Final Call News vol 38 no 44

THE MAN JESUS AND HOW TO NOT FALL INTO IDOLATRY

BY THE HONORABLE MINISTER LOUIS FARRAKHAN—PAGE 20

VOLUME 38 NUMBER 44 | AUGUST 6, 2019 | U.S. $2.00 FINALCALLDIGITAL.COM | STORE.FINALCALL.COM | FINALCALL.COM

Ronald Elliott, 18, protests at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, Nov. 10, 2016, Donald Trump's presidential election victory.

Photo: AP Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman

What Black voters want &

should demand in 2020 Coverage begins pg. 3

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The Final Call

augusT 6, 2019

by J.S. Adams Contributing Editor

Close to the shores of Langma Beach in Ghana, West Africa, Carol Muhammad enjoys her six bedroom house with her husband, Robert Muhammad. The couple made the move from Phoenix, Ariz., to Ghana in May, after Robert Muhammad retired.

The two haven’t looked back.

“We’ve been able to be comfortable in the house that we got, and we had somebody living here and taking care of things, so we didn’t worry about it,” said Carol Muhammad. “I would stay a few months. [Robert] would come in January and take 30 days off from the job and we could come back together. So when he retired, we said this is it.”

Carol and Robert Muhammad are only two of up to 5,000 Black Americans who’ve decided to pack up their belongings and move to Accra, the capital of Ghana. They are among thousands of American-born Blacks who now live in Africa.

With Ghana’s president Nana Akufo-Addo declaring 2019 the “Year of Return” for Africans across the Diaspora, and President Trump’s recent remarks sparking outrage, Blacks, travel groups and social conditions are putting a fresh, positive meaning to the phrase “Go back to Africa!”

It begins with a change in perspective.

Flipping a negative phrase Referring to congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ayanna S. Pressley of Massachusetts, Mr. Trump tweeted in a July 14 thread, “Why don’t they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came.

Then come back and show us how it is done.”

The words “go back” sparked outrage in the U.S., offending many and forcing Black and Brown Americans to remember being told the same thing. It was extra offensive given that all four women are U.S. citizens.

But the phrase has a long history in the United States, going back to the 1800s. The American Colonization Society was established to send free Black people to Africa to start their own reality.

Photo: courtesy of @Visiterlafrique

Black & Abroad is a platform for Black travelers that encourages them to visit various countries on the African continent. Photo: courtesy of @Kanayakine

Going Back to Africa a blessing

Blacks who live, work and play on the continent say returning to the Motherland is beautiful Abraham Lincoln supported sending Blacks to Africa. Marcus Garvey’s Back-to-Africa movement in the 1920s encouraged Blacks to return to their native land. Mr. Trump’s words has brought back the century-old conversation, but in a negative way.

Black & Abroad, a unique platform for Black travelers, decided to counter negative

stereotypes and ideas surrounding Africa and the Black Diaspora. It started with the oftenoffensive phrase.

“Our campaign was designed specifically to counter the hateful intent of the phrase with positivity,” Eric Martin, co-founder of Black & Abroad, told The Final Call. “Instead of allowing people to use the phrase in a negative

manner, we’ve taken ownership and made it a call-to-action for Black travelers to visit the countries within Africa and learn for themselves the beauty the continent holds.”

Since launching the campaign in early April, Mr. Martin has seen an influx of Black travelers Continued on page 34

A Message Dedicated to the Resurrection of the Black Man and Woman of America and the World.

Founded by MINISTER LOUIS FARRAKHAN, National Representative of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam Richard B. Muhammad.............................Editor-In-Chief Starla Muhammad....................................................................Managing Editor Nubian L. Muhammad.............................................................Publishing Editor Askia Muhammad..........................................................................Senior Editor Charlene Muhammad..............................................National Correspondent

Fontaine Muhammad.............................General Manager

Haroon Rajaee...........................................................Contributing Photographer Nisa Islam Muhammad.......................................................................Staff Writer Brian E. Muhammad.........................................................................Staff Writer James G. Muhammad...........................................................Contributing Editor

Jennifer L. Muhammad......................................Editorial Assistant/Transcriptionist Marcella A. X.......................................................................Executive Secretary Timothy 6X..........................................................................Production Assistant Michelle Muhammad..........................................................Distribution Manager

Volume 38, No. 44 ©2019 FCN Publishing. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information and retrieval system without permission in writing from The Final Call. Unsolicited manuscripts will not be returned, unless accompanied with return postage. Send inquiries to: FCN Publishing, 734 W. 79th Street, Chicago, IL 60620. PHONE: (773) 602-1230.

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AUGUST 6, 2019

THE FINAL CALL

Black voters, Black issues and the 2020 election Joe Biden Photos: Andrea Muhammad

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In this July 23, photo, auto repairman Terrance Holmes is interviewed in Detroit. When Barack Obama was on the ballot in 2008 and 2012, there was no question that Holmes would vote for the first Black president. But as he helped fix cars at a repair shop on Detroit’s west side, he recalled his ambivalence about the 2016 campaign. He hasn’t paid much attention to the early Democratic primary and didn’t know that two high-profile Black candidates are running. But he vowed to help vote President Donald Trump out of office in 2020, regardless of which Democrat emerges as his challenger. Photo: AP/Wide World Photos

Beto O’Rourke

Elizabeth Warren

Cory Booker

Bernie Sanders

Bill Weld

Julian Castro

Pete Buttigieg

Amy Klobuchar

and plans, appeared on the popular hip-hop radio show The Breakfast Club and have even forcefully broached topics of White supremacy and systematic racism as they increase efforts to “secure the Black vote.”

In the last presidential election of 2016 Blacks voted overwhelmingly (90 percent) for the Democratic candidate, including comparable shares of Black men (88 percent) and Black women (92 percent), reported the Pew Research Center. The country’s first

Black president, Barack Obama served two terms largely due to Black voter support and turnout.

While former Vice-President Joe Biden still enjoys a healthy lead among older Black voters, that lead is being challenged, though remotely, by Senator Kamala Harris. Younger Black voters are not sold on Mr. Biden. Others are also trying to gain ground with Black voters.

Just ahead of the second scheduled Democratic debates held July 30 and 31, candidates made

rounds at major Black gatherings for the National Urban League, Rainbow Push, National Action Network, NAACP and the South Carolina Democratic Party Convention. In the upcoming months, photo ops at soul food establishments, stumping with members of the Congressional Black Caucus and speeches from pulpits at Black churches will most certainly be on the schedule of several presidential hopefuls.

However, just as in years past, questions on what Black folks can

and will get in return for their loyalty remains to be seen.

What should Black voters demand and what are the key issues they are analyzing?

It is clear Black Americans are not a monolith when it comes to what issues they value most.

Answers vary, depending on geographic location, age, socioeconomic background and other variables. Criminal justice reform, student loan debt, wage and income equity, foreign policy, eduContinued on page 36

by Starla Muhammad Managing Editor @simplystarla23

DETROIT—It happens every presidential election cycle like clockwork. Political candidates vying for the highest office in the land begin scrambling for the attention of one of the most significant constituencies in U.S. politics—Black voters. Black people, particularly Black women are unabashedly viewed by political analysts and observers as the backbone of the Democratic Party.

They’ve proven it time and time again.

As the 2020 election looms and Democratic Party candidates jockey for position to become the nominee in the frantic bid to unseat President Donald Trump, the scramble is underway.

Several of the 20-plus candidates have descended on national Black conventions and conferences, rolled out Black agendas

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The Final Call

augusT 6, 2019

Mueller testimony yields nothing new as GOP and Dems claim wins

by Askia Muhammad

WASHINGTON—After 124 days since he handed in his report on Russian interference in the 2016 elections, special counsel Robert Mueller gave his much-anticipated testimony to the House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees.

