LOUIS FARRAKHAN

 (BORN LOUIS EUGENE WALCOTT)

Louis Farrakhan, born Louis Eugene Walcott on May 11, 1933, in The Bronx, New York City, is an influential African-American religious leader, musician, and political activist. Known for his long-standing leadership of the Nation of Islam (NOI), Farrakhan has been a controversial and compelling figure in American religious and political life since the mid-20th century.

He was born to Sarah Mae Manning, a native of Saint Kitts, and Percival Clark, a Jamaican. His parents were immigrants from the Anglo-Caribbean, and their relationship ended before Louis was born. Raised by his mother and later taking the surname of Louis Walcott, a man his mother was involved with after separating from Percival Clark, young Louis grew up without knowing his biological father. In a 1996 interview with scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr., Farrakhan speculated that his father—described as a light-skinned Jamaican with straight hair—may have had Jewish ancestry.

After the death of his stepfather in 1936, the family relocated to Roxbury, a predominantly African-American neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, where he spent most of his childhood. From a young age, Walcott showed exceptional talent in music. He began playing the violin at age five and, by twelve, had toured with the Boston College Orchestra. A year later, he was winning national competitions and in 1946 appeared on the Ted Mack Original Amateur Hour, one of the earliest Black performers to do so. His family were active members of St. Cyprian’s Episcopal Church in Roxbury.

He was educated at the Boston Latin School and graduated from the English High School. He went on to attend Winston-Salem Teachers College in North Carolina, where he studied for three years before leaving in 1953 to marry Betsy Ross (later known as Khadijah Farrakhan). He left school to care for her during a complicated pregnancy, marking a decisive shift from academic aspirations to family responsibilities.

In the early 1950s, Walcott launched a career in music as a calypso singer, performing under the stage name “The Charmer.” He gained popularity in the northeastern United States and Canada, especially Montreal, where he also used the nickname “Calypso Gene.” Earning a substantial weekly income, he released a series of humorous and sometimes provocative calypso songs, such as “Ugly Woman,” “Zombie Jamboree,” and “Don't Touch Me Nylon.” These tracks reflected the playful and daring nature of the Caribbean calypso tradition, though some, like “Female Boxer” and “Is She Is, or Is She Ain’t,” revealed attitudes that would later contrast sharply with his religious path.

In 1955, while headlining a calypso show in Chicago, he encountered the teachings of the Nation of Islam through saxophonist Rodney Smith, a fellow Bostonian. Intrigued, he and his wife attended Saviours’ Day, the Nation’s annual convention, where they heard Elijah Muhammad, the spiritual leader of the NOI. Previously unaware of Elijah Muhammad—like many, Farrakhan believed Malcolm X was the organization’s leader—he became deeply moved by the experience.

Farrakhan quickly immersed himself in the teachings of the Nation. He fulfilled the requirements to become a registered Muslim by memorizing the 10 questions and answers of the NOI’s Student Enrollment and submitting a Saviour’s Letter, a prerequisite for formal membership. At Elijah Muhammad's request, he ended his career as a calypso singer, fully dedicating himself to religious work. In addition to his work in the NOI, Farrakhan returned to music in the 1990s, this time as a classical violinist. Encouraged by renowned musician Sylvia Olden Lee, Farrakhan made his concert debut in 1993 with a performance of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E Minor. Though technically imperfect, critics praised his passionate and rich tone. In 2021, at the age of 88, he performed Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61 with the New World Symphony, commemorating Beethoven’s 250th birthday. Louis Farrakhan’s life has been a blend of spiritual devotion, political activism, and artistic expression, marked by profound transformations—from charismatic entertainer to fiery preacher and violin virtuoso. He remains a complex and polarizing figure in American public life.