House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is under fire for an editorial he wrote when he was a college student attending Binghamton University.
Jeffries defended his uncle, Black studies professor Leonard Jeffries, as well as Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, in the piece. CNN resurfaced the article on “The Lead with Jake Tapper” this week.
Leonard Jeffries was criticized for comments he made in the 1990s about the slave trade and the involvement of “rich Jews.” He also said “a conspiracy, planned and plotted and programmed out of Hollywood” by Jewish movie executives was to blame for disparaging Black people in films. Farrakhan in the past called Judiasim “dirty religion.”
Leonard Jeffries was condemned by New York City Mayor David Dinkins, New York Gov. Mario Cuomo and the Anti-Defamation League for his comments. After a legal battle, the professor left his position at the City University of New York in 1995.
After the men received backlash for their comments, Jeffries defended his uncle and Farrakhan with an article written in 1992 condemning Black conservatives, white supremacy and the Ku Klux Klan.
“Dr. Leonard Jeffries and Minister Louis Farrakhan have come under intense fire,” wrote Jeffries. “Where do you think their interests lie? Dr. Jeffries has challenged the existing white supremacist educational system and long-standing distortion of history. His reward has been a media lynching complete with character assassinations and inflammatory erroneous accusations.”
Hakeem Jeffries also compared Black conservatives to “House Negroes.”
“The House Negroes didn’t labor in the field, they were domestic servants. The House Negro was dressed up and led to believe that he or she was better than those in the field. Most importantly, the House Negro sought to emulate the white master,” he wrote. “The House Negro of the slavery era and the Black conservative of today are both opportunists…
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