Jackson: Williams' Firing Was "Wrong"
Politico reports:
The Rev. Jesse Jackson on Wednesday compared NPR’s firing of Juan Williams to the Agriculture Department’s firing of Shirley Sherrod.
“NPR was wrong because they did not afford him freedom of speech, ” Jackson said. “They did it in a way that was unfair. The context was he was arguing with Bill O’Reilly, saying why he should not be so virulently anti-Muslim … It reminded me so much of the case with Shirley Sherrod. They jumped so quick.”
The sacking of Williams last week has primarily drawn criticism from the right. As one of the nation’s most prominent African Americans, Jackson’s decision to weigh in so strongly adds a racial element to
the story.
“They’ve martyred Juan,” Jackson said, “taking him to another level both with his resources and his authority as a journalist.”
Jackson suggested that NPR’s decision seized on his comments about Muslims as “a pretext” that was primarily motivated by ideology.
“I think that some of this predisposition towards Fox was the reason for the gotcha,” Jackson said. “If they did not want his point of view, they should have said, ‘When your contract is over, you do not fit into our scheme of things.’ And then (he’d) go gracefully and with dignity. But to fire him in that way, and then to suggest he should see a psychiatrist, it was beneath the character and reputation of NPR.”
