A simple six words got one of Black America’s leading voices, Marc Lamont Hill, terminated from CNN, an internationally recognized media outlet.
On Nov. 29, the news network parted ways with Hill, an insightful long-time contributor, after a speech he delivered at a United Nations panel in which he critiqued Israeli policies and actions toward Palestinians.
His speech has drew overwhelming amounts of scrutiny and outrage, especially among so-called human rights activist groups like the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and several others.
It was this phrase at the conclusion of Hill’s U.N. speech – the last six words in particular – that has been disturbingly misconstrued as anti-Semitic rhetoric and ‘a code for the destruction of Israel’: “We have an opportunity to not just offer solidarity in words but to commit to political action, grass-roots action, local action and international action that will give us what justice requires and that is a free Palestine from the river to the sea.“
After learning of the disturbing feedback he received, much of which coming from White supremacists disguised as human rights or social advocacy groups, Hill went to Twitter to clarify his claims, making it abundantly clear that he was not anti-Jewish.
“Yesterday, I gave a speech at the UN in which I critiqued Israel’s polic[i]es and practices toward Palestinians. It’s baffling how people are not responding to the critique, but instead responding to things I didn’t actually say,” Hill wrote in a tweet after learning he had been fired from CNN.
Sharon Nazarian, ADL’s senior vice president for International Affairs said the U.N. annual event, International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, at which Hill spoke “promotes divisiveness and hate,” according to an NBC News report.
“Those calling for ‘from the river to the sea’ are calling for an end to the State of Israel,” Nazarian said in a statement.
Hill, a professor of media studies and urban education at Temple University, posted a series of tweets discussing the true significance of his speech.
“My reference to ‘river to the sea’ was not a call to destroy anything or anyone. It was a call for justice, both in Israel and in the West Bank/Gaza. The speech very clearly and specifically said those things. No amount of debate will change what I actually said or what I meant,” Hill said.
“Anyone who studies the region, or the history of Palestinian nationalism, knows that ‘river to sea’ has been, and continues to be, a phrase used by many factions, ideologies, movements and politicians.
“I genuinely believe in the arguments and principles that I shared in the speech. I also genuinely want peace, freedom and security for everyone. These are not competing ideals and values. I do not support anti-Semitism, killing Jewish people, or any of the other things attributed to my speech. I have spent my life fighting these things.”
Conversely, the Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), a national grassroots organization heavily involved in the movement to resolve the Israel-Palestine conflict. The Oakland, Calif.-based group says its mission is to work toward the social justice and peace of those affected by the conflicts in Gaza and the West Bank.
Contrary to ADL and in defense of Hill, the Jewish Voice for Peace has called for Hill’s reinstatement to the network and is urging its followers to email CNN CEO Jeff Zucker on its main webpage.
“Marc Lamont Hill spoke up for Palestine rights to the U.N. and now has been fired by CNN. We believe that is discrimination and he should be reinstatement,” reads the advertisement.
As aforementioned, Hill – also a journalist, social commentator, and activist from North Philadelphia – has been to Palestine on numerous occasions to advocate for the freedom, justice and equality of its people.
“We ran an ad because we felt strongly that CNN is ignoring a huge group of people,” said JVP Communications Director Granate Kim.
“Who gets to talk about Israel/Palestine? Apparently Rick Santorum? A man who egregiously claimed that there are ‘no Palestinians in the West Bank.’ That’s ludicrous. By firing Dr. Hill, we believe CNN is discriminating against a commentator who spoke up for Palestinian rights. They should make it right and reinstate him.”
Cornel West, a prominent Black scholar and colleague of Hill, stand he stands closely and intensely with Hill in an interview with The Real News Network.
“The important thing is we gotta stand with my dear brother Marc. All he’s saying is that a Palestinian baby has exactly the same value as a Jewish baby. A Jewish baby has the same exact value as a Palestinian baby,” said West, a Harvard professor.
Correspondingly, Boyce Watkins, a well-known influential Black scholar and economist, spoke to Hill’s defense. He agreed that Hill’s speech was an outcry for the liberation of Palestine, not to destroy or eradicate any Jewish entity or territory.
“I thought this topic was worth discussing because this kind of reflects something that I think all of us should at least think about and analyze. I don’t know if it’s necessarily something we can change. I don’t think you can change CNN. I don’t think you can change the racism in mainstream media,” said Watkins, also deeming the Anti-Defamation League as an organization pushing an agenda built on unsound principles.
While he disagreed with CNN’s decision to fire Hill, he said he had no objections with a Black man parting ways with a White media organization — seeing that as more of plus than a loss for Hill.
“Ultimately, I think for Black people, sometimes when White folks reject you, that’s the best thing that could ever happen to you… Marc said nothing wrong,” Watkins said.
“I make this commentary with the full acknowledgement that Marc and I are not the best of buddies… but I do think Marc is a smart guy, I think he’s a hustler. I think ultimately he’s an asset to the community in the sense that, even though his perspective differs from mine, the good outweighs the bad.”
Interestingly, CNN did not provide a reason for firing Hill but it is quite apparent that the move came amid heavy criticism to Hill’s speech.
As Watkins and JVP’s Granate Kim pointed out, the move by CNN was discriminatory. This controversy reveals how strongly antagonized the words of an astute Black man is as opposed to the often distasteful rhetoric of White political commentators such as Wolf Blitzer and Rick Santorum.
Most notably, Hill’s firing conveys the racial bias evident in CNN, reflecting a broader White supremacist agenda to censor Black voices that might go against the status quo — which speaks to the importance for Black people to have their own media platforms.
Perhaps Watkins was right. Maybe Hill and CNN severing ties was a plus. At least now the brother will not be constrained to expressing political and social viewpoints that align with the agenda of White mainstream media.
Hopefully, Marc Lamont Hill will see this as a favorable transition from a place where he can now fully and freely speak his mind as a Black intellectual, rather than a setback.
