Cultural insensitivity

In a June 11 letter to PAW, criticizing an article about Randall Kennedy ’77, the Rev. George A. Bates ’76 cites other individuals who in his mind better exemplify “courage and compassion” and stand up for “truth.” If Rev. Bates is interested in truth, two of the people he cites, Louis Farrakhan and Lenora Fulani, are individuals who have made numerous hateful and disparaging remarks about Judaism and the Jewish community. For the Rev. Bates to cite these individuals in the same list as Martin Luther King Jr., Nicholas Katzenbach ’43, and Medgar Evers is to lack any understanding of historical perspective and shows a significant lack of cultural sensitivity. Rev. Bates accuses Kennedy of running interference for the right-wing conservative agenda. If Rev. Bates cites Farrakhan and Fulani in an approving manner, who is he running interference for?