Louis Farrakhan's Grand Rapids visit brings attention to the case of Edward Pinkney
by Troy Reimink | The Grand Rapids Press Tuesday June 09, 2009, 2:53 PM
Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan briefly was in Grand Rapids today to support Edward Pinkney, a Benton Harbor minister who last year was sent to prison for threatening a judge.
Pinkney, a well-known activist with the Black Autonomy Network Community Organization who came to prominence following the 2003 Benton Harbor uprising, was appealing his case at the State Court of Appeals in Grand Rapids.
It's the latest development in a complex and compelling story that has largely stayed under West Michigan's radar.
In 2005, Pinkney led a successful recall effort to unseat city council member Glenn Yarbough, whom he alleged was conspiring with Whirlpool, Benton Harbor's largest employer, to snatch up land for development. The city's newspaper, however, says the stated reason for the recall petition at the time was Yarbough's support for the city's police chief.
In any case, Pinkney was later charged with election fraud for paying off voters, and the recall was overturned. His supporters claim he was framed.
There exists a documentary titled "What's Going on in Benton Harbor?: The Trial of Reverend Pinkney" produced by supporters further examining the case.
Here's Pinkney speaking on his own behalf at a rally:
His trial in 2006 resulted in a hung jury. A new trial in 2007 resulted in felony convictions on four counts by an all-white jury. (Benton Harbor is more than 90 percent black, while Berrien County, in which the city is located, is about 82 percent white. Neighboring St. Joseph is predominantly white.)
Pinkney avoided jail (at first) but was put on probation and placed under house arrest. Doing himself no favors, he published an editorial in the Chicago People's Tribune later in 2007 that began by describing Alfred Butzbaugh, the judge who presided over his case, as a racist and ended with apocalyptic bluster: "Judge Butzbaugh, it shall come to pass; if thou continue not to hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God to observe to do all that is right; which I command thee this day, that all these Curses shall come upon you and your family, curses shalt be in the City of St. Joseph and Cursed shalt thou be in the field, cursed shall come upon you and your family and over take thee; cursed shall be the fruit of thy body. The Lord shall smite thee with consumption and with a fever and with an inflammation and with extreme burning. They the demons shall Pursue thee until thou persist."The language Pinkney employed (paraphrased from the Book of Deuteronomy) was deemed threatening, a violation of his probation, and in June of last year, another Berrien County judge, Dennis Wiley, sent Pinkney to jail for three to 10 years.
While in jail, Pinkney ran for Congress as a Green Party candidate.
Later, the American Civil Liberties Union took up his case, stating the imprisonment violated Pinkney's rights to free speech, offensive or not. The ACLU negotiated Pinkney's release pending appeal, but he remains under house arrest.
Whew. Racial tension, allegations of political corruption, election tampering, ACLU, Old Testament fire and brimstone ... and we haven't even gotten to Louis Farrakhan yet.
The controversial leader spoke at a rally Friday night in Benton Harbor, where he decried the deficiency of human rights in that city and others with mostly black populations.
It's unclear what, if anything, Farrakhan did in the courtroom today. Rushed from the building and surrounded by his security entourage, he made no public statement, but still managed to drum up some warranted attention to a case free-speech watchers (and advocates for social justice and ... well, basically everyone) should follow closely.
E-mail Troy Reimink: treimink@grpress.com
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