Ellison Calls Farrakhan 'The Mistake In My Past'
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Minnesota Democratic Congressman Keith Ellison is once again expressing regret for his past association with Louis Farakhan and the Nation of Islam.
Ellison explained in a Star Tribune op-ed why he cut his ties many years ago to the Nation of Islam, which some say is anti-Semitic and homophobic.
It's a story that bogged Ellison's first Congressional campaign in 2006. Now he's running for Chair of the Democratic party.
Ellison was a Nation of Islam supporter 25 years ago as a young civil rights lawyer and organizer. He condemns the group now, and says he "should have listened more, and talked less."
Ellison helped organize the Minnesota contingent attending the 1995 Million Man March on Washington -- a nationwide African-American protest featuring Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, whom he publicly supported.
But the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups, lists Farrakhan's Nation of Islam as anti-Semitic, racist and anti-gay.
Ellison apologized to Minnesota Jewish leaders 10 years ago, when he first ran for Congress. Now: in an unusually candid op-ed called "The Mistake in my Past," he's denouncing the group again:
"These men organize by sowing hatred and division, including anti-Semitism, homophobia and a chauvinistic model of manhood," Ellison says in the piece. "I disavowed them long ago, condemned their views and apologized."
Ellison is in a hotly contested race for chair of the Democratic National Committee, and may resign his Minnesota Congressional seat so he can work at the party full-time.
One top Republican says it reflects Ellison's political ambitions, and that Democrats must decide if an apology is enough.
"We've known about that here in Minnesota for some time," Chris Fields of the Minnesota Republican party said. "He's never really apologized before, and so I think the timing is suspect."
Ellison declined our request for an interview.
While he's deciding whether to stay in Congress, local Democrats are getting ready to run for his seat. State senators Scott Dibble and Patricia Torres Ray say they're interested if Ellison quits.