While Mr. Mueller was explicit, that despite the President’s claims to the contrary, he had not exonerated Mr. Trump of obstruction of justice in his report following a 22-month investigation, Democratic lawmakers may have come away disappointed that Mr. Mueller’s appearance didn’t provide any knockout testimony that would bolster their case for impeachment.

Mr. Mueller rejected the President’s claim the probe was a witch hunt; warned that Russia is still actively trying to interfere in U.S. elections; and he refused to exonerate Mr. Trump of obstruction of justice.

During his opening statement, Mueller laid out some key findings of his report during the July 23 testimony. “First, our investigation found that the Russian government interfered in our election in sweeping and systematic fashion. Second, the investigation did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired with the Russian government in its election interference activities.”

Mr. Mueller’s answers were often very brief and apparently disoriented. On 198 occasions during the combined hearings he asked for a question to be repeated. He made no assertions, only confirming sections of the report read by Congress members. “Director Mueller, the president has repeatedly claimed that your report found there was no obstruction and that it completely and

Former special counsel Robert Mueller is sworn in before testifying to the House Judiciary Committee about his report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election on Capitol Hill on July 24, 2019, in Washington, D.C.

totally exonerated him. But that is not what your report said, is it?”

Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) asked to open the hearing.

“Correct, that is not what the report said,” Mr. Mueller replied.

“Now, reading from page 2 of volume 2 of your report,” Mr. Nadler continued, “you wrote, quote: ‘If we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts, that the president clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state. Based on the facts and the applicable legal standards, however, we are unable to reach that judgment,’ close-quote.

Now, does that say there was no obstruction?”

“No,” said Mr. Mueller.

“And what about total exon-

eration? Did you actually totally exonerate the president?”

“No,” said Mr. Mueller.

“And your investigation actually found, quote, ‘multiple acts by the President that were capable of exerting undue influence over law enforcement investigations, including the Russian interference and obstruction investigations.’ Is that correct?” he asked.

“Correct,” Mr. Mueller responded.

Still, Mr. Trump and the Republican Party leadership celebrated that no “smoking gun” was exposed. The Republican National Committee issued a statement describing the Mueller hearings as “a disaster for Democrats.”

“After three years, millions of taxpayer dollars and countless lies from Democrats, Mueller just

reaffirmed what we’ve known all along: There was no collusion and no obstruction. Case closed,” Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) expressed sympathy for the “poor president” having had to suffer through the last three years of investigations.

Asked whether he has any concerns about Mr. Trump’s behavior described in the report, Mr. McCarthy said, “No, I do not. This president has not done anything wrong.”

“You know the Mr. 45 has been very successful in painting himself as a victim being picked on being aggrieved by fake news and all of that narrative in some ways,” Dr. Julianne Malveaux,

Photo: AP/Wide World Photos

Senior Editor @askiaphotojourn

former president of Bennett College for Women told this writer in an interview on Pacifica Radio, WPFW-FM. “This hearing feeds into his narrative about being picked on, and the Democrats did not do anything to really provide an antidote to that.” Other analysts agreed.

“I mean being a victim is part of the common ordinary discourse of the Republican Party,” said Dr. Gerald Horne, professor of History and African American Studies at the University of Houston.

“I happened to be watching Fox News the other night and they were talking about police officers being victims.

“This was during a time when a Black man on Staten Island was suffocated on camera and killed by a police officer and yet the police officer to this date has faced no consequences. In fact I think if you go back and look at right wing regime, the way they justify their persecution of others is that they portray themselves as the ones being persecuted. And that’s a very somber and sober note that we need to contemplate.

“The Democrats, I give them a ‘B’ maybe a ‘B-minus,’ Dr. Malveaux continued, grading the hearing. “I don’t think they made very many headwinds. I mean they tried to pin (Mr.) Mueller down but he did what he said he was going to do. And the Republicans, I mean I give them a ‘D-minus.’ They are hypocrites and they have two different standards of behavior,” said Dr. Malveaux.

The televised hearing drew a smaller audience than other hearings and even the Democratic candidate debates, and they did not produce a groundswell of angry viewers calling for the president’s impeachment. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who has been reluctant to launch impeachment proceedings, signaled that her position had not changed afContinued on page 16

AUGUST 6, 2019

THE FINAL CALL

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Outrage over alleged assault, threat to Muslim woman

by White man with a gun after minor traffic incident

by Michael Z. Muhammad Contributing Writer @mzmuhammad1

It was a Tuesday and the weather for Buffalo, N.Y., was picture perfect, with the sun shining and a comfortable 80 degree temperature. Jeanneie Muhammad, of the Nation of Islam’s study group in the city and wife of student Minister Dahveed Muhammad, was in no particular hurry driving to pick her children up from school. But she inadvertently tapped the back of a pickup truck in front of her driven by Jeffrey Calhoun, 62, and things changed dramatically.

What happened to her was a terrifying experience that is all too well known to many Black people in America. Student Minister Muhammad told the Final Call, “First, it should be made clear the minor nature of the accident, which did not require the police to be called.

According to NYDMV, you have 10 days to report a minor accident. The parties involved simply exchange information.”

But what happened was far more than that as Jeanneie Muhammad found herself grabbed and at one point facing a gun wielded by the White driver of the pickup truck.

Speaking at a July 17 press conference, a day after the incident, Jeanneie Muhammad said she felt fortunate to be alive. “When I went to reach over to get my insurance out of the glove compartment that’s when he (Mr. Calhoun) reached into the car, snatched my keys, and said I think you’re gonna run,” she recalled. Getting out of the car to retrieve her keys, she alleged that Mr. Calhoun “grabbed me by the hoodie and threw me to the ground.

So we are on the ground wrestling, and he tries to take my purse from me.”

Mr. Calhoun pulled his gun, and according to Student Minister Muhammad, stuck it in his wife’s chest, and threw her to the ground three times, trying to take her purse. As he was allegedly biting her on the arm, a woman who was screaming for Mr. Calhoun to let Jeanneie Muhammad go and recording the incident via cell phone sprang into action.

Jeanneie Muhammad, 2nd from right, front, at press conference after a White motorist, Jeffery Calhoun, was witnessed assaulting and pulling a gun on Ms. Muhammad after a minor traffic accident. Photo: facebook

Precious Santiaga bolted from her front porch across the street and rushed to Mrs. Muhammad’s defense. She can be heard on the video, which went viral yelling, “Oh, hell no!” “Get the f--k off her! Get off her right now. Why are you beating on her? Let her go.” Mr. Calhoun then pulled out his gun, pointing it at the women and others who had gathered. Recalling that day, Ms. Santiaga said she first thought Ms. Muhammad was a suspected shoplifter and that Mr. Calhoun was a security officer trying to stop her. She realized that wasn’t the case when she observed Mr. Calhoun bite the woman.

Equally surprising as the video rolled was the manner in which Mr. Calhoun approached the police when they arrived. As the witness shouted, “he has a gun,” Mr. Calhoun was commanded by the police to put his hands up. Instead, he pulled a gun from his holster and placed it on the hood of the squad car. Without so much as a patdown, he was placed in the back seat without handcuffs. Imagine if it had been a White woman and a Black man, said Dahveed Muhammad.

Mr. Muhammad and other Black community leaders want the case handled properly and proper charges filed against Mr. Calhoun.

“We have a lot of community backing,” Mr. Muhammad said.

“The way the police handled him was a complete disparity with the way they treat us. As he draws his weapon, he is never told to drop it or get on the ground. While in the back seat, he calls my wife the Nword and tells her she probably doesn’t have insurance. It was a gross overreaction on the part of Mr. Calhoun.”

