Obama joins Michelle at racially charged White House reception for rapper who praised Black Panther cop killer and singer who condemned mixed race marriages



Rapper who celebrated convicted cop killer and called for burning of George W Bush welcomed to White House poetry night on Wednesday

Hip-hop artist has links to Obama's shamed former pastor who blamed America for 9/11 terror attacks



Police unions voice disgust at event held during week commemorating deaths of officers

Sarah Palin and ex-Bush adviser Karl Rove condemn invitation



Predominantly black guest list also included singer who said marriage between a black man and a white woman made her 'wince'

White House says President opposes 'harmful' lyrics but stands by rapper



President Obama and wife Michelle faced a storm of protest after they played host to a rapper who praised a convicted cop killer and a poet who condemned inter-racial marriage.



Police officers and politicians voiced their disgust at the bizarre guest list for the racially charged event at the White House celebrating America poetry, which included rapper Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr who called for the burning of George Bush.

The First Lady also welcomed controversial poet Jill Scott who declared her opposition to marriage between black and white people, saying it made her ‘wince’.

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Controversial guests: Rapper 'Common', who praised a convicted cop killer, and singer Jill Scott, who condemned mixed race marriage, were invited to speak at White House poetry night on Wednesday



Host: President Obama did not comment on the controversial guest list as he spoke at the poetry night at the White House

Performing last night, Mr Lynn Jr spoke of the challenges of crime and violence that face children and celebrated the rise of Barack Obama.

He said he was walking into the White House with 'love on my sleeve'.



He ended by paraphrasing Martin Luther King Jr, by saying: 'one King's dream, he was able to Barack us.'

The invitation of Mr Lynn Jr, who uses the stage name ‘Common’, drew stinging criticism yesterday from police unions.

In song lyrics he celebrated the former Black Panther Assata Shakur who was convicted for shooting a New Jersey police officer in 1973.

Holding court: President Obama and the First Lady were condemned for invitations to 'Common' and Ms Scott



In ‘A Song for Assata’ he uses lyrics such as ‘Your power and pride is beautiful. May God bless your soul.’

David Jones, president of the State Troopers Fraternal Association union told NBC: ‘The young people who read this stuff, hear this stuff, are getting a very dangerous and deadly message.

‘In 1973 she executed Trooper Werner Foerster with his own gun after he was already shot and didn’t represent a threat to anyone.

‘And after she shot him she kicked him in the head to the point that hours later after he was picked up his brain was still part of the remnants on her shoe.’

Mr Jones said he was particularly upset at the timing of the event, which coincides with Police Week, which includes a memorial service in Washington DC for fallen officers.

Suitable guest? Rapper 'Common' was criticised by politicians and police groups for his lyrics calling for the burning of George Bush and praising a convicted cop killer

Welcomed: Singer Jill Scott wrote that when she found out one of her black friends had a white wife it made her 'wince'

‘Of all the times for the President to have this nitwit in the White House reading his vitriolic nonsense,’ Mr Jones said.

The White House said President Obama 'does not support and opposes the kinds of lyrics that have been written about', but stood by the event.

Obama did not address the criticism during remarks at the event.

'The power of poetry is that everybody experiences it differently,' he said. 'There are no rules for what makes a great poem.'

He added: 'As a nation built on freedom of expression, poets have always played an important role in telling our American story. '



Event: Mrs Obama welcomed rapper 'Common', pictured with the President at a Democratic rally last year



WERE THESE REALLY SUITABLE GUESTS FOR THE WHITE HOUSE? Rapper 'Common' on George Bush 'Burn a Bush cos for peace he no push no button

Killing over oil and grease

No weapons of destruction

How can we follow a leader when this a corrupt one?' Singer Jill Scott on mixed race marriages 'When my friend told me his wife was indeed Caucasian, I felt my spirit wince. I didn't immediately understand it. My face read happy for you. My body showed no reaction to my inner pinch, but the sting was there, quiet like a mosquito under a summer dress.'

Former Alaskan governor Sarah Palin and former Bush advisor Karl Rove had also condemned the decision to invite the rapper, who is seen calling for the burning of the former president in footage on YouTube.

‘Burn a Bush cos for peace he no push no button,’ the hip-hop artist raps in one video, which has more than 900,000 views.

Mrs Palin sarcastically tweeted: ‘Oh, lovely, White House.’

Karl Rove called Common a 'thug'.

'President Obama last week said he wanted to recapture that special moment we had after 9/11,' Mr Rove told Fox News.

'And here a week later we have an example of how the White House thinks it can recapture that moment by inviting a thug to the White House - a man who called for the death of President Obama's predecessors.'

Common replied: 'So apparently Sarah Palin and Fox News doesn't like me.'

'Common' also has links to Obama's shamed former pastor, Rev Jeremiah Wright, who blamed America for Osama Bin Laden's terrorist attacks.

Controversial: Rapper 'Common' has links to Obama's shamed former pastor Rev Jeremiah Wright, right, who blamed the September 11 terrorist attacks on America



WHO WAS ON THE GUEST LIST?

'Common' - Two-time Grammy award winning rapper who and has worked with artists including Kanye West. Controversial lyrics include praising a woman who shot a police officer and calling for George Bush to be burned. Jill Scott - Soul singer and poet who wrote in a magazine column that marriage between a black man and a white woman made her ‘wince’. Elizabeth Alexander - Became only the fourth ever poet to speak at a presidential inauguration when she read a specially composed poem for Barack Obama in 2009. Other guests include poets Billy Collins, Rita Dove and Kenneth Goldsmith; musician Aimee Mann; and artist-performer Alison Knowles

In one sermon at the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, which Obama and the rapper both attended, the pastor said, 'America's chickens are coming home to roost'.

