A live radio broadcast from Pittsburgh featuring controversial Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan will go on as scheduled Friday, despite the withdrawal of a key panel member, the organizer said.
Host Bev Smith blamed Jewish and white Christian organizations for the decision of Melanie Campbell, CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, to withdraw from the program that includes Farrakhan and U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, a South Carolina Democrat. One group Smith cited denied any involvement.
Campbell told organizers she feared she would lose funding if she appeared with Farrakhan, said Smith, a nationally syndicated radio talk show host. Smith worked with Farrakhan during his Million Man March in Washington in 1995.
Farrakhan, 77, of Chicago, took his campaign of anti-Semitism to new levels over the past two years, said Oren Segal, director of the Anti-Defamation League's Center on Extremism in New York.
"The problem is, he still attracts thousands of people to these events," Segal said. "Anytime messages of hate are heard like that, it's a concern."
Campbell is a Washington-based national civil rights leader who works on youth leadership programs, grassroots organizing and issues affecting women and girls. She could not be reached.
"One of the beauties of America is that free speech is protected," said Clyburn, the third-ranking Democrat in the House. "Although I had no idea who all the participants in this program were until yesterday, I look forward to an open and civil discussion at the forum. I will be representing my views and will not hesitate to express and defend my convictions, which are grounded in the Judeo-Christian doctrines I practice."
The radio broadcast is the second in a series of programs about challenges facing predominantly black communities. It will air live at 7 p.m. in Pittsburgh on WGBN 1150 AM and on the station's Website.
Smith, who lives downtown, titled the town hall-style meeting "The Disappearing Black Community and How We Can Get it Back." The center gave away tickets to fill the 486-seat auditorium and an overflow room.
"It's un-Christianlike not to talk to other people," Smith said. "My pain is that she had to be forced into this."
Smith said the Jewish Chronicle, a Pittsburgh publication, and Christian Associates of Southwest Pennsylvania were among those opposed to her program.
The Jewish Chronicle, which has called Farrakhan a "rabid anti-Semite," spoke against his appearance in a recent editorial. Chronicle Executive Editor Lee Chottiner declined to comment.
Source: Pittburgh Tribune
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