The police reported the incident as forcible theft with a deadly weapon. The district attorney’s office says the case will go to a grand jury.

Mr. Calhoun was charged with one felony count and two misdemeanors, first-degree attempted robbery, second-degree menacing and second-degree harassment, according to a spokesperson.

Min. Muhammad says there should be weapon charges and assault charges. “We are not going to let them cakewalk this thing and tiptoe around it trying to sugarcoat this. You are not going to try to make some deal. They put his li-

cense to carry on TV like that was some justification for his pulling his weapon which was fully loaded. He had no rationale for his actions,” he added. “The news media is playing the incident up as a hate crime. But we are not going to pull all of our eggs in that basket.”

As a result of the incident, according to Dahveed Muhammad, his wife suffered a concussion, soft tissue damage, and swelling and the trauma of the incident.

Erie County District Attorney’s office spokesperson Kaitlyn Munro told The Final Call the case is still pending. “Mr. Calhoun’s case will be presented before a grand jury, and depending on their findings, he could be indicted on the current charges or different charges.

So there still isn’t a final decision on the charges at this point.” Mr. Calhoun was held on a $75,000 property bond before being released on bail. A felony hearing has been scheduled for Sept. 10.

According to his attorney Daniel Henry, as reported by NBC affiliate WGRZ TV, “Mr. Calhoun’s a very good person. He’s very respected.

These allegations that have been brought against him are completely

out of character.”

Samuel Radford, of the Buffalo Local Action Committee, was vital in organizing the press conference that followed the incident. In an interview with The Final Call, he said his organization got involved to add its voice to the demand for justice.

“We are maintaining a wait and see attitude at this point,” said Mr. Radford. “The DA’s office has done the minimum and brought charges.”

“We had a community meeting where we believe additional charges should be brought. We believe it should be a hate crime charge, and we have developed 13 additional charges. We sent a letter to the DA outlining our concerns and requesting a response from him as to why he is not using the additional discharges suggested if they are negated,” he added.

“We not only had questions for the DA but also for the Buffalo Police Department. We questioned whether a Black male under the same circumstances as Calhoun would have been allowed to peacefully surrender to police while possessing a gun, and suggested that he might well have been shot dead instead,” said Mr. Radford.

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The Final Call

augusT 6, 2019

Honoring ‘a recording angel:’

Saying thanks for incredible service

by Richard B. Muhammad Editor

@RMfinalcall

O’FALLEN, Ill.—The evening was devoted to a beautiful man and his beautiful work that has affected people on at least two continents, several cities and decades in the movement for Black and Pan African progress and unity.

Abdul Akbar Muhammad, Muslim minister, teacher, entrepreneur, father, organizer, author, scholar and historian was recently honored during a special dinner here at the Regency Conference Center.

Family members, Muslims, friends and comrades in the struggle shared how the man who joined the Nation of Islam in 1961 as Larry 4X grew to become “Brother Akbar,” whose name is an attribute of Allah (God) and means the “great.”

Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan, accompanied by his wife, Mother Khadijah Farrakhan, family members and some top aides, was sometimes emotional July 27 as he spoke of the contribution his brother, friend and comrade made to his life and success. Their party was among several hundred people who turned out for the tribute.

“Everybody needs somebody. Somebody that loves you literally unconditionally, because they see the value in you that you don’t see in yourself,” said the Minister as the evening’s honoree sat behind him on stage. Their relationship goes back to the 1960s in New York, where Min. Farrakhan headed historic Muhammad Mosque No. 7 after the defection of Malcolm X. The Harlem mosque enjoyed great success with businesses, schools, satellite mosques, events that drew thousands of people and the Minister wielded great influence.

But, said Min. Farrakhan, New York could never have been as great as it was without Min. Akbar Muhammad working by his side and often in the background attending to details, organizing, monitoring activity and watching out for him and his family.

While blessed with great success and major accomplishments, the Minister said he was often “careless” in capturing or focusing on what he did. When it was done, it was over and I was looking for the next thing, Min. Farrakhan continued.

But, he said, Allah (God) blessed me with a “recording angel” in Min. Akbar Muhammad, who now serves as his international representative. Min. Akbar Muhammad kept diligent, copious notes about things I said and did, carefully documented events, keep copies of recordings I made and discarded, said Min. Farrakhan.

He described his comrade as a man of “extreme value” and called a previous speaker’s comparison to Chou En-lai, a Chinese Communist revolutionary who served leader Mao Tse Tung, a “perfect” comparison. While Mao Tse Tung was the great visionary, Chou En-lai attended to the details to ensure that the ideas and ideals of the leader were protected and brought into reality.

“The way the God brought it to me, he put by my side a recording angel that I would never write about me because I never thought that I was that important. I lived my life in the shadow of greatness never ever believing that I was in fact great.

“But God put by my side a recording angel who saw value in me that I did not see in myself. So he recorded what I said, he

Muslims family and friends from St Louis and other parts of the country came out for an evening honoring Min. Abdul Akbar Muhammad. Photo: Cartan X

Abdul Akbar Muhammad and Min. Farrakhan at July 27 tribute dinner.

Photo: Donna Muhammad

Min. Ralph Muhammad gives the evening honoree an award made of crystal. Photo: J.A. Salaam

James Mtume laam

recorded what I did,” said Min. Farrakhan.

When people see the principal figure in a movement, they too often focus on the principal but not the pillars that uphold the principal, said the Minister, who wept at times as he spoke. Min. Akbar Muhammad is one of those pillars.

“God made me for (the Honorable Elijah Muhammad) and he made Akbar for me,” said Min. Farrakhan, who gave his comrade the Islamic name as they were rebuilding the Nation of Islam, which started in the late 1970s.

And as the Minister traveled the country, his “friend,” was there as the advance team, as security, and as the one who introduced him to audiences—sometimes all in the same day.

He would do the same on the international level as the Nation grew and progressed, serving as a point man and an ambassador for Min. Farrakhan and the Muslim movement.

It was Min. Akbar Muhammad who was always trying to help me fulfil a vision or even deal with personal matters, the Minister shared. The audience laughed when Min. Farrakhan relayed how he once told his comrade about a check the Hon. Elijah Muhammad had given him. Min. Farrakhan said he didn’t know what to do with the check, but Min. Akbar Muhammad was there to help. “Brother Minister, the interest you could have gotten!” Min. Farrakhan recalled his brother saying when told the check had sat in a drawer for four months.

Photo: J.A. Sa-

Mustapha Farrakhan and his wife, Karen, at tribute dinner. Photo: Rosalind X Guy

Min. Farrakhan shared his happiness with the event and seeing Miriam Muhammad, Min. Akbar Muhammad’s wife of many years, and his children and family assembled.

The families of men like Brother Akbar Muhammad and myself suffer because we are gone on a mission and loved ones miss us, he said.

When sent to Ghana, Min. Akbar Muhammad accepted the mission and immersed himself in Africa and has a passion for the Motherland, said Min. Farrakhan. He lived in Accra, Ghana, for several years running a Nation of Islam Information Center, running a tourism business that brought thousands to Africa and building relationships in West Africa and on other parts of the continent.

“Many of us do things out of vanity seeking some personal aggrandizement, Akbar was not like that for me and I was never like that for my teacher,” the Minister added.

“This is a great man,” Min. Farrakhan said. “I really thank Allah for you, Brother Akbar, and I realize how valuable you are to your Nation and our people.”

The legacy of Min. Akbar Muhammad will live on through the generations and no history can be written of me without writing about him, said Min. Farrakhan.

Continued on page 32

The Final Call

The banquet hall was full for a July 27 evening devoted to honoring Min. Akbar Muhammad for his leadership and life’s work.

A lifetime of work brought out friends family and admirers of Min. Akbar Muhammad July 27 for a celebratory banquet.