The controversial rapper hails from President Obama’s hometown and has also rapped about the former Illinois senator.

The 39-year-old featured in a video called ‘Yes We Can’, which was made in support of Mr Obama’s 2008 presidential election campaign.

The rapper tried to defend himself in a Facebook post before the event.

'Politics is politics and everyone is entitled to their own opinion, I respect that,' he wrote.

'The one thing that shouldn’t be questioned is my support for the police officers and troops that protect us every day. Peace yall!'

Grammy-award winning singer Jill Scott, who has made controversial comments on inter-racial marriage, also performed at the event.

In an article published last April 2010 in Essence Magazine, she talked about how, when she found out that a successful black man was married to a white woman, it made her ‘wince’.

‘My new friend is handsome, African-American, intelligent and seemingly wealthy,’ she wrote.

‘I admit when I saw his wedding ring, I privately hoped. But something in me just knew he didn’t marry a sister.

THE MURDER OF WERNER FOERSTER Wanted: Assata Shakur is still on the run in Cuba One of Common’s most controversial songs is about former Black Panther Assata Shakur who was convicted of the shooting of New Jersey policeman, but it now on the run in Cuba. Shakur, formerly known as Joanne Chesimard, was a member of the Black Liberation Army and was wanted for her involvement in crimes including bank robbery. On May 2 1973 she shot New Jersey police officer Werner Foerster twice in the head with his own gun after he pulled over her car. He and a fellow officer had stopped her on the New Jersey Turnpike for traffic violations. In 1977, Shakur was found guilty of first degree murder, assault and battery of a police officer, assault with a dangerous weapon, assault with intent to kill, illegal possession of a weapon, and armed robbery. She was sentenced to life in prison. Two years later she escaped from jail. Since 1984 and she has been living in political asylum in Cuba. Killed: Werner Foerster was shot in 1973 In 2005, the FBI classified her as a ‘domestic terrorist’ and offered a $1 million reward for assisting with her capture.

She is the step-aunt of the deceased hip-hop icon Tupac Shakur. David Jones, president of the New Jersey State Troopers Fraternal Association, said: 'She’s a domestic terrorist who wrapped her criminality and her abhorrent anti social behavior in a cause to try to disguise her disgust for America in this make believe 1960s radicalism. 'In 1973 she executed Trooper Werner Foerster with his own gun after he was already shot and didn’t represent a threat to anyone. 'And after she shot him she kicked him in the head to the point that hours later after he was picked up his brain was still part of the remnants on her shoe.”

‘When my friend told me his wife was indeed Caucasian, I felt my spirit wince. I didn’t immediately understand it.’

She added: ‘My body showed no reaction to my inner pinch, but the sting was there, quiet like a mosquito under a summer dress.’

'Common' and Ms Scott were the only two out of eight artists performing at the poetry night not to appear at a poetry workshop with school children on Wednesday afternoon.

It was not clear if they had pulled out of the event or had not been due to attend.



Elizabeth Alexander, Billy Collins, Rita Dove, Kenneth Goldsmith, Alison Knowles, Aimee Mann and Jill Scott all spoke at the event, which was attended by the First Lady of Mexico, Margarita Zavala.

Michelle Obama did comment on the controversy surrounding the event during her opening remarks at the workshop.



Absent: Rapper 'Common' and singer Jill Scott did not attend a poetry workshop hosted by Michelle Obama on Wednesday afternoon. It was not clear if they had due to be present at the event

She urged the students to keep on writing and made a pitch for arts education. She also confessed to once being a 'budding writer'.

'When I was young, I was a passionate creative writer and sort of a poet. That's how I would release myself,' Mrs Obama said.

'Whenever I was struggling in school, or didn't want to go outside and deal with the nonsense of the neighbourhood, I would write and write and write and write.



'So this workshop and celebrating you all is important to me, as well, because I think it was my writing that sort of prepared me for so much of what I've had to do in my life as an adult.'



President Obama and his wife Michelle hosted the full gathering of poets, musicians and artists in the evening.

Stinging criticism: President Obama and the First Lady were condemned by politicians including former Alaskan governor Sarah Palin and senior Bush adviser Karl Rove

Celebration: The evening of poetry was held in the White House's East Room

The White House said the readings and performances highlighted poetry's influence on American culture.

'While the President doesn't support the kind of lyrics raised here, we do think some of the reports distort what Mr Lynn stands for more broadly in order to stoke controversy,' White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Wednesday.

'He is within the genre of hip hop and rap in what's known as a conscious rapper,' he said, adding that the President appreciates the way Common tries to get children to focus on poetry 'as opposed to some of the negative influences of life on the street'.

'The fact is, Mr Lynn has participated in other events in the past, including lighting the Christmas tree. I believe he's a multi-Grammy award winning artist and he's been invited to this event about poetry,' Mr Carney said.



In 2009, Mrs. Obama inaugurated a White House music series that has celebrated jazz, country, classical, Motown and Latin music.

Invitation: Controversial rapper 'Common' and singer Jill Scott spoke at the White House poetry event on Wednesday

She has also arranged salutes to Broadway, the music of the civil rights movement and Judith Jamison, an Alvin Ailey dancer and artistic director.

First lady Laura Bush had her own difficulties with poetry at the White House.



She cancelled a 2003 planned symposium on 'Poetry and the American Voice', which would have featured the works of Emily Dickinson, Langston Hughes and Walt Whitman, because some poets said they wanted to use the forum to protest military action in Iraq.

