We are fortunate to have had three great leaders in the 20th century — each a man of color, each a man having no conventional power, each a man of peace. First, Mohandas Gandhi, then Martin Luther King Jr. and finally Nelson Mandela. Each taught us that change, change which is significant and lasting, is possible without violence.
Now we have the misfortune of Louis Farrakhan castigating black leaders for trying to "pacify" protesters who, according to Mr. Farrakhan, have a right to express outrage over police brutality — as though "pacify" is a four letter word, as though the only way to express such outrage is by acts of violence ("Speaking at Morgan, Farrakhan predicts violence in Ferguson," Nov. 22).
I can only hope that those who heard Mr. Farrakhan understand how false a prophet he is.
Stanley L. Rodbell, Columbia