7

Photos: Cartan X

augusT 6, 2019

Min. Akbar Muhammad, center, with supporters and friends, including longtime Min. Akbar Muhammad, left, was honored for longtime service to Black people comrade Michael V. Roberts, far right. and the Nation of Islam.

Friends, comrades pay homage to Akbar Muhammad

by J.A. Salaam Contributing Writer @drjasalaam

O’FALLON, Ill.—The Regency banquet center in O’Fallon Illinois was packed to celebrate the life, love, dedication and sacrifice of Brother Abdul Akbar Muhammad, a committed friend to the Honorable Minister Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam.

For nearly 60 years, Min. Akbar Muhammad has worked tirelessly, dedicating his life as a helper in the cause of truth under the leadership of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, Imam W.D. Mohammed and with his longtime brother and dear friend, Minister Farrakhan. Several hundred friends, family and students of Min. Akbar Muhammad gathered July 27 to recognize the tremendous impact he has had in their lives for five decades. Thousands more were able to view the evening program as it streamed live on the internet.

“God always has a way of bringing people together.

The people that gathered to celebrate the life and accomplishments of Minister Akbar Muhammad were indicative of the life he lives and the mission that he continues to pursue for the Nation of Islam,” said Denise Thimes. “As an entertainer, as a sister, and as a woman I was honored to be asked to sing for Minister Akbar, and most honored that the Honorable Minister

St. Louis city councilman John Muhammad, left, and Carlos Muhammad show off Student National MGT Capt. Naeema Muhammad enjoys evening tribute to proclamation honoring Akbar Muhammad.

Min. Akbar Muhammad.

Farrakhan and Sister Khadijah Farrakhan were also present. My thanks to Minister Ralph and Pamela Muhammad, Minister Donald and Helen Muhammad.

Again I am grateful,” she said.

One of Min. Akbar Muhammad’s comrades from Mosque No. 7 in New York, where he started his journey in Islam, came to honor him. George Khaldun, a man in his 70s, ran up on the stage with the energy and youthfulness of a 20-year-old. “What hit me most was the fact that there was so many people who talked

about his love and his dedication and his concern for people—his ability to uplift people, and move people from one level to another. The dedication that he has shown to the work of the Nation of Islam and his desire to see that Islam rules supreme in the land, that’s what impacted me the most. The fact that he’s able to motivate so many other people with that same Continued on page 31

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The Final Call

augusT 6, 2019

Hundreds of Black deaths in 1919 are being remembered America in the summer of 1919 ran red with blood from racial violence, and yet today, 100 years later, not many people know it even happened.

It flowed in small towns like Elaine, Arkansas, in medium-size places such as Annapolis, Maryland, and Syracuse, New York, and in big cities like Washington and Chicago. Hundreds of Black men, women and children were burned alive, shot, hanged or beaten to death by White mobs. Thousands saw their homes and businesses burned to the ground and were driven out, many never to return.

It was branded “Red Summer” because of the bloodshed and amounted to some of the worst White-on-Black violence in U.S. history.

Beyond the lives and family fortunes lost, it had far-reaching repercussions, contributing to generations of Black distrust of White authority. But it also galvanized Blacks to defend themselves and their neighborhoods with fists and guns; reinvigorated civil rights organizations like the NAACP and led to a new era of activism; gave rise to courageous reporting by Black journalists; and influenced the generation of leaders who would take up the fight for racial equality decades later.

“The people who were the icons of the civil rights movement were raised by the people who survived Red Summer,” said Saje Mathieu, a history professor at the University of Minnesota.

For all that, there are no national observances marking Red Summer.

History textbooks ignore it, and most museums don’t acknowledge it. The reason: Red Summer contradicts the post-World War I-era notion that America was making the world safe for democracy, historians say.

“It doesn’t fit into the neat stories we tell ourselves,” said David Krugler, author of “1919, The Year of Racial Violence: How African

Photo: en.wikipedia.org

by Jesse J. Holland

A White gang hunting African Americans during the Chicago race riot of 1919.

Americans Fought Back.”

That could change. A monument has been proposed in Arkansas.

Several authors have written about the bloody summer. A Brooklyn choral group performed Red Summer-theme songs like “And They Lynched Him on a Tree” in March to commemorate the centennial. At the National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Mathieu and author Cameron McWhirter plan to present some of their findings July 30.

Researchers believe that in a span of 10 months, more than 250 African Americans were killed in at least 25 riots across the U.S.

by White mobs that never faced punishment. Historian John Hope Franklin called it “the greatest period of interracial strife the nation has ever witnessed.”

The bloodshed was the product of a collision of social forces: Black men were returning from World War I expecting the same rights they had fought and bled for in Europe, and African Americans were moving north to escape the brutal Jim Crow laws of the South. Whites saw Blacks as competition for jobs, homes and political power.

“Ethnic cleansing was the goal of the White rioters,” said William Tuttle, a retired professor of American studies at the University of Kansas and author of “Race Riot: Chicago in the Red Summer of 1919.” “They wanted to kill as many Black people as possible and to terrorize the rest

until they were willing to leave and live someplace else.”

The violence didn’t start or end in 1919. Some count the era of Red Summer as beginning with the deaths of more than two dozen African Americans in East St. Louis, Illinois, in 1917 and extending through the Rosewood Massacre of 1923, when a Black town in Florida was destroyed. All told, at least 1,122 Americans were killed in racial violence over those six years, by Tuttle’s count.

In 1919 alone, violence erupted in such places as New York; Memphis, Tennessee; Philadelphia; Charleston, South Carolina; Baltimore; New Orleans; Wilmington, Delaware; Omaha, Nebraska; New London, Connecticut; Bisbee, Arizona; Longview, Texas; Knoxville, Tennessee; Norfolk, Virginia; and Putnam County, Georgia.

In the nation’s capital, White mobs—many made up of members of the military—rampaged over the weekend of July 19-22, beating any Black they could find after false rumors of a White woman being assaulted by Black men spread.

“In front of the Riggs Bank the rioters beat a Negro with clubs and stones wrapped in handkerchiefs; the bleeding figure lay in the street for over twenty minutes before being taken to the hospital,” Lloyd M. Abernethy wrote in the Maryland Historical Magazine in 1963. “Sensing the failure of the police, the mob became even more contemptuous

of authority—two Negroes were attacked and beaten directly in front of the White House.”

Carter G. Woodson, the historian who founded Black History Month in 1926, saw the violence up close.

“They had caught a Negro and deliberately held him as one would a beef for slaughter, and when they had conveniently adjusted him for lynching, they shot him,” Woodson wrote. “I heard him groaning in his struggle as I hurried away as fast as I could without running, expecting every moment to be lynched myself.”

In Elaine, Arkansas, poor Black sharecroppers who had dared to join a union were attacked, and at least 200 African Americans were killed.

Ida B. Wells, a pioneering Black journalist and one of the few reporters to interview victims, noted a woman named Lula Black was dragged from her farm by a White mob after saying she would join the union.

“They knocked her down, beat her over the head with their pistols, kicked her all over the body, almost killed her, then took her to jail,” Wells wrote in her report “The Arkansas Race Riot.” “The same mob went to Frank Hall’s house and killed Frances Hall, a crazy old woman housekeeper, tied her clothes over her head, threw her body in the public road where it lay thus exposed till the soldiers came Thursday evening and took it up.”

Black journalists like Wells played an important role in getting the story out.

“Black newspapers like the Chicago Defender were instrumental in providing an alternate voice that represented why African Americans deserved to be here, deserved equal rights and were, in some cases, justified in fighting,” said Kevin Strait, a curator at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Red Summer also marked a new era of Black resistance to White injustice, with African Americans standing up in unprecedented numbers and killing some of their tormentors. Returning Black soldiers from World War I led the charge, using skills they refined in Europe.

