Sister Souljah is a rapper and actress, as well as a producer and former spokesperson for the Nation of Islam. In 1988, she used her position as a spokesperson to call for the release of members of the Black Panther Party who had been convicted of killing a police officer in Oakland, California. She was also a member of the cast of Spike Lee's film Do the Right Thing. Sister Souljah was born in Detroit, Michigan to an African-American father and a white American mother
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Raised in South Central Los Angeles, she attended Roosevelt High School.
In 1992, Sister Souljah appeared on "Donahue" to discuss her views on interracial relationships and race relations in America. During this appearance, she said:
""I think that it's important that black people do not cooperate with this white man's way of thinking about us. I think that we must fight against it.
I think that we have to rise up against all forms of oppression ... I don't know how anybody can take a position against interracial marriage and not take a stand against interracial sex.""
She also stated:
""I'm not talking about white women sleeping with black men ... I'm talking about all types of sex.""
Her comments sparked controversy and extensive media coverage as she became the first major African-American celebrity to publicly support the sexual exploitation of black women by white men.
In 1994, Sister Souljah was banned from entering Canada because she was denied entry because she advocated violence against non-blacks. She was barred from entering Canada because Canadian immigration officials believed that her views would incite racial tension and jeopardize public order and security.
The federal government asked her to apply for entry under the cultural exception provision .
She was eventually allowed into Canada after an international outcry.
The controversy surrounding Sister Souljah's views on race relations led to several changes in policy at the Canadian border. After she was barred from entering Canada, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration John McCallum promised that Canadians "would be able to travel anywhere in the world, including places like Iraq and Palestine." The prohibition against people who advocated violence against others was abolished in 1997 by then-Immigration Minister Barbara McDougall, and replaced with a rule prohibiting entry into Canada for those who "support or condone terrorist activity." Such people would still be barred if they represented a threat to public order or security in Canada or were deemed likely to engage in terrorist activity abroad