PITTSBURGH--Nationally syndicated radio host Bev Smith compares the Rev. Louis Farrakhan with Martin Luther King. Local Jewish leader David Ainsman likens him to a Nazi.
And those diverging views are creating quite a bit of controversy.
Rev. Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam, is scheduled to speak Friday night at a town hall meeting organized by Ms. Smith on the subject of "The Disappearing Black Community." He was originally going to appear along with U.S. Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., and civil rights leader Melanie Campbell.
Rev. Farrakhan's planned speech has drawn criticism from both local and national Jewish groups, including a column in the Pittsburgh-based Jewish Chronicle that called him "a rabid anti-Semite" and questioned why Ms. Smith would invite him to speak.
On Monday, Ms. Smith learned that Ms. Campbell, president and chief executive officer of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, would no longer be appearing at the event.
Ms. Smith said that Ms. Campbell's withdrawal came because funding on one of her organization's projects would be jeopardized if she shared a stage with Rev. Farrakhan. Ms. Campbell did not return a call for comment Monday afternoon.
In open letters to the community, as well as a Post-Gazette interview Monday, Ms. Smith expressed outrage at criticism of Rev. Farrakhan's speaking appearance from non-African Americans.
"Their suggestion for us to not have Minister Farrakhan at the table for this important discussion reminds me of what white slave owners used to do to their black slaves, and that is to tell the slaves how to meet, what to talk about and who to talk to," she said in a letter posted on the Pittsburgh Urban Media website.
Ms. Smith, who lives Downtown, said that it did not occur to her that there would be opposition to an appearance by Rev. Farrakhan, whom she praised for his empathy, integrity and involvement with the African-American community, as demonstrated by his organization of the 1995 Million Man March.
"Minister Farrakhan is the only leader other than the late Dr. Martin Luther King and the late Malcolm X who can call people together from all walks of life to talk about issues," she said in an interview Monday.
Ms. Smith did not defend or excuse any comments that Rev. Farrakhan has made about Jews, but neither did she see them as relevant to Friday night's town hall meeting.
"This is a conversation for and to African Americans," she said, noting that as a Christian she was willing to sit down and have a conversation with anyone, no matter how they may be perceived. "We're not talking about anti-Semitism. We do not tell the Jewish community who to talk to and we never have."
A spokeswoman for Mr. Clyburn said that he still planned to speak at the event.
"One of the beauties of America is that free speech is protected," he said in a statement. "Although I had no idea who all the participants in this program were until [Sunday], I look forward to an open and civil discussion at the forum this weekend."
To local and national Jewish groups, Rev. Farrakhan cannot be understood outside of his anti-Semitic comments. If anything, his rhetoric has grown more extreme in the last two years, said the Anti-Defamation League, noting that in a speech in October, for example, he referred to "Satanic Jews" and the "Synagogue of Satan."
Rev. Farrakhan's speeches are "as bad as anything that has come out of Nazi Germany," said Mr. Ainsman, chair of the community relations council of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh.
"I certainly do not want to judge her regarding her willingness to sit and talk with anybody, but I want to reiterate that we find Rev. Farrakhan to be a virulent anti-Semite," said Mr. Ainsman, who co-authored the column in The Jewish Chronicle. "I personally do not understand anyone's support of his other than those who would share his views."
Ms. Smith said that more than 500 people have already claimed tickets to the event at the August Wilson Center. Tickets for the event, which is now at capacity, were free, but could be requested ahead of time.
Mr. Ainsman said that he and other local Jewish leaders hoped to sit down and talk with Ms. Smith next week to ease some of the tension that has arisen over Rev. Farrakhan's visit.
"There's a clear disconnect between Bev Smith's perception and the perception of the Jewish community regarding Rev. Farrakhan," he said. "She's perceiving him as being someone who has a very positive impact on rebuilding the black community, and we perceive him to be a Jew hater. I think to make any progress resolving that disconnect, there needs to be respectful discussion."
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Posted By: Siebra Muhammad
Tuesday, March 8th 2011 at 1:14PM
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