“The Germans weren’t the enemy—the enemy was right here at home,” said Harry Haywood in his autobiography, “A Black Communist in the Freedom Struggle: The Life of Harry Haywood.”

In Washington, Carrie Johnson, 17, became a hero for shooting at White invaders in her neighborhood. She fatally shot a White policeman who broke into her second-story bedroom. She claimed self-defense, and her manslaughter conviction was overturned.

The NAACP gained about 100,000 members that year, said McWhirter, author of “Red Summer: The Summer of 1919 and the Awakening of Black America.” Soon, Blacks were “going to Congress, they’re pressing congressmen and senators to pass anti-lynching legislation. At the same time, they’re fighting back in the courts, they’re filing lawsuits when people are being mistreated or railroaded.”

The lessons of Red Summer would reverberate after World War II. “You have a similar situation where African Americans had done their part to make the world safe for democracy, and Black veterans came home, and many of them were alive or had heard the stories of what happened in 1919,” Mr. Krugler said. “And they said, ‘Never again.’” (AP)

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The hypocrisy of the economic cold war, mostly initiated by the U.S. against China and playing out in Africa is telling. This week we go to Dr. Mehari Taddele Maru, lead member of the African Union High Advisory Group and chief strategist for the East Africanbased Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and professor at Ethiopia’s Addis Ababa University, for answers.

Six months after National Security Advisor John Bolton announced the Trump administration’s “New Africa Strategy,” 11 African heads of state and government and some 1,000 business leaders held, at the beginning of July, the 12th U.S.-Africa Business Summit, in Maputo, Mozambique.

According to Bolton’s New Africa Strategy: “Great power competitors, namely China and Russia, are rapidly expanding their financial and political influence across Africa. They are deliberately and aggressively targeting their investments in the region to gain a competitive advantage over the United States.”

What it doesn’t say, that Dr. Maru cites, is Africa debt to China makes it the fourth-largest debtor.

Out in front is Europe (mainly Germany, UK and Netherlands), the Americas (mainly the U.S. and Canada), and Asia. U.S. is in debt to its China rival to the tune of $1.12 trillion. By contrast Africa owes China nearly $83 billion.

“Africans,” says Dr. Maru, “are fully aware of and concerned about high indebtedness, trade imbalances, the relatively poor quality of Chinese goods and services and Beijing’s application of lower standards of labor and environmental practices. But many do not share the American perspective that their economic relationship with China is to their detriment and rather see it as an opportunity that provides much-needed unconditional funding and that takes into account local priorities.”

What is the impact of the U.S. pushing African countries away from partnerships with China?

Dr. Maru feels the pressure could severely hurt African economies.

It could “force African countries

into making choices that are not in their best economic interests and miss out on important development projects or funding.”

Note: U.S. and Africa trade has decreased from $120 billion in 2012 to roughly $50 billion in 2019. In addition, U.S. foreign direct investment flows has decreased from $9.4 billion in 2009 to nearly $330 million in 2017. The U.S. proposed $60 billion investment fund, Dr. Maru says might be “a welcome initiative,” but it will not be a serious challenge to China’s economic presence in Africa. Last year China’s president Xi Jinping pledged $60 billion, all dedicated to investment in Africa.

Africa set to create a $3.4 trillion economic trade bloc After four years of negotiations, the agreement to form a 55-nation trade bloc was reached in March, Al Jazeera reported. This paved the way for July’s African Union summit in Niger where Ghana was announced as the future headquarters of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). If successful, AfCFTA will unite 1.3 billion Africans and create a $3.4 trillion economic bloc that will usher in a new era of African development.

According to the African Union, AfCFTA mainly plans to create a single, continent-wide market for goods and services, with free movement of business persons and investments, and thus paving the way for accelerating the establishment of the Continental Customs Union and the African Customs Union.

During a recent interview with Xinhua, Costantinos Bt. Costantinos, who served as an economic advisor to the AU and UN Economic Commission for Africa said, “African countries can benefit from free trade by increasing their amount and access to economic resources.” “The AfCFTA will also allow African-owned companies to enter new markets, with significant reduction in input cost,” he added.

Graphic: MGN Online

Economic cold war between China and U.S. heats up in Africa

The economic advisor continued, “African countries can benefit from free trade by increasing their amount and access to economic resources … . The AfCFTA will also allow African-owned companies to enter new markets, with significant reduction in input cost.”

A big question being raised is how will small nations fare? Constantinos said, “(The) Free trade agreement will … ensure small nations to obtain the economic resources needed to produce consumer goods and services.”

The hope is the AfCFTA, according to Al-Jazeera, which would form the largest trade bloc since the 1994 creation of the World Trade Organization, will assist in unlocking Africa’s “long-stymied economic potential by boosting intra-regional trade, strengthening supply chains, and spreading expertise.”

African Union Chairman Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said at the summit’s opening ceremony, “The success of the AfCFTA will be the real test to achieve the economic growth that will turn our people’s dream of welfare and quality of life into a reality.”

The African free trade accord is projected to boost intra-Africa trade by more than 52 percent by the year 2020, according to the UN Economic Commission of Africa.

Is ‘Techsploitation’ the new name for latest African colonialism?

“Colonial powers,” according to the London based Financial Times, have “spent centuries extracting wealth from the (African) continent, destroying homegrown systems of government and depriving it of the human resources and capital formation on which other states have built success.” A recent Financial Times piece titled “Are tech companies Africa’s new colonialists?” suggests companies like the tech company Jumia, which isn’t really African say its critics, “is the latest iteration in a long history of exploitation … .” Instead of oil, they say, companies such as Jumia are plundering data and profits. They say you might call it “techsploitation.”

Rebecca Enonchong, a Cameroon-born tech entrepreneur, is among those who insist that Jumia is a foreign company dressed in African garb. Jumia, she says, is the brainchild of Rocket Internet, a German company that “copy pastes ideas developed in Silicon Valley and applies them to the rest of the world.” “This is a Rocket Internet company. It is not an African start-up … We have a painful history with European companies, this colonial legacy that is very recent.

It seems like it’s being repeated in the start-up world.”

Not that Enonchong questions Rocket Internets right to do business in Africa, what she questions is the strength of the business model run by a senior management out-

side of Africa.

She also says companies like Jumia are throttling Africa’s homegrown tech industry at birth. In other words, is their great advantage and their access to capital. “I don’t see any African start-up that would be permitted to lose that kind of money,” says Enonchong, referring to the near $1 billion that Jumia burnt through in seven years on its way to listing on the U.S. Stock Exchange. “That robs Africans of an opportunity to be the first,” she argues. Many African startups are being steamrollered out of existence because of their inability to match Jumia’s deep pockets, she says.

Jumia was incorporated in 2012 in Berlin, though it tells inquirers that it was headquartered in Nigeria. At its most senior level, it’s managed not by Africans but by French executives, who operated out of France until they moved to the current location in Dubai.

Most of its technicians who maintain its online systems work out of Portugal and many, not all, are Portuguese nationals.

According to the Financial Times, “With a combination of online technology and strategic offline infrastructure—including warehouses and fleets of motorbikes—Jumia promises an expanding African consumer class the opportunity to have goods delivered directly to their homes.”

TMS Ruge, a Ugandan entrepreneur like Enonchong, questions what he calls a “digital recolonization” of the continent. African start-ups are being deprived of capital by age-old prejudices and power relations, he said to the Financial Times. “What you’re going to have is this outmuscling of really good innovation by wellfunded, fast moving westernlinked organizations that are willing to lose money for a number of years.”

Ruge says African minds are still “colonized.” “The idea that we don’t have the capacity to do anything, that nothing we do has value until someone from the west blesses it,” he says.

