Monday, October 17, 2005
Louis Farrakhan: Sue U.S. for Criminal Neglect
Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan told tens of thousands of followers gathered on Washington, D.C.'s mall yesterday that black people should unite and file a class action lawsuit for the "criminal neglect" perpetrated by the U.S. government during the Hurricane Katrina disaster.
Noting that the four hurricanes that struck Florida last year didn't result in anything like the 1,000-plus storm deaths in New Orleans, Farrakhan asked the crowd at his Millions More March: "What happened to the federal government's response to the suffering victims of Katrina?"
"I believe that we can charge the government with criminal neglect of the people of New Orleans," the firebrand black leader said.
"I believe that if we can't sue the federal government, we need to look into it - we can sue Homeland Security and FEMA for criminal neglect. I think we need to look into a class action suit on behalf of the citizens of New Orleans who have lost everything."
Farrakhan urged people of color in America to form their own quasi-governmental ministries to see that their needs are addressed, and reiterated his call for slavery reparations to make amends for the U.S.'s "wickedness."
"We want America to acknowledge her wickedness to the indigenous peoples of this hemisphere. Acknowledge the wickedness of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade. Acknowledge what you did in robbing our fathers of their names, their language, their culture, their religion, their God and turning them upside down and inside out."
He said African-Americans shouldn't pay taxes unless they're treated more justly by the government, explaining:
"If you're going to take our tax dollars then we demand of you the same justice that you give white people. We demand it, we deserve it - or we shut it down."
Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan told tens of thousands of followers gathered on Washington, D.C.'s mall yesterday that black people should unite and file a class action lawsuit for the "criminal neglect" perpetrated by the U.S. government during the Hurricane Katrina disaster.
Noting that the four hurricanes that struck Florida last year didn't result in anything like the 1,000-plus storm deaths in New Orleans, Farrakhan asked the crowd at his Millions More March: "What happened to the federal government's response to the suffering victims of Katrina?"
"I believe that we can charge the government with criminal neglect of the people of New Orleans," the firebrand black leader said.
"I believe that if we can't sue the federal government, we need to look into it - we can sue Homeland Security and FEMA for criminal neglect. I think we need to look into a class action suit on behalf of the citizens of New Orleans who have lost everything."
Farrakhan urged people of color in America to form their own quasi-governmental ministries to see that their needs are addressed, and reiterated his call for slavery reparations to make amends for the U.S.'s "wickedness."
"We want America to acknowledge her wickedness to the indigenous peoples of this hemisphere. Acknowledge the wickedness of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade. Acknowledge what you did in robbing our fathers of their names, their language, their culture, their religion, their God and turning them upside down and inside out."
He said African-Americans shouldn't pay taxes unless they're treated more justly by the government, explaining:
"If you're going to take our tax dollars then we demand of you the same justice that you give white people. We demand it, we deserve it - or we shut it down."
