Who is Louis Farrakhan? Nation of Islam leader compares coronavirus vaccine to 'free shot of toxic waste'
The coronavirus vaccine has rolled out in the US. However, not everyone seemed hopeful about it. Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, during a speech, discouraged viewers from getting the coronavirus vaccine and alleged that it is "a free shot of toxic waste".
Addressing viewers at a virtual event for the National Afrikan/Black Leadership Summit, Farrakhan shared that Black people are “the most prone to the Covid virus," while also comparing the vaccine to harmful water in Flint, according to a Fox News report.
“We are so frightened over this Covid-19, now they're getting us ready for this vaccine. Do you believe satan is concerned about vaccinating you? You trust him? After all he has done to destroy us? How could you allow him to stick a needle into you, saying he's helping you?”
He further alleged, “Those of you who are health professionals, they want you to take it first. You notice they're offering you money now? This devil…offers you $1,000 or $1,500 to take a shot. They give you free shots of toxic waste,” he said, according to a report by Daily Mail.
Surgeon General Jerome Adams said on Monday, December 14, as quoted by Daily Mail: “We know that lack of trust is a major cause for reluctance, especially in communities of color. And that lack of trust is not without good reason, as the Tuskegee studies occurred in our lifetimes.”
Adams, who is Black, added: “To encourage diverse enrollment in clinical trials, we must first acknowledge this real history of mistreatment and exploitation of minorities by the medical community and the government.” The report also states on Tuesday, December 15, that Dr Anthony Fauci admitted: “People, understandably, are skeptical about the speed, but we have to keep emphasizing speed means the science was extraordinary that got us here.”
Who is Louis Farrakhan?
According to The New York Times, he was born in New York in 1933. Farrakhan joined the Nation of Islam in the mid-1950s and became prominent quickly within the organization, becoming close to Malcolm X. After the assassination of Malcolm X in 1965, he became one of the most powerful members of the Nation and its chief spokesman, the position that Malcolm X had held.
Brittanica mentions that Farrakhan attended Winston-Salem Teachers College, but dropped out after three years to pursue a career in music. He performed on the Boston nightclub circuit and was known as "The Charmer". A CNN report states that he wrote two plays, ‘The Trial’ and ‘Orgena’. In 1953, he married Khadijah and they have nine children. He often blamed the US government for conspiring to destroy Black people with AIDS and addictive drugs, according to Brittanica.
He came into the political spotlight after extending support to Jesse Jackson's bid for the presidency, according to AJC. He co-organized the Million Man March in 1995. It was one of the largest demonstrations in Washington. The Million Man March featured 12 hours of speeches directed at Black men to promote self-improvement and encouraged them to take responsibility for their families and communities.
In 2018, he was back in the headlines for an anti-Semitic speech at his organization’s annual convention. As NYT mentions, he said that the “powerful Jews” were his enemies and that Jews were “responsible for all of this filth and degenerate behavior that Hollywood is putting out turning men into women and women into men.”
That same year, a photo of Farrakhan and Barack Obama had been published by the Trice Edney News Wire. As stated in NYT, the News Wire reported that the picture had been taken by the photojournalist Askia Muhammad during a 2005 meeting of the Congressional Black Caucus. It was alleged that Muhammad kept the photo under wraps so as to not hurt Obama’s candidacy.
Katie Hill, a spokeswoman for Obama, at that time had said: “President Obama has denounced racism and anti-Semitism his entire life. That includes his public and repeated repudiations of Louis Farrakhan’s views over the years. Today is no different — he still rejects the harmful and divisive views Farrakhan continues to espouse.”
These remarks were made by third-person and individual organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently nor does it support these claims. The respective references are linked in the article.