Follow @jehronmuhammad on Twitter.

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The Final Call

augusT

Judge to give Motel 6 settlement preliminary nod in suit

PHOENIX—A federal judge told Motel 6 and civil rights attorneys he plans to give his preliminary nod to a settlement in the case involving thousands of guests said to have had their privacy violated when the national chain gave their information to immigration authorities.

Judge David Campbell told attorneys for Motel 6 and the rights group Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund he would approve the preliminary settlement by the end of July if minor changes are made in the document. He made the announcement July 19.

Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel of the civil rights group, said he hoped the judge’s decision would send a message to other companies that had considered assisting immigration authorities.

Several major hotel companies, including Marriott and Choice Hotels in recent days, have said they will not let Immigration and Customs Enforcement use rooms as detention facilities.

The settlement proposes to make $10 million available for claims by members of the class action lawsuit. A class member could get $75 if that person was a registered guest; up to $10,000 if the person was placed in deportation proceedings as a result of having his or her information shared; and as much as $200,000 if a person incurred legal fees to defend his or her presence in the United States. The proposed settlement also expands the class to include guests at Motel 6 between February 2015 and June 2019.

The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund sued Motel 6 in January 2018, saying that giving guests’

DETROIT

PHOENIX information to immigration agents without a warrant violated privacy and civil rights laws. The chain’s owner, G6 Hospitality LLC in Carrollton, Texas, said it later issued a directive banning the practice.

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich earlier this year asked U.S. District Court Judge David Campbell not to approve the earlier version of the agreement between the two sides, saying that only a fraction of the thousands of people directly connected to the case would benefit because most of the money would have gone to migrant advocacy groups. Judge Campbell denied Brnovich’s request because the sides had told the court they were renegotiating the agreement.

Manslaughter plea in Black Lives Matter activist’s death

NEW ORLEANS—A 27-year-old New Orleans man has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the shooting of a Black Lives Matter activist known for his leap through police tape to try to seize a Confederate bat-

NEW ORLEANS tle flag during a 2017 demonstration over Civil War monuments in South Carolina.

Roosevelt Iglus had been charged with second-degree murder in the death of 32-year-old Muhiyidin Moye, better known as Muhiyidin d’Baha, of Charleston, South Carolina. Conviction would have brought an automatic life sentence.

Mr. Moye’s sister approved the plea agreement, including a 17-year prison sentence, Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro’s office said in a news release July 22. Mr. Iglus also pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and possessing a firearm after a felony conviction.

“I am pleased we were able to obtain this defendant’s guilty plea and remove any uncertainty over who is responsible for Mr. d’Baha’s death,” District Attorney Cannizzaro said in the emailed statement. “This outcome provides the victim’s family with the measure of justice they deemed appropriate.”

Authorities said Mr. Iglus tried to knock Mr. d’Baha off his bicycle and shot at him as

6, 2019

he rode away about 1:25 a.m., Feb. 6, 2018 in New Orleans. He was hit in the thigh and died about 6 hours after being taken to a hospital. A police report said a bloody trail to the body circled two blocks, and a bloody bicycle lay across the street.

Mr. Iglus was on probation after pleading guilty in 2016 to illegally carrying a weapon and possessing marijuana. A possible motive for the incident hasn’t been discussed in court, but police investigators have speculated that Mr. d’Baha might have been mistaken for someone else, district attorney’s spokesman Ken Daley said in an email.

Pageant winner ousted after tweets on Muslims, Black people

DETROIT—The Miss World America organization has stripped its Michigan pageant winner of her title, which she says was because of tweets she made about Muslims and Black people. Kathy Zhu was crowned the pageant’s Michigan winner in mid-July.

She’s a University of Michigan conservative who’s active with a group called Chinese Americans for Trump.

In since-deleted tweets from the last two years, Ms. Zhu alluded to Muslim women wearing hijabs as “being oppressed under Islam” and disparaged Black people for “blaming others” in regard to crime.

After being stripped of her crown, she posted a letter online in which pageant officials described her tweets as “offensive” and “inappropriate.” Ms. Zhu called the decision discriminatory and defended the tweets.

Pageant officials didn’t respond to a message seeking comment. It’s unclear who’ll represent Michigan in Miss World America’s October competition in Las Vegas.

(Compiled from Associated Press reports.)

AUGUST 6, 2019

THE FINAL CALL

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American boots back on the ground in Saudi Arabia

MIDEAST DEPLOYMENT

Marine Corps Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., the commander of U.S. Central Command, right, shakes hands with airmen of the Royal Saudi Air Force on Prince Sultan Air Base, July 18. Photo: Sgt. Roderick Jacquote/Marine Corps

by Brian E. Muhammad Staff Writer @globalpeeks

The United States is placing troops back on the soil of Saudi Arabia for the first time in almost two decades as tensions intensify with the Islamic Republic of Iran in a region that’s becoming increasingly volatile.

The Saudi News Agency reported July 19 that King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud approved hosting the American Armed Forces in the Kingdom to increase joint cooperation and strengthen regional security and stability.

Foreign troops in the Kingdom have historically been a contentious issue and are presently a very controversial policy among lawmakers in Washington.

“The Trump administration has been playing the game of chicken with Iran,” said Bill Fletcher Jr., a senior scholar with the Institute for Policy Studies. “They are being very provocative,” he said.

Mr. Fletcher is not convinced President Trump himself wants war but notes the commander in

chief is surrounded by hawkish advisors like Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Advisor John Bolton who are bent on military conflict with Iran.

American troops have not been stationed in Saudi Arabia since 2003 during the time of the U.S. invasion of Iraq that brought down Saddam Hussein. The Saudis agreed to allow America to operate from its Prince Sultan Air Base, which was a source of tension throughout the region.

Analysts are raising questions about the implications of the U.S. returning to the Saudi air base.

During the first Gulf war in the 1990s, the presence of a foreign army was a rallying cry for groups like Al-Qaida to rally against America. “One of the questions is whether or not this will once again become a rallying cry,” said Mr. Fletcher.

In recent months, verbal chest bumping between Washington and Tehran has worsened. In June, the Pentagon committed to deploy 1,000 troops to the Middle East claiming an imminent threat from Iran on U.S. interests in the Gulf region, which Iran denies exists.

President Donald Trump with Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mar. 14, 2017.

Photo: MGN Online

Anti-war advocates say it’s the Trump administration’s policy of “maximum provocation” towards Iran that’s pushing the war envelope.

“America stands on the precipice of another blunderbuss war of choice in the Middle East,” said Paul Kawika Martin, senior director for Policy and Political Affairs at Peace Action.

“A majority of the Senate and House voted to affirm that the

constitutional authority over war lies in their hand,” stressed Mr. Martin.

There is a divide between the White House and lawmakers over U.S.-Saudi relations centered around mega arms deals, an ongoing conflict in Yemen and the controversial murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The war in Yemen has claimed more than 10,000 lives and the United Nations says it’s the worse humanitarian crisis in recent times. Both the House and Senate overwhelmingly voted in April to curtail U.S. support of the war in Yemen and Congress later voted in July to block arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. President Trump vetoed both measures.

“This resolution would weaken America’s global competitiveness and damage the important relationships we share with our allies and partners,” President Trump said in a July 24 statement.

Lawmakers opposed to arms sales to the Kingdom are unhappy with President Trump’s overriding congressional objections to a $8.1 billion arms deal in late May. Citing problems with Iran, the administration invoked a national emergency under the Arms Export Control Act to justify the deal.

Lawmakers, however, saw it as a slap in the face of congressional “oversight” and “review” of arms sales to foreign nations.

Saudi Arabia is a major customer for the U.S. military industrial complex, ordering billions of dollars in arms and technology.

