Here is what's in the Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Ellison_(politician)#Farrakhan_and_Nation_of_Islam_ties
However, VERY FEW black Muslims shun Farrakhan, whether they are part of the Nation of Islam or not. He is one of those extremely controversial people who have some pluses and minuses on their scorecard, and it's a matter of opinion whether the balance is positive or negative.
It's sort of like how some people loved Clinton as a president and others hated him as a philanderer, (and possibly guilty of sexual harrassment). He was both.
I went and did some reading about Farrakhan and his statements. And some people will never find them acceptable. For example, Farrakhan has made some statements about Jews that are extremely negative, however, many of them are generalizations with some basis in anecdotal fact. What I mean by that is that if ANY Jews participated in the slave trade, then it's accurate to say so, but inaccurate to say that they all did. If there are ANY Jews who benefitted from business dealings with African-Americans, or were exploitative in these business dealings, then it's an accurate statement to say that "they made money off of us", but not accurate to suggest that they were the only ones, or that ALL of them did so.
While there could be many reasons for bringing these topics up when addressing a black crowd, one reason is generally to point out that we should be our own best friends, especially in terms of finance and business, instead of expecting any other ethnic group to hand us the keys to the kingdom.
Many of us who believe that this is a logical message make excuses for the way that it's presented. I'm definitely one of them. If getting people angry is necessary to get them out of a mindset of wanting others to take care of them financially (creating jobs for them) and push them to create their own businesses and business opportunities, then I think the end justifies the means.
With that said, I offer no excuse for "Hymietown". I don't like ethnic/racial slurs and it angers me when ANYONE uses them. However, I do sense that there is some surprise that black people are as guilty of it as so many other are. Sadly, we're as capable as bigotry and prejudice as any other American. I just think it's important to point out that it's something that we ALL need to work on... and then look and see how we can move forward.
I would add that the "gutter religion" or "dirty religion" comment can't be excused either. It would be one thing if he had said that someone is dirtying the religion, i.e. claiming to be religious but doing things that run counter to the principles of that religion. SUPPOSEDLY, that is what he meant. However, it's not what he said. He deserved condemnation for that statement.
At the same time, Farrakhan is historically pro-Arab and anti-Israel, and his statements in this regard are consistent. I see this as another Catch-22. It seems to be politically incorrect to point out anything that Israel does which is brutal or injust. Personally, this just reminds me of how important the 1st Amendment truly is.
And so.... Ellison is not a Farrakhan follower. But I ***GUARANTEE*** that he is knowledgeable about the Farrakhan controversy, and would probably have a different take on the matter than the average Congresscritter.
I think it is a good thing to be 'wary' of Ellison. The more I think about it, the more I hope he's the first of many.