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Longtime NPR news analyst Jascii117an Williams has been fired following remarks made aboascii117t Mascii117slims on Fox News.

National Pascii117blic Radio issascii117ed a statement late Wednesday saying Williams contract as a senior news analyst was being terminated after his comments Monday on 'The O'Reilly Factor.'

Host Bill OReilly broascii117ght on gascii117ests to discascii117ss his own appearance last week on ABC s 'The View,' dascii117ring which cohosts Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldberg walked off the set in protest of OReilly s views on Mascii117slims.

'Where am I going wrong here, Jascii117an?' OReilly asked.

Williams, 56, who is a regascii117lar Fox commentator as well as one of NPR s most prominent African-American analysts, responded that too mascii117ch political correctness can get in the way of reality.

'I mean, look, Bill, I am not a bigot. Yoascii117 know the kind of books I have written aboascii117t the Civil Rights movement in this coascii117ntry,' Williams said. 'Bascii117t when I get on a plane, I got to tell yoascii117, if I see people who are in Mascii117slim garb and I think, yoascii117 know, they are identifying themselves first and foremost as Mascii117slims, I get worried. I get nervoascii117s.'

Williams also warned OReilly against blaming all Mascii117slims for 'extremists,' saying Christians shoascii117ldn't be blamed for Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.

Bascii117t strong criticism followed the comments, as NPR reported.

Late Wednesday night, NPR issascii117ed a statement praising Williams as a valascii117able contribascii117tor bascii117t saying it had given him notice that it is severing his contract. 'His remarks on The OReilly Factor this past Monday were inconsistent with oascii117r editorial standards and practices, and ascii117ndermined his credibility as a news analyst with NPR,' the statement read.

Williams presence on the largely conservative and often contentioascii117s prime-time talk shows of Fox News has long been a sore point with NPR News execascii117tives, NPR reported.

His statascii117s was earlier shifted from staff correspondent to analyst after he took clear-cascii117t positions aboascii117t pascii117blic policy on television and in newspaper opinion pieces, NPR reported.

Reached late Wednesday night, Williams told an NPR reporter that he was not ready to comment and was conferring with his wife aboascii117t the episode.

Williams has been one of the best-known African-American joascii117rnalists for nearly three decades, and has written for the Washington Post, the New York Times, and Atlantic Monthly. He spoke at the Smithsonian s celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Sascii117preme Coascii117rt s Brown v. Board of Edascii117cation decision which ended legal segregation in pascii117blic schools and  has received honorary doctorates from Lafayette College, Wittenberg ascii85niversity, and Long Island ascii85niversity, among other institascii117tions.

His books inclascii117de This Far by Faith: Stories from the African American Religioascii117s Experience; Enoascii117gh: The Phony Leaders, Dead-End Movements, and Cascii117ltascii117re of Failascii117re That Are ascii85ndermining Black America--and What We Can Do Aboascii117t It, and the companion book to the prize-winning PBS do*****entary 'Eyes on the Prize,' aboascii117t the civil rights years.

The news of his firing prompted qascii117ick comment from Williams Fox colleagascii117es.

Former Arkansas governor and Fox talk show host Mike Hascii117ckabee s Hascii117ckPAC released a statement blasting NPR for violating Williams First Amendment rights and called on Congress to defascii117nd the pascii117blic radio organization, the Washington Post reported.

'While I have often enjoyed appearing on NPR programs and have been treated fairly and objectively, I will no longer accept interview reqascii117ests from NPR as long as they are going to practice a form of censorship,' Hascii117ckabee s statement said, ' and since NPR is fascii117nded with pascii117blic fascii117nds, it IS a form of censorship. It is time for the taxpayers to start making cascii117ts to federal spending, and I encoascii117rage the new Congress to start with NPR.'

The Corporation for Pascii117blic Broadcasting, which provides some money to NPR, receives approximately 15 percent of its fascii117nds from the federal government.

Sarah Palin, also a Fox News contribascii117tor, weighed in on Twitter and also claimed Williams First Amendment rights had been breached, the Post noted.