The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen that includes the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan and Egypt is equipped mainly with U.S.

weapons systems.

The flouting of congressional checks and balances on the arms sale shows a cynicism that permeates the Trump administration, Mr. Fletcher pointed out.

“The fact that they are willing to tolerate the murder of Khashoggi, the fact that they are willing to tolerate a very repressive form of Islamic fundamentalism within Saudi Arabia, yet attack Iran for its version of fundamentalism, it’s absurd … hypocrisy,” Mr. Fletcher said.

The Kingdom along with other Gulf nations in what is dubbed the “moderate Sunni axis” and the Zionist state of Israel are allied with America against Iran, its archrival for regional influence and power.

Relations soured between America and Iran after President Trump walked away from an Obama era nuclear pact signed by Iran and leading world powers.

American troops being placed in Saudi Arabia also come at a time when Saudi Arabia is becoming isolated in the Yemen conflict against Houthi rebels, reportedly backed by Iran. United Press International reported that UAE forces have started a withdrawal from the conflict, according to Emirati officials. Since 2015 the UAE has provided weapons, funding, training and at least 5,000 troops.

The heightened rhetoric and military maneuvering against Iran is very dangerous, said analysts.

“You don’t go to war with Iran willy-nilly,” warned Mr. Fletcher.

Iran is also a very large country with a long coastline and wellarmed military.

“This can be a complete disaster for everybody,” Mr. Fletcher said.

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AUGUST 6, 2019

Iran to confront acts of mischief in Persian Gulf: Rouhani President Hassan Rouhani says Iran has the responsibility for securing the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf and will decisively confront any attempt at destabilizing the strategic waters.

“We will not allow anyone to try to disrupt order in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz,” the chief executive told a government meeting in Tehran July 24.

“It is Iran and the other littoral states, which are chiefly responsible for securing the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormoz, and the [security] issue has nothing to do with others. The Iranian nation has always acted as the guardian of the Persian Gulf,” Mr. Rouhani emphasized.

Mr. Rouhani strongly warned against acts of “mischief” in the Persian Gulf as well as violations of the international maritime law governing the body of water, calling on all sides to heed the warnings of the naval forces of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) in the Strait of Hormuz—which has been in charge of ensuring security in the maritime bottleneck.

‘World should thank IRGC’ The president further hailed the IRGC’s recent capture of a law-breaking British-flagged oil tanker, which had collided with a fishing boat in the Strait and ignored its repeated distress calls as a “very precise, professional, and correct” step.

will receive a befitting response from Iran,” Mr. Rouhani added.

Iran ‘will lose no chance for fair dialog’

President Hassan Rouhani

“I believe that the entire world should be grateful to the IRGC for the security in the Persian Gulf,” Mr. Rouhani said.

Besides safeguarding the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, he added, Iran endeavors to contribute to maritime security in other international waterways such as the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Indian Ocean, referring to the country’s numerous successful anti-piracy mis-

Hand grenades, rifle, crossbow and machete found in new neo-Nazi cell bust in Italy Italian police seized a new cache of weapons and Nazi materials during a raid on an underground far-right group linked with the conflict in Ukraine. The bust is tied to an earlier raid in which an air-to-air missile was found.

The previous week, the General Investigations and Special Operations Division (DIGOS) found a cache of 20 firearms, an airto-air missile, and Nazi memorabilia. Police arrested three suspects, including Fabio Del Bergiolo, a former customs officer and onetime failed Senate candidate from the neofascist Forza Nuova party.

On July 19, a Turin-based counter-terrorism unit raided Mr. Del Bergiolo’s second residence in Massa Carrara province. Police found a rifle with two magazines and a tripod used for shooting, a handgun, a compound bow with 13 darts, a crossbow pistol, and a machete. Various ammunition was also discovered at the scene, as well as hand grenades and mortar bombs.

As in the previous raid, neo-Nazi materials were found—in this case, dozens of DVDs and VHS tapes with propaganda films, such

as the infamous 1935 film “Triumph of the Will” which was produced in Nazi Germany.

There was also a framed photo of Benito Mussolini, Italy’s fascist leader during WWII. The materials are in line with “the extremist ideology” of Mr. Del Bergiolo, police said.

The first raid caused confusion in the media. In their initial reports, police explicitly stated that they targeted domestic groups that fought “against the separatists” in eastern Ukraine, meaning the forces of the breakaway Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, which oppose the central government in Kiev.

Several high-profile Western news organizations, however, misquoted police, saying the group fought “alongside” the rebels, not against them. BBC and Reuters later altered their stories after being alerted.

Police then told RT that there was an “error” in their report and altered their press release, removing all mentions of which side in the conflict in Ukraine the members of the investigated far-right group had fought for. The press release now simply says they “participated” in the conflict. (RT.com)

sions and patrols in the high seas.

The president further slammed the illegal seizure of an Iranian supertanker by UK British naval forces off the coast of Gibraltar earlier in July.

“We are not after keeping up tensions with certain European countries. If they abide by international regulations and stop taking unlawful measures like what they did in Gibraltar, they

The president further touched on a decision

by Iran to suspend some of its commitments under a multilateral 2015 nuclear deal on a stageby-stage basis after the U.S. left the accord and unleashed a harsh campaign of economic sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

Iran made the decision after the remaining European signatories to deal—namely France, Britain and the UK—failed to fulfill their end of the bargain by protecting Iran against the American sanctions.

Tehran says those reductions are in line with its legal rights under the deal and will be reversible as soon as the European side fulfills its side of the accord.

Mr. Rouhani further said the Islamic Republic would never lose any chance for negotiation as far as it is fair and based on mutual respect.

Tehran, though, would take another step towards reducing its nuclear obligations if it is faced with continued violations of its legal rights.

“Iran not in the habit of acting obstinately … but would not submit to bullying,” he added.

(PressTV.com)

Funeral service held for Muslims killed by Serbs PRIJEDOR, Bosnia-Herzegovina—Several thousand people attended a funeral service in Bosnia for 86 Muslims who were slain by Serbs in one of the worst atrocities of the country’s 1992-95 war.

Relatives of the victims, religious leaders and others gathered at a soccer stadium near the eastern town of Prijedor, standing solemnly behind lines of coffins draped with green cloths.

The victims ranged in age from 19 to 61. They were among some 200 Bosnian Muslims and Croats from Prijedor who were massacred in August 1992 on a cliff on Mt. Vlasic known as Koricanske Stijene.

The victims were shot and killed by the edge of the cliff, their bodies falling into the abyss. The Serbs later threw bombs onto the bodies, which made identifying the victims difficult.

The United Nations war crimes tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia sentenced several ex-Bosnian Serb policemen for separating civilians from a convoy of people being deported from Prijedor and killing them.

Armin Suljanovic buried some of his brother’s remains July 20 alongside bone fragments that were previously identified and laid to rest. Mr. Suljanovic said his wife’s brothers and father were also being buried after the joint service.

“My relatives and I have been suffering for the past 27 years. It is a painful destiny to have, but now, at least, we’ll know where they are buried, we’ll have a place to visit to say a prayer for them,” he said.

More than 3,000 Bosnian Muslims and other non-Serbs were killed in Prijedor during the war. Many were taken to prison camps where they were beaten, starved and tortured.

Bosnian Serbs have been accused of carrying out a campaign of ethnic cleansing during the war, expelling nonSerbs from the territories they controlled during the war such as Prijedor.

More than 100,000 people died in the war in Bosnia and millions were left homeless. The conflict erupted after the breakup of the former Yugoslavia turning Bosnia’s Serbs, Muslim and Croats against each other. (AP)

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New British leader’s disturbing remarks recalled by African media outlets

Britain’s new Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks outside 10 Downing Street, London, July 24.

