Minister Louis Farrakhan, Jeremiah A. Wright and Pres. Elect Barack H. Obama will forever be linked.

Rev. Jeremiah Wright and The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan embrace as Haki Mahdubuti looks on at the Legacy Awards ceremony.

(Photo: Rashid Muhammad)

At the Legacy Awards ceremony held last night by the Institute of the Black World at the State of the Black World II Conference, among those honored were The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan and Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright.

To see both men sitting on the stage together was gratifying and for many of those in attendance, probably surreal. You heard so much about both men during the election cycle as the right wing media tried to use both men to hurt the presidential campaign of Barack H. Obama.

Minister Farrakhan has been demonized by the controlled media for nearly three decades, and Jeremiah Wright got a serious dose of the media's manipulation during this presidential campaign.

These three men will forever be linked when this particular period in the history of Black people is told to future generations. As you know, Pres. Elect Obama had to denounce and reject and repudiate them both but despite that, they are standing strong.

After graciously thanking many of those joining him on the stage, Rev. Wright turned to Minister Farrakhan and delivered special words of thanks and appreciation on behalf of Black people.

“One of many things that the media got angry about back in April is that I would not let them tell me who my friends were, and because the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan is a friend of mine,” said Rev. Wright adding that during the controversy, the Fruit of Islam provided security for him others Nation of Islam members, specifically Jamil Muhammad and Akbar Muhammad stood in support of him.

“And while they were using me as the whipping boy, they were waiting on him (Farrakhan) to say anything. Anything. He held his peace in order that Barack might be our president. My brother, we owe a debt of gratitude that we can never repay.”

The two men then stood, embraced as the crowd of about 400 cheered wildly. Rev. Wright went further into his thoughts and feelings about the presidential election and Barack H. Obama's historic victory in an exclusive interview that I conducted with him shortly after the awards ceremony.

Others present and receiving awards were revolutionary poet Sonia Sanchez, publisher and author Susan Taylor, Haki Mahdubuti, Dr. Maulauna Karenga, activist Willie "Mukasa" Ricks and Dr. Adelaide Sanford.