Steve Cokely

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Cokely in 1988 on the CNN Tele-Conference

Steve Cokely (June 17, 1952 – April 11, 2012)

Black American community.[2][3]

Overview

Cokely lectured at many college campuses nationally, and was also known for his conspiracy theories involving a Black Male elite organization known as the

CIA.[5]

Chicago and anti-semitism charges

Cokely was assistant to the special committee on rules under Chicago Mayor Harold Washington. He gained notoriety when he served as special assistant to Eugene Sawyer, who became mayor after Washington's death in 1987.[6]

Cokely was criticized for teaching that Jewish doctors were using the AIDS virus in an attempted genocide against Africans.[6][7] His comments created a nationally publicized controversy in 1988, and he was dismissed from his position as aide to Sawyer.[8]

When, in 1990, Illinois Governor

Israeli Aircraft Industries plant in Rockford, Cokely was an outspoken opponent. He argued that Black leaders in Illinois should oppose Israeli war industries because of their military support for the apartheid system in South Africa.[9]

"Our Roots Run Deep" appearance

Cokely gained the national spotlight again in 1996 after he was scheduled to speak at "Our Roots Run Deep", a

Conrad Tillard and Mauricelm-Lei Millere, both prominent Nation of Islam members. The Jewish Defense Organization objected, organizing a call-in campaign to Warner Brothers and threatening a boycott. The Anti-Defamation League and the New York Post also objected to Cokely (as well as Sharpton and Muhammad) speaking at the event. Warner removed Cokely, Millere, and Tillard without issuing a press release.[10][11]

References

  1. ProQuest 1019842727
    . Cokely, 59, died on April 11 of complications from an illness, even after he regained consciousness after being in a coma for eight days. He was living in California at the time of his death.
  2. ^ "Flap over ex-aide's remarks is new blow to Chicago mayor". Washington Post. May 9, 1988.
  3. ^ Green, Larry (May 6, 1988). "Chicago Mayor Fires Controversial Aide". Los Angeles Times. Mayor Eugene Sawyer on Thursday fired a top aide whose repeated anti-Christian, anti-Semitic lectures triggered a week of controversy that immobilized Chicago government and left relations between blacks and Jews strained.
  4. ISBN 978-0-8386-3977-1
    .
  5. ^ "Theorists believe city responsible for death of Dr. King". Tri-State Defender. August 13, 2003.
  6. ^
    New York Times News Service
    . p. D7.
  7. ^ Wickham, DeWayne (May 12, 1988). "Bigotry surfaces again in Chicago". The Daily Journal. p. 10.
  8. ^ Johnson, Dirk (February 19, 1989). "Racial Politics: Chicago's Raw Nerve". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 16, 2018.
  9. ProQuest 367988261
    . An agreement signed by Illinois Governor James Thompson to bring an Israeli aircraft plant to Rockford, is an insult to Blacks and the South African movement, according to a Chicago activist. The problem with this deal is that the Israeli Aircraft Industry has an alliance with the South African military, declares Steve Cokely, who has mounted a campaign to alert the Black community to the potential dangers of the move. (subscription required)
  10. ^ Tatum, Wilbert A. (February 10, 1996). "JDO, ADL, N.Y. Post force Time Warner to alter Black History Month program". New York Amsterdam News. Retrieved May 28, 2013 – via ProQuest.
  11. ^ Fleischer, Matthew (February 13, 1996). "Snipped 'Roots'". The Village Voice. Retrieved May 28, 2013 – via ProQuest.

External links

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