Nation of Islam, ‘Alt-Right’ Find Common Ground — Over Racial Separation

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By Sam Kestenbaum November 20, 2017

The Nation of Islam and white nationalists in the “alt-right” have been finding common ground in recent weeks — bonding over their dreams of racial separation.

Last month, NOI leader Louis Farrakhan tweeted: “Black People: We should be more convinced that it is time for us to separate and build a nation of our own.” Farrakhan’s sentiment was retweeted by a number of white nationalist Internet figures like Richard Spencer, Mike Enoch, and the American Renaissance site.

A new Anti-Defamation League blog post explores what may seem like an unlikely alliance — but is in fact very natural.

Farrakhan’s brand of black nationalism and Spencer’s white nationalism have “considerable” overlap in terms of ideology, the ADL wrote: both are “virulently anti-Semitic and call for separate ethno-states.”

Farrakhan responded to the alt-right a couple days later at a speech in New Jersey. He called the movement “white people of intelligence.”

“Do you know white people of intelligence feel the same way? Somebody told me that the ‘alt-right,’ Mr. Trump’s people, had a tweet or something – we kinda like what Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam is saying, we with them to separate in a land of their own. I said: very good, alt-right, ya’ll want to talk about it? Talking has been done, nothing to talk about because now it’s either separation or death.”

Email Sam Kestenbaum at kestenbaum@forward.com and follow him on Twitter at @skestenbaum

Sam Kestenbaum is a contributing editor and former staff writer for the Forward. Before this, he worked for The New York Times and newsrooms in Sana, Ramallah and Beijing. Contact him at kestenbaum@forward.com and follow him on Twitter at @skestenbaum and on Instagram at @skestenbaum.

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