Louis Farrakhan
American religious (born 1935), leader of Nation of Islam (since 1981)
Louis Farrakhan (born Louis Eugene Walcott, later Louis X; May 11, 1933) is an American religious leader who has been the head of the Nation of Islam since 1981, a new religious movement which combines black nationalism and Islamic terminology. Prior to the Nation of Islam, Farrakhan was a calypso singer who used the stage name Calypso Gene from 1950 to 1955 and a violinist from 1939 to 1955. The longest-serving Nation of Islam leader, he also served as minister of several mosques in Boston and Harlem in the 1950s under the leadership of Elijah Muhammad.
After the death of Elijah Muhammad, his son Warith Deen Mohammed reorganized the original NOI into the orthodox Sunni Islamic group American Society of Muslims. Farrakhan began to rebuild the NOI as "Final Call". In 1981, he officially adopted the name "Nation of Islam", reviving the group and establishing its headquarters at Mosque Maryam. In October 1995, Farrakhan organized and led the Million Man March in Washington, D.C. Due to health issues, he reduced his responsibilities with the NOI in 2007. However, Farrakhan has continued to deliver sermons and speak at NOI events. In 2015, he led the 20th Anniversary of the Million Man March: Justice or Else.
Farrakhan has made many statements that have been condemned as antisemitic, homophobic or racist against white people, and he has been a controversial figure for such remarks.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Louis Farrakhan” as american religious (born 1935), leader of Nation of Islam (since 1981). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as american religious (born 1935), leader of Nation of Islam (since 1981). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 26, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q49075. VIAF identifies the subject as 26058603. The Library of Congress control number is n85301442. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1933, 1981, 1950 and 1955.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Louis Farrakhan”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Louis Farrakhan primary sources, Louis Farrakhan archive and Louis research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Louis Farrakhan”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Louis Farrakhan” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.