Corretta King Criticizes Farrakhan, Says Muslim Leader Has Hurt Civil Rights Cause
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WASHINGTON — Coretta Scott King Wednesday criticized Black Muslim leader Louis Farrakhan, saying he has hurt the cause of civil rights and intergroup relations.
King, widow of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., did praise Farrakhan’s “philosophy of self-help and self-improvement” as “something we can all agree on. That part of it is certainly good.”
But, in answer to a question after a speech at the National Press Club, she said: “Well, I would say Louis Farrakhan has hurt (the civil rights movement) in many ways. . . .
“When it comes to intergroup relations, it (Farrakhan’s rhetoric) has been extremely harmful, and I regret very much that this has been the case, because he is such a great orator and can be very influential.”
King was in Washington to outline plans for the first official observance of the holiday named after her late husband.
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