Louis Farrakhan (born Louis Eugene Walcott; May 11, 1933)
is the National Representative of the Nation of Islam
His mother, Sarah Mae Manning,emigrated from Saint Kitts
and Nevis in the 1920s; his father, Percival Clarke,
was a Jamaican.

As a child, he received training as a violinist.
At the age of six, he was given his first violin and
by the age of thirteen, he had played with the Boston
College Orchestra and the Boston Civic Symphony. A year
later, he went on to win national competitions, and was one
of the first black performers to appear on Ted Mack Original
Amateur Hour, where he also won an award.

Farrakhan has been both widely praised and criticized for
his often controversial political views and rhetorical
style. In 1996, he was awarded the Al-Gaddafi International
Prize for Human Rights founded by Libya's de facto leader
Muammar al-Gaddafi.

On Saviours' Day in 2000, Farrakhan brought the Nation
of Islam closer to mainstream Islam, stating that: "Allah
sent Mohammed with the final revelation to the world. ... There
is no prophet after the Prophet Mohammed, and no book after the Koran."

Praise for Barack Obama
Farrakhan said the Iraq War, the nation's faltering economy and the increased number of natural disasters were signs of "a nation in peril." He said those problems provide the broader context for then-Senator Barack Obama's popularity.[16][17]
In response to Farrakhan's remarks, the Obama campaign
promptly released a response distancing himself from the
minister. "Senator Obama has been clear in his objections
to Minister Farrakhan's past pronouncements and has not
solicited the minister's support," said Obama spokesman
Bill Burton. Obama himself "rejected and denounced"
Farrakhan's support in an NBC debate.

Farrakhan subsequently denied his comments constituted
an endorsement, saying he would not tell any one of his
followers how to cast their vote, but that they should vote
"their own self-interest

Following the 2008 presidential election, Farrakhan explained
during a BET television interview, that he was "careful" to never
endorse Obama during his campaign. "I talked about him — but, in very
beautiful and glowing terms, stopping short of endorsing him.
And unfortunately, or fortunately, however we look at it, the media said I 'endorsed' him

After a 60 Minutes interview which aired on May 14, 2000,
CBS News said that Farrakhan's "incendiary rhetoric played
a role in the 1965 assassination of civil rights leader
Malcolm X." [45]
On May 20, 2000, Farrakhan publicly rejected CBS News'
characterization of the interview stating, "It appears
that the aim of 60 Minutes, CBS and Mike Wallace was to
make the American public believe that I, Louis Farrakhan,
ordered the assassination of Malcolm X. It in no way
reflected the spirit of Miss Shabazz and myself and
our attempt to continue the path of reconciliation
started by Dr. Betty Shabazz and me in 1994 and 1995

Louis Farrakhan talks about his relationship with the
late Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson's relationship with Minister Louis
Farrakhan – a friendship that endured for more than two decades.

Minister Farrakhan spoke of counseling the pop
superstar during a deep depression. Jackson often told
Farrakhan that he had never had a childhood.
"When he met with Shirley Temple Black, they both sat
down and cried together, because Shirley Temple Black
was a childhood star that I remember as a little boy and
you know, when you're gifted like that, you don't have a
childhood," Farrakhan said.

With tears in his eyes the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan,
the leader of the Nation of Islam in the United States of America,
said Michael Jackson was his brother whom he knew well as a fighter
who wanted to regain his own position from what he described as a wicked propaganda campaign leveled against him for so long.

"I told Michael, don't be angry with your father," Farrakhan
said, "because even though you didn't have pillow fights and
sleepovers, those who had pillow fights and had sleepovers –
they're the ones buying your records and they're the ones
coming to see you. You had a purpose for your life."
Minister Farrakhan also spoke of how Jackson transformed
the pain he felt into creative genius. He said Jackson was
born into this world for a purpose, one greater than his music.
He added that there was an irony in the words the singer chose
for his final tour – "This Is It."

Michael had touched the hearts of people all over the
world," Farrakhan said. "Michael touched the hearts of
every race, every culture, every ethnic group, every tribe."
Minister Farrakhan also spoke of a lecture the singer
gave at Oxford University in England, which showed he
was coming to terms with the relationship he had with his father.


In his speech, Jackson spoke of seeing his father's
harshness as love, honoring his dad and no longer judging
him for things he'd done in the past.
Jackson had several ties to the Nation of Islam.
He used Nation bodyguards during his prosecution charges.
Also, at one time his brother Jermaine Jackson, who converted
to Islam in 1989, had predicted that Michael Jackson
would follow suit.