group. While Farrakhan was well known in the black
community, he did not receive much national pub-
licity until 1984, when he endorsed Jesse Jackson for
president. Members of the Nation of Islam were en-
couraged to support Jackson’s presidential bid, thus
ending the organization’s policy of noninvolvement
in American politics. Subsequently, Farrakhan re-
ceived notoriety for racist and anti-Semitic state-
ments.
Despite Farrakhan’s controversial statements, he
and the Nation of Islam achieved a degree of legiti-
macy and acceptance because of the group’s em-
phasis on self-reliance and economic development
in the African American community. In 1994, a
Time/CNN poll of 504 African Americans showed
that 73 percent of the respondents knew who Louis
Farrakhan was, a figure higher than that of any Afri-
can American politician other than Jesse Jackson
and Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas. Fur-
thermore, two-thirds of the respondents viewed
Farrakhan favorably, and 67 percent considered him
to be an effective leader.
In 1995, Farrakhan reinforced this leadership
role by organizing the Million Man March on Wash-
ington, D.C. The march, which had widespread sup-
port in the African American community, brought
hundreds of thousands of black males to the U.S.
capital, where they heard messages emphasizing the
need for greater black self-reliance and responsibil-
ity. Following the march, there was an increase in
black voter registration, application for adoption of
African American babies, and involvement and
volunteerism by black men in their communities.
The Million Man March greatly enhanced
Farrakhan’s profile in both the black and white com-
munities. However, his movement toward the politi-
cal mainstream was curtailed by his World Friend-
ship tours of Africa and the Middle East in 1996 and
1997 when he visited places that were on the U.S.
State Department’s list of countries that approved
terrorism, including Iran, Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Su-
dan, and when he referred to the United States as
the “Great Satan.”
In the late 1990’s, Farrakhan was diagnosed with
prostate cancer. While he continued to lead the
Nation of Islam for several more years, he ceded his
position in September, 2006, because of the illness.
Impact While many of Louis Farrakhan’s view-
points were outside the political mainstream, he
achieved a degree of acceptance in the larger soci-
ety, especially after the Million Man March. How-
ever, some of his statements and actions hindered
his ability to gain broader national recognition as a
leader of the African American community.Further Reading
Alexander, Amy.The Farrakhan Factor: African Ameri-
can Writers on Leadership, Nationhood, and Minister
Louis Farrakhan.New York: Grove Press, 1998.
Gardell, Mattias.In the Name of Elijah Muhammad:
Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam. Durham,
N.C.: Duke University Press, 1996.
Magida, Arthur J.Prophet of Rage: A Life of Louis
Farrakhan and His Nation. New York: Basic Books,
1996.
William V. MooreSee also African Americans; Million Man March;
Race relations; Religion and spirituality in the
United States; Sharpton, Al.324 Farrakhan, Louis The Nineties in America
Louis Farrakhan addresses the Million Man March on October
16, 1995.(AP/Wide World Photos)