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Outrage is growing over the unceremonious dis-invitation of the highly renowned Author and Africana Scholar Professor Tony Martin who was scheduled to participate in a Black History Program scheduled for today, October 25th 2003 in London, England.

This years event includes invited speakers Dr Gamal Nkrumah, the son of Kwame Nkrumah,  Dr Julius Garvey, son of Marcus Garvey and  Paul Robeson Jr. son of Paul Robeson. Up until about a week ago, Professor Tony Martin was an invited speaker also, until he received a call from  Lee Jasper, an advisor to the office of the London Mayor informing him that the invitation for him to speak was being withdrawn as a result of his appearance at events deemed “controversial."

Below are words from the correspondence sent from Mr. Jasper to Professor Martin informing him of the withdrawn invitation.

“Having confirmed with you that you attended and spoke at David Irving's 'Real History Conference' in 2001 and the Institute for Historical Review's annual conference in 2002 and that both of these conferences included speakers known for their anti-Semitic and racist activities including Holocaust denial, the Mayor's Office has decided to withdraw its invitation to you to address the First Voice conference on Saturday 25 October. The appearance of a close association between yourself and extreme right wing academics and organisations at these conferences has left the Mayor's Office with no alternative but to withdraw its invitation.”
                                              --Lee Jasper Policy Director (Equalities and Policing) Mayor's Office

The TEI weighs in on the initial decision and ensuing controversy in the correspondence below.

Truth Establishment Institute
P.O. Box 308 ∙ Chicago, Illinois ∙ USA ∙ 60690

October 22nd, 2003

Dear Mr. Jasper,

May this letter reach you in the best of health and spirit.

As you well know, one seeking an authority on the life and mission of the Honorable Marcus Garvey and other aspects of history relevant to your Black History Month programming could not find another individual more immersed in the subject, nor more qualified to discuss them than Africana Professor Tony Martin.

Professor Tony Martin has the right to speak at any program or conference that he chooses. As a historian, Professor Martin is sought after because of his unparalleled expertise in many areas of history.  

As the result of a very organized smear campaign using disinformation as one of its primary weapons, Professor Martin has been branded an anti-Semite because of his well-documented position on the role of Jews in the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade of Africans as well as his endorsement of the definitive work on that topic “The Secret Relationship Between Blacks and Jews.”

By your unceremonious disinvitation of Professor Martin, whether you realize it or not, you show that you are uninterested in presenting historical perspectives that are considered outside of the view of those who apparently give you orders. This makes you nothing more than a puppet.

In your position as an advisor to the mayor on race relations, those whom you represent (Black people in the UK) as well as those whom you claim to serve in that capacity (White people in the UK) would be more effectively served if Professor Martin were allowed to speak. Instead, in our view, you are complicit in keeping the masses of the people in a state of informational darkness and ignorance.

In his appearances at the conferences you mentioned (David Irving 2001, IHR 2002) Professor Martin dealt with the role of Jews in the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade. His commentary did not include any discussion regarding what you term ‘holocaust denial.’ 

It is with great irony that you label Professor Martin’s talks at those conferences as the “appearance of a close association between yourself and extreme right wing academics and organizations” while you and your organization as the supposedly “liberal” representatives are engaging in censorship and denying Professor Martin the right to speak because you disagree with his views. 

Those two conferences are listed and presented as indisputable evidence without considering the hundreds of lectures and thousands of individuals that have heard and benefited from Professor Martin’s knowledge and desire to spread truth.

Your parroting of the rhetoric and terminology of those who have an interest in keeping secret certain unflattering aspects of history verifies that Professor Martin and others who have been unfairly branded and censored such as the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan (who incidentally has been banned from the UK since the mid 80’s) and Professor Leonard Jeffries truly represent positions that need to be heard.

In conclusion, speaking to a group does not constitute endorsement of the totality of their ideologies or viewpoints.

If you and your handlers are unable to see or unwilling to acknowledge that a historian of Professor Martin’s scholarly stature would be sought after by groups of varying viewpoints and ideologies – some controversial – then you are actually the ones involved in behavior that most rational people capable of logical thought should be concerned with.

Integrity is more important than position.

Sincerely,

Ashahed M. Muhammad
Executive Director, Truth Establishment Institute (TEI)

  TEI  -  P.O. BOX 308  -  CHICAGO, ILLINOIS  -  60690  -  USA

View entire correspondence between Prof. Martin and Lee Jasper at http://www.blacksandjews.com/Martin.UK.Disinvitation.html