NPR Shilling For Farrakhan?

How low can NPR go?

While I do love how the “Minister” was speaking at a “civil rights conference,” the real surprise comes at the end of NPR’s story:

Farrakhan has over the years denied claims of anti-Semitism, arguing his remarks are often taken out of context and that criticism of Jews in any light automatically earns the “anti-Semite” label. The Nation of Islam has espoused black nationalism and self-reliance since it was founded in the 1930s, though in recent years it has included other groups, including Latinos and immigrants.

Ah yes, poor Farrakhan, the author of  “The Secret Relationship Between Blacks and Jews,”  is always being taken out of context. But what I didn’t know is that the Nation of Islam has opened its doors to “Latinos and immigrants.”

First, assuming these Latinos aren’t black (Latino is not a racial category) what does this do to NOI theology? Do they teach them to believe all that stuff about Yacub too?

More important, what exactly does “Latinos and immigrants” mean? Of course, I understand that there are many other kinds of immigrants than Latinos. But does NPR? I mean are these Asian immigrants? European immigrants? Gay immigrants? Jewish immigrants? Why not tell us? Or is “and immigrants”  a sort of liberal auto-fill term thrown in to flesh out the sentence? Or is it something the Nation tells reporters who then accept it uncritically?

The NOI is a historically racist, anti-Semitic, organization. It’s news that it is opening its doors to non-blacks — if that is what is happening. But ” and immigrants” sheds no light on the news, it merely conceals it behind boilerplate.