Juan Williams recounts NPR dismissal, introduces new book

Former NPR political analyst Juan Williams was devastated when the public radio network fired him earlier this year over comments he made on a Fox News program about feeling uncomfortable when he sees Muslims on a plane.

"I was totally knocked out, stunned," he told a National Press Club audience on Aug. 3. "NPR was a big institution against one individual, and I wasn't sure how they were going to spin it."

Williams, who also is a Fox News political analyst and worked at the Washington Post for more than two decades as a columnist and correspondent, spoke at a Club book rap event that featured his latest book, "Unmuzzled, the Assault on Honest Debate."

The Emmy-award winning journalist recounted his appearance on the Fox News program where he made the remarks that led to the end of his 10-year NPR career.

"I was on the O'Reilly Factor and said, 'Look, Bill, I'm not a bigot. You know the
kind of books I've written about the civil rights movement in this country," Williams said. "But when I get on the plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim
garb and I think, you know, they are identifying themselves first and foremost
as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous."

NPR deemed the remarks anti-Muslim and fired him two days later by phone.

He said he was surprised by the personal nature of the NPR dismissal, especially when Vivian Schiller, the network's president and chief executive, told an audience at the Atlanta Press Club that Williams' feelings about Muslims should be between him and "his
psychiatrist or his publicist -- take your pick."

NPR's reaction roiled Williams.

"I felt like my career was over," he said, adding that he believed NPR, a liberal-leaning organization, was looking for a reason to fire him due to his appearance on Fox, known for its conservative views.

While working for NPR, Williams also served as a Fox political analyst. He has been with Fox since 1997. After his departure from NPR, Fox gave Williams an expanded contract.

During a lively question and answer session, Williams said that since his firing he has been asked, "How would I feel if a white person saw a group of rowdy young black people and crossed the street to avoid them?"

"I'd cross the street, too," he said. "I don't know why you can't say that. You've violated some rule of acceptable discourse. It's the kind of intimidation that everyone intuits but no one admits to."

Williams said that laws are in place to prevent hate speech and incitement to violence, yet many people, in an effort to be politically correct, go overboard.

"It's not worth it to be called crazy and a bigot," he explained. "What I've come to understand is that there are so many people who feel muzzled in American life, people who are just trying to have a discussion."

The event was moderated by Book and Author Committee member Joe Luchok.