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INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In th e unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. 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Other _________________________________________________________________________ University Microfilms International THE RHETORIC OF MINISTER LOUIS FARRAKHAN A PLURALISTIC APPROACH DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Philosophy in the Graduate School of the Ohio State University By Claudette McFadden Preston, B.A., M.A. The Ohio State University 1986 Dissertation Commitee: Approved by William R. Brown Frank W. Hale / Adviser / Linda B. Myers Department of Communication Thomas W. Milburn ©1987 CLAUDETTE MCFADDEN-PRESTON All Rights Reserved For The Children i i j . ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My sincere gratitude goes to my adviser, Dr. John J. Makay, for his advice, encouragement, and his constant friendship. To my first speech teacher and now colleague, Dr. Lucia S. Hawthorne, I offer a special and genuine thanks for her many years of support, encouragement and friendship. My thanks goes to all the members of the Nation of Islam who supported my research over its 5 years duration. A special word of appreciation goes to the many Muslim men and women I met and learned from at Muhammad's Holy Mosque of Islam No. 6 in Baltimore, Maryland. Particular appreciation goes to my family whose patience and understanding was always needed and ever-present. I express warm thanks to Mrs. Betsey Edwards who welcomed me into her home and her heart in the summers of 1985 and 1986. To my typist, Sister Patricia X (Webb), I am fover thankful for her sp irit and her sense of humor. Thank you Brother Vibert Muhammad. Finally, I wish to thank my husband Arland, for support and love he brought to this endeavor. This work would never been possible if it were not for the Will of God. I give Praise and thank Him. i i i VITA January 3, 1951 .......................................................Born - Baltimore, Maryland 1973 .................................................................................. B.A., Morgan State College, Baltimore, Maryland 1974 ............................................................................... M.A., Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1974-1979 ..................................................................... Faculty, Morgan State College, Baltimore, Maryland 1979-1981 .................................................................... Teaching Associate, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1981-Present .............................................................. Faculty, Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Rhetoric and Public Address iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION...................................................................................................................ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. iii VITA.................................................................................................................................iv INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND ........................................................................... 9 CHAPTER ONE Overview.....................................................................................................10 CHAPTER TWO The Method .................................................................................................37 CHAPTER THREE The Rhetorical Situation/The Black Experience . 70 CHAPTER FOUR Exigence/A Need to Re-educate Blacks .................................. 95 CHAPTER FIVE Farrakhan's Audience Images ................................................... 129 CHAPTER SIX Primary Constriants Farrakhan Faces ................................. 172 CHAPTER SEVEN Summary and Conclusions ............................................................. 215 BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................................................................................................... 232 v CHAPTER I Introduction The appearance of Louis Farrakhan at Madison Square Garden on October 7, (1985) demonstrated, without doubt that he is now America's preeminent black leader. Benjamin Hooks of the N.A.A.C.P. could not have filled the Garden. There would not have been people standing against the walls on every level of the arena to hear John Jacob of the National Urban League. Jesse Jackson might just have filled the Garden. But Farrakhan filled not only the 20,000 - plus seats, he also drew another 3,000 to 5,000 people to watch the whole event on closed circuit television in the Felt Forum next door.l It is unlikely that the above assessment of Louis Farrakhan as America's "preeminent black leader" will go unnoticed. Indeed, i t is probably safe to say that at the top of the l i s t of persons paying close attention are Reverends Benjamin Hooks, John Jacob, and Jesse Jackson. Moreover, if i t is true that Farrakhan is the foremost black leader in America today - and it appears that for at least 25,000 blacks he might just be - than his discourse demands the attention of 2 the rhetorical scholar. In America today the name, Louis Farrakhan, is centered in controversy. Some of his public statements have created a furor from one end of the country to the other. The manner and style in which he delivers his rhetoric has itse lf become a source of concern for both white and black Americans. The men and women who represent Farrakhan's support base via the organization he speaks for, the Nation of Islam, are likewise considered controversial. Public officials who have refused to issue official protests against Farrakhan's rhetoric have 3 become controversial as well. As America's "preeminent" Black leader Louis Farrakhan is a man with a rhetoric that makes positions of disinterest and neutrality virtually impossible. An historical account of the black man's and woman's sojourn in America will quickly reveal the significant and, moveover, dominant role of the black preacher in the ongoing struggle for justice in the 4 United States. Few persons can be found countering the claim that the black clergy has historically been at the vanguard of his people's strivings for freedom and equality. Even at times in the liberation struggle where spokespersons were not a part of the clergy, these blacks could s till be heard publicly expressing their "special" 5 6 relationship with God. Blacks such as David Walker, Nat Turner, and 7 Sojourner Truth are three such persons. When the author of the opening evaluation, Julius Lester, points to Louis Farrakhan as America's preeminent black leader, he identifies yet another black preacher. When, however, one compares black religious figures at the forefront of black leadership - past and present - it seems that Minister Louis Farrakhan is in the class by himself. Louis Farrakhan was born on May 11, 1933, in New York City. His West Indian