Steve Cokely (June 17, 1952 – April 11, 2012) was an American political researcher and lecturer who lectured nationally on political and economic issues relating especially to the African American community.

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 Sigma Pi Phi and, along with Mauricelm-Lei Millere, the Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr by the hands of Rev. Jesse Jackson and the C.I.A.

Chicago and Anti-Semitism charges

Cokely was assistant to the special committee on rules under Mayor Harold Washington. He gained notoriety when he served as special assistant to the former mayor of

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, Eugene Sawyer. Cokely was criticized for teaching that Jewish doctors were using the AIDS virus in an attempted genocide against Africans. His comments created a nationally publicized controversy in 1988 and he was dismissed from his position as aide to Sawyer. When, in 1990, Illinois Governor James Thompson signed an agreement to open an 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.

"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

Black History Month Black History Month is an annual observance originating in the United States, where it is also known as African-American History Month. It has received official recognition from governments in the United States and Canada, and more recently ...

lecture series in New York City hosted by the

Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...

. Also scheduled were Al Sharpton, Jimmy Castor,

Hannibal Lokumbe Hannibal Lokumbe (born Marvin Peterson on November 11, 1948) is an American jazz trumpeter. Career A native of Smithville, Texas, United States, he is sometimes known by the name "Hannibal". He attended high school in Texas City, Texas and was i ...

, Dick Gregory, and Conrad Tillard, a prominent Nation of Islam member. The

Jewish Defense Organization The Jewish Defense Organization (JDO) was or is a militant Jewish self-defense organization in the United States. It is unclear if it is still functioning. Background and ideology The JDO was founded in the early 1980s by Mordechai Levy after a v ...

objected, organizing a call-in campaign to Warner Brothers and threatening a boycott. The

Anti-Defamation League The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Septe ...

and the ''

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'' 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.Matthew Fleischer, "Snipped 'Roots'", ''The Village Voice'', February 13, 1996; accesse
via ProQuest
May 28, 2013.

References

External links

Cokely's official siteAn Anti-Defamation League press release regarding Cokely
*https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1988-05-05-8803140605-story.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Cokely, Steve American activists American conspiracy theorists 1952 births 2012 deaths Futurologists People from Chicago