Five Words: The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan

I wanted to get a transcript of the "State of the Black Union 2006: Economic Empowerment" so I could get the words of Minister Farrakhan. I see I will have to purchase the DVD from C-Span :p I searched for a news article that might give you a glimpse into the words of Farrakhan but I could only find watered down, misdirecting, out-of-context versions of the event here, here and here.

These versions of the event aside, Farrakhan's words are of major importance. I'm going to make an attempt to paraphrase it, We have attempted to work "inside the box" with this country. We have played by the rules of this country. We have also been burned by this country while playing by the rules.

Harry Belafonte was at this event and the honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan recalled a moment Belafonte had with Reverend Martin Luther King, a few weeks before his assassination, in which Mr. Belafonte had asked why King looked so "melancholy". King answered that he feared he was integrating his people into a burning house.

His fear was not unjustified. This house has been burning for 400 years. We can tell it is still burning because, as Barbara Jordan had said, we want "an America as good as its promise", but America's promise is worth very little.

America made promises to Native American’s and the only promise they kept was taking their land. They promised African-American’s 40 acre’s and a mule and they never gave us our land. They promised us the vote and yet they still held a million voters back in Florida in 2000 because former felons who have already repaid their debt to society are not allowed to vote. So this has been the land of unfulfilled promises.

An oppressed people have never been freed by their oppressors. The oppressed can only free themselves by reforming the system that oppresses them, or by destroying that system. We have already tried to reform the system and the system has failed us. The only choice we have is to remove this president, remove this government and replace it with something that works.

So that is as best as I can take from memory. I only give my rendition about 60 or 70% Mine is missing the religious overtone also. But I'm sure you understand what he's saying. The media will be afraid to say what's going on. Some will say it was a bush bashing rally, some will say it was an attempt for economic justice and some will say it was a black symposium.

It's more than that though.

It's a call to justice.
It's a call for movement
It's an enlightenment of what the leadership in this country is thinking
and doing
It's a call to tell others about what's going on
It's a call to uproot a tyrant

Then there is more than I can think of at the moment that I am sure others got out of it. Like Smiley said. You didn't get that even if you think you got it. It might be days, weeks and even months until some people understand what's was said.