This emulation was not designed with the interests of the masses at heart. Rather, the motivating force was personal gain,” he added. Jeffries continued, “Perhaps this is the problem with the Black conservative politician of today. Their political agenda is not designed to contribute to the upliftment of their people. These right-wing opportunists espouse the political ideology of the power structure and, in return, they are elevated to positions historically reserved for whites.”

He also questioned the media for building up African-Americans like Justice Thomas, former Sec. of State Colin Powell, and author Shelby Steele and suggested that people like Dr Leonard and Farrakhan were better representatives of Black interests, the Daily Mail reported. “Do you think that a ruling elite would promote individuals who would seek to dismantle their vice like grip on power?” Jeffries asked. The Democrat claimed that conservatism does not represent Black people because it stands against the “redistribution of wealth.” He wrote, “Conservative political thought rejects the redistribution of wealth. Conservative political thought shuns social reforms and favors a huge defense industry. Conservative political thought does not advocate Civil Rights advances.”

Jeffries also attacked capitalism in his article and said, “The black conservative buys into the idea of the American dream, the dream in which hard work and perseverance eventually liberate and reap benefits. However, this totally ignores the economic reality of this country's capitalist system. Capitalism necessitates the perpetuation of a permanent underclass.”

‘Shows his real self’

As Jeffries’ 1992 article made the rounds online, the internet reacted to the editorial and called out the Democratic leader for his past views. “Sickening and disgusting,” one user wrote. “Shows his real self,” another commented. “Jeffries is a biased, racist. socialist who doesn't belong in government,” a third user added. “Hakeem Jeffries is a race baiter always playing the race card. very sad,” one claimed. Another said, “Jeffries is a traitor to not only this Republic but his own people too!” while one mentioned, “I'm not shocked or surprised.”

What did Hakeem Jeffries say about his uncle's controversies?

Shortly after being elected to Congress, Jeffries told The Wall Street Journal in 2013 that he only had a “vague recollection” of the controversies surrounding his uncle as he was away and busy with college. He also said that he remembered the phase as a “tough time” for his father and claimed that his mother tried to shield him and his brother from the situation.

“And so when a lot of the controversy took place and my brother and I were away at school. There was no Internet during that era and I can't even recall a daily newspaper in the Binghamton, NY, area but it wasn't covering the things that the New York Post and Daily News were at the time,” Jeffries said. Another WSJ story noted that Jeffries did not even follow his uncle's most controversial speeches.

Following the recent emergence of his 1992 editorial, Jeffries' office said that the Congressman always focused on “bringing communities together” and did not share his uncle’s views from three decades ago, “Leader Jeffries has consistently been clear that he does not share the controversial views espoused by his uncle over thirty years ago,” spokesperson Christiana Stephenson told CNN in a statement.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.