Jesse Lee Peterson (born May 22, 1949) is an Americanconservative talk show host, political commentator, and Christian minister.[1] As ablack American raised in theJim Crow era,[1] Peterson has been criticized for his staunchlytraditionalist political and religious views.
Jesse Lee Peterson was born on May 22, 1949, inMidway, Alabama, and raised in the rural community of Comer Hill by his grandparents, who worked on the same plantation where his great-grandparents had beenenslaved. His early life was marked by familial fragmentation—his mother and father both relocated north, starting new families inIndiana, while Peterson remained in Alabama under the stern discipline of his grandfather. His family history marred by racial violence, including thelynching of his great-grandfather, Peterson recalls being taught moral resilience over resentment, emphasizing spiritual integrity rather than racial animus.[2]
Peterson was born with acleft palate that was not repaired until his teens. Peterson lived with his mother and stepfather inGary, Indiana, as a teenager, briefly attendingEdison High School before returning to Alabama. Following high school graduation, he relocated toLos Angeles, where he briefly attendedLos Angeles City College but soon became immersed in thecounterculture of the 1960s. During this period, Peterson subsisted on welfare by falsely claiming drug addiction and spiraled into a lifestyle of idleness, substance abuse, and racial hostility—attributes he later characterized as "self-destructive." Influenced initially by the rhetoric ofLouis Farrakhan, Peterson embraced black identity politics and developed animosity toward whites; however, a pivotal transformation occurred in his thirties after encountering the teachings of radio preacher Roy Masters, whose emphasis on introspective prayer and spiritual self-examination prompted Peterson to confront his anger—not at society, but at his own parents. Through acts of forgiveness toward both his mother and father, Peterson experienced what he described as a "spiritual awakening." In 1989, Peterson launched a janitorial business in Los Angeles, beginning his shift from welfare dependency to entrepreneurship.[3][4]
From 1999 to 2004, Peterson choseMartin Luther King Jr. Day to hold a "National Day of Repudiation ofJesse Jackson" to highlight his opposition to Jackson, who was nearKing when he wasassassinated.[18] In 2001, while meeting withToyota executives in Los Angeles, Peterson accused Jackson of threatening him and his sonJonathan Jackson of assaulting him. In 2006, a jury cleared Jesse Jackson of the threat allegation, but was split on his son's assault allegation. Conservative activist organizationJudicial Watch provided attorneys for Peterson in the lawsuit.[19] In 2002, Peterson debatedMichael Eric Dyson on "The Case For/AgainstReparations for blacks," hosted by theNational Association of Black Journalists.[20][21][22]
Prager wrote theforewords to two of Peterson's books.[23][24] Peterson's radio show was simulcast onNewsmax TV in 2017–2018.[25] In June 2019, video-sharing platformYouTube demonetized Peterson's channel, amongst many others, under an updatedhate speech policy.[26][27] Peterson appeared in the 2020 political documentaryUncle Tom, produced by radio hostLarry Elder.[28]
Petersonopposes allowing Muslims to serve in Western governments, and says thatracism does not exist. Instead, he believes that every conflict is a spiritual "battle between good and evil."[1][29] He has spoken out againstKwanzaa andBlack History Month.[30] Peterson's views have been described by some authors as being consistent withwhite supremacy, and it has been suggested that white nationalists are encouraged by his rhetoric and compelled to promote him, because Peterson's blackness reduces the shock value of opinions that would be considered outrageous if a white person had expressed them.[31][32]
In 2005, Peterson stated that most blacks stranded inNew Orleans duringHurricane Katrina were relying on the government to save them.[33] In 2012, Peterson said about blackunemployment, "One of the things that I would do is take all black people back to the South and put them on theplantation ... They need a good hard education on what it is to work."[34][35] He has calledNelson Mandela an "evil man" and said thatSouth Africa was better off underapartheid.[36] Since 2020, he has called U.S. PresidentDonald Trump "the Great White Hope."[37][38]
In 2013, Peterson calledTrayvon Martin a "thug." CNN hostPiers Morgan called Peterson's comments "quite offensive."[39] In 2015, on political commentatorSean Hannity's show, Peterson defended Michael Slager, a formerNorth Charleston, South Carolina, police officer who killedWalter Lamar Scott, an unarmed black man, by shooting him in the back; in 2017, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the killing. Peterson criticized "angry black folks in this country" who disobey instructions of police, while Hannity pushed back against Peterson and called the killing "cold-blooded." Fellow panelistLeo Terrell walked out of the interview prematurely.[40][41]
In 2018, Peterson compared theBlack Lives Matter movement to theKu Klux Klan, saying that each could be described as an "agitative organization founded by ... black lesbians and homosexuals."[clarification needed] In response,Good Morning Britain hostPiers Morgan accused Peterson of homophobia, and Peterson's microphone was muted before he was kicked off the show.[42][43][44] In 2019, Peterson called activistAndrew Yang a "communist" and "beta male" for hisuniversal basic income proposal. Peterson said Yang, an American born in New York, "should go back to China or wherever he came from."[45] In 2022, Peterson gave a speech at the thirdAmerica First Political Action Conference (AFPAC), which was organised byNick Fuentes and attended byMarjorie Taylor Greene. AFPAC is described by theAnti-Defamation League as a white nationalist political action committee. The league's report on the event described Peterson's speech as "one of the most racist" of all delivered at the event, in which he described black people as the destroyers of America.[46]
Peterson opposes premarital sex. During an interview with formerSlutWalk organizerAmber Rose, Peterson responded to the question "if women are sluts what does that make you?" by stating men are "slutmakers."[38][47] Peterson's views on women have been described by critics asmisogynistic.[48] Peterson stated in a 2012 sermon that "one of the greatest mistakes America made was to allow women the opportunity to vote." He stated that women "can't handle power in the right way," that they "have no patience," and "don't have love." Political analystKirsten Powers confronted Peterson onSean Hannity's program onFox News, accusing him of using his status as a pastor to preach hatred and fear of women.[49][50][51]
From Rage to Responsibility: Black Conservative Jesse Lee Peterson and America Today, withDennis Prager and Brad Stetson. Paragon House, 2000,ISBN1-55778-788-3
^Peterson, Jesse Lee (2000).From Rage to Responsibility: Black Conservative Jesse Lee Peterson and America Today. Stetson, Brad. (1st ed.). St. Paul, Minn.: Paragon House. pp. 6, 9.ISBN1-55778-788-3.OCLC43333533.
^Peterson, Jesse Lee (2000).From Rage to Responsibility: Black Conservative Jesse Lee Peterson and America Today. Stetson, Brad. (1st ed.). St. Paul, Minn.: Paragon House. pp. 6, 9.ISBN1-55778-788-3.OCLC43333533.
^Peterson, Jesse Lee (2015).The Antidote: Healing America from the Poison of Hate, Blame and Victimhood. Washington, D.C.: WND.ISBN978-1-942475-01-9.OCLC930707600.
^Blumenthal 2005, p. 23 "For white nationalists determined to intimidate and marginalize aspirant ethnic minorities, Peterson could embolden their crusade. It's no wonder both factions have promoted him so aggressively"
^"AFPAC III: Elected Officials Support White Supremacist Event".Jesse Lee Peterson, a Black pastor and radio show host, ended up giving one of the most racist speeches of the evening, talking about how whites built the country and that Blacks are destroying what whites have created.
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