Suppressed photo of Obama, Farrakhan might have derailed 2008 campaign
More than a dozen years after the fact, a photographer has come forward with a photo that might have derailed Barack Obama's 2008 presidential bid.
Askia Muhammad, who works for the Nation of Islam's newspaper, the Final Call, has published a book in recent days that features the image: a "grip and grin" frame of a smiling Obama standing shoulder to shoulder with Louis Farrakhan.
Muhammad says the image was shot at a Congressional Black Caucus function in 2005 and says someone from the caucus called him and asked him to suppress the photo.
That could not be verified independently. But there is general agreement that, given the antipathy for Farrakhan among many Obama supporters, the photo could have spelled serious trouble for the Obama campaign.
About the Author
Ernie Suggs is an enterprise reporter covering race and culture for the AJC since 1997. A 1990 graduate of N.C. Central University and a 2009 Harvard University Nieman Fellow, he is also the former vice president of the National Association of Black Journalists. His obsession with Prince, Spike Lee movies, Hamilton and the New York Yankees is odd.
