Toyota listed as Farrakhan sponsor

Peter Flaherty, President of the National Legal and Policy Center has written a letter to Toyota formally requesting the Japanese carmaker to "repudiate Farrakhan and end support for Jesse Jackson."

According to the NLPC:

The official convention program lists Toyota as a sponsor of an “Education Luncheon” titled “Incarceration or Education: The Choice is Yours,” at which Farrakhan spoke. A senior member of our staff attended the event and was present during Farrakhan’s speech.

In addition, Toyota is listed as a “Platinum” sponsor of the conference, a designation reportedly costing $100,000.

Farrakhan is a proponent of ethnic hatred and anti-Semitism. It is more than objectionable that Toyota, a foreign company, would subsidize racial animosity in this country.

This is, of course, not the first time Toyota’s participation in Jesse Jackson’s conferences has created controversy.

In 2002, NLPC asked that Toyota end its support of Jesse Jackson’s groups and preclude its executives from speaking at Jesse Jackson’s conferences, a request that received significant media coverage. Until 2005, it appeared Toyota had met those demands, with no detectable support for Jackson, or presence at his events.

In a February 4, 2002 letter to me, Toyota Vice President Irving Miller wrote, “Reverend Jackson is a controversial figure. Toyota does not endorse him or his actions.” Yet Toyota has either renewed support for Jackson, or the company simply continued to bankroll Jackson’s groups under the table. Either way, Toyota has exercised bad faith.