The new Fox ‘Soul’ network has announced that it will air Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan’s “Message to America” on a special July 4th program, despite his history of racism, antisemitism, and homophobia.
Farrakhan’s history of hateful rhetoric is well-documented. In 2018, he compared Jews to termites. That same year, he drew criticism for defending the use of the phrase “death to America” during a conversation with students in Iran.
The main FOX network launched Fox Soul in January in an effort to reach African American audiences — and to reach beyond the conservative branding of Fox News. Fox Soul offers four hours of streaming programing daily.
Former New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D), founder of Americans Against Antisemitism, made an impassioned plea on Twitter on Sunday for Fox Soul to cancel the program.
The advertisement (above) for Fox Soul’s special Farrakhan broadcast includes a link to the Nation of Islam’s website.
The website (link not provided) is billing Farrakhan’s appearance as The Criterion: Announcement to the World. The website also includes links to purchase the Nation of Islam’s antisemitic trilogy, The Secret Relationship Between Blacks and Jews.
The Nation of Islam has had controversial relationships with the anti-Trump “Women’s March,” and provided security for the recent funeral of George Floyd.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). His new book, RED NOVEMBER, is available for pre-order. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.