By George E. Curry

NNPA Columnist

After hearing Minister Louis Farrakhan roundly denounced by Black and Jewish leaders in 1984, purportedly for describing Judaism as a “gutter religion,” I called Farrakhan before writing a story for the Chicago Tribune. Farrakhan denied he had ever described Judaism as a gutter religion and offered up his life to anyone who could prove he had made such a comment. 

He provided me with an audio tape of the speech in question. Listening very closely, I realized that the Nation of Islam leader had called Judaism a “dirty religion,” not a gutter religion as had been widely reported. Of course, that didn’t make Jews feel any better. 

Still, if you’re going to attack someone, at least get the facts straight. And that’s exactly what NAACP President Benjamin Jealous failed to do before unfairly criticizing Shirley Sherrod, who was fired by Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack on the basis of a doctored tape of one of her speeches. Jealous didn’t merely join the parade of misinformed critics, he volunteered to serve as drum major. 

Before listening to Sherrod’s remarks or contacting her to see if reports about her speech were accurate, Jealous issued a strongly-worded statement denouncing Sherrod, the wife of legendary SNCC organizer Charles Sherrod. The statement was initially posted on the NAACP’s website, but later removed. However, I have a copy of the original statement because it was e-mailed to me and other journalists.

If Jealous had viewed the videotape of the speech before commenting, he wouldn’t have made such a fool of himself and the NAACP. When Jealous did get around to seeing the tape, he issued another statement on July 20 saying Sherrod had been “unfairly maligned.” He stated.

Wanna Read The Entire Story??? Well Call Us Today and Subscribe to the New Journal and Guide, 757-543-6531.