Boris Johnson has replaced Theresa May as Prime Minister, following her resignation in June after Parliament repeatedly rejected the Brexit withdrawal agreement she struck with the European Union.

(AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

(GIN)—African media greeted the new British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, by recalling some of particularly cringeworthy remarks made during his formative years in politics.

The new Conservative Party leader has a history of gaffes involving Kenya and Africa, having once attacked Barack Obama saying the “part-Kenyan president” had an “ancestral dislike of the British Empire” af-

ter he removed a bust of Winston Churchill from the Oval Office.

On another occasion he referred to Black people as “piccaninnies” and talked about “watermelon smiles.”

The South African online publication dug up this remark by the new leader: “The Queen has come to love the Commonwealth of Africa, partly because it supplies her with regular cheering crowds of flag-waving piccaninnies.”

He continued: “The best fate for Africa would be if the old colonial powers, or their citizens, scrambled once again in her direction; on the understanding that this time they will not be asked to feel guilty.”

His tour to the Cape Flats produced these remembrances: “Of the hordes of unwashed kids who came out to compete for our presents—badges and trinkets—hardly any seemed fluent in English. A nice one-eyed woman called Mary took us in to see her flat, and though her linoleum floor shone with mopping, she had almost none of the amenities that are taken for granted by the poorest families in modern Britain.”

In 2002, Mr. Johnson, who was a member of the British parliament at the time, wrote about the continent: “Africa is a mess, but we can’t blame colonialism. It is just not convincing, 40 years on, to blame Africa’s

problems on the arbitrary boundary making of the men in sola topis (pith helmets).”

“The continent may be a blot, but it is not a blot upon our conscience. The problem is not that we were once in charge, but that we are not in charge anymore.”

Later, while on the campaign trail for the London Mayor elections in 2008, he backtracked on the comments reminding British voters that he “loathed and despised” racism. “I do feel very sad that people have been so offended by these words and I’m sorry that I’ve caused this offense,” he was quoted to say.

Most recently, Mr. Johnson visited Africa as leader of UK foreign policy. He visited The Gambia at the height of the Jammeh political crisis, he was in Ghana and also in Libya.

Since his election, some African leaders have given him some slack over his previous remarks.

“Warm congratulations to Boris Johnson on his decisive election as the leader of the Conservatives and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo said in a tweet. “Best wishes for his success, and I look forward to working with him to strengthen the already strong ties between our two countries.”

Unexpected struggles in the fight against Ebola (GIN)—The battle to knock out the Ebola virus should have its eyes on the goal. Instead, politics and a divisive struggle between two drug makers has interfered. A key health minister in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has resigned in protest.

In his resignation letter, Health Minister Oly Ilunga Kalenga condemned President Felix Tshisekedi’s takeover of the country’s Ebola response, removing him as head of the Ebola response team.

He also criticized what he described as outside pressure to roll out a second experimental Ebola vaccine.

Oly Ilunga Kalenga defended the work of his ministry, saying it had communicated daily on the situation in the ongoing outbreak “to reassure and show the world that the country is managing this epidemic.”

But on July 29, the Tshisekedi administration announced that direct supervision of the Ebola response was being placed with a team of experts under the direction of Jean Jacques Muyembe Tamfum, director-general of the DRC’s National Institute for Biomedical Research (NIBR) and a microbiologist at the University of Kinshasa’s medical school. Mr. Tamfum has studied Ebola and responded to outbreaks for more than 40 years.

The change in leadership came days after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Ebola outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. “There is no sign of this epidemic slowing down. We therefore welcome the DRC President’s bold decision to change strategy and bring the Ebola response under his direct supervision,” Peter Piot, director of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said in a statement.

Since August 2018, the DRC has recorded more than 2,500 cases of Ebola and, among them, more than 1,700 deaths.

In his resignation letter, Mr. Kalenga attacked efforts to launch trials of an experimental vaccine made by Johnson & Johnson (J&J) in the country.

A Merck & Co. vaccine is already in use there.

Groups backing the use of the J&J vaccine include the Wellcome Trust, Doctors Without Borders, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), WHO, J&J, and NIBR. But there are important differences from Merck’s vaccine that have to be taken into account, he said. Made from a live, replicating virus, Merck’s vaccine mounts protection against Ebola in about 10 days. While the J&J immunization appears to raise the body’s defenses for the long-term, it’s administered in two shots, about two months apart.

In this July 16 photo, sunlight shines on freshly dug graves in Beni, Congo. In a year, more than 1,600 people in eastern Congo have died of Ebola, as the virus has spread in areas too dangerous for health teams to access. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

“We have developed a vaccine for a time of peace,” said Paul Stoffels, J&J’s chief scientific officer. He worked in clinics in poor African communities in Congo and elsewhere for years before coming to the company.

How much, if any, protection a person gets

from the first shot before getting the second isn’t clear. Ensuring people are fully vaccinated with the two-shot regimen would be challenging among mobile populations, especially in people fleeing conflict, and could stoke suspicions.

14

THE FINAL CALL

AUGUST 6, 2019

Growing African agriculture one ‘byte’ at a time

BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe—Ella Mazani is a mobile phone farmer. “My mobile phone is part of my farming. It supports my farming and my family’s welfare through the services I get via the phone,” the smallholder maize farmer from Shurugwi in central Zimbabwe quips.

Ms. Mazani grows maize and finger millet and keeps livestock. As a farmer she often waits for the next visit by an agriculture extensionist to her village so she can access advice on farming and what the next cropping season would be like. Extension officers are intermediaries between research and farmers, often providing them with advice on new farming methods and providing update on climatic changes etc.

That has changed. Ms. Mazani now buys inputs, sells her produce and maintains a funeral policy for her family, all with a tap on her mobile phone.

She subscribes to the EcoFarmer, a mobile platform developed by Econet Wireless, the largest telecommunication services company in Zimbabwe. The EcoFarmer mobile platform provides innovative micro insurance for farmers to insure their inputs and crops against drought or excessive rain. They access these services via sms and voice-based messages on their mobile phones.

Econet Wireless have partnered with the Zimbabwe Farmers Union (ZFU)— which represents more than one million smallholder farmers—to offer the ZFU EcoFarmer Combo, a bundled information and financial service.

Members pay one dollar for a membership subscription. Through it they receive crop or livestock tips based on their farming area as well as weather-based indexed crop and funeral insurance.

“I used to struggle with marketing of my crop but through EcoFarmer Combo, I receive money after selling my produce through my phone,” Ms. Mazani tells IPS. “As a farmer I always want to receive money in cash so I can count it. I thought selling through the mobile phone would cheat me of my money but now I consider this gadget a helper. I dial *144 and get current information on the weather which allows me to plan my farming. I know when to apply fertilizer and when it will rain. I even get notifications of diseases like the fall army worm and [information on] how to treat it.”

Falling yields and rising technologies

As agriculture yields fall, digital services are providing smart solutions that are increasing smallholder farmers’ productivity, profits and resilience to climate change—a threat to agriculture.

“Climate change has necessitated

changes in how farmers cultivate their land to be able to provide food and secure incomes in a sustainable manner; and climate smart agriculture has proven solutions which have to be scaled out to farmers,” Mariam Kadzamira, a climate change officer with Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), tells IPS on the side-lines of a recent meeting held in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The meeting reviewed a CTA regional project where farmers from Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe are receiving weather information via mobile phones.

The project, which aims to reach 200,000 smallholder farmers by end of 2019, is promoting the use of droughttolerant seeds and weather-based index insurance to farmers as part of the climate smart agriculture interventions that are accessed by farmers through digital platforms.

Digitalization doing it for farmers A new study titled The Digitalisation of African Agriculture Report 20182019, published in June, found that an untapped market worth more than two billion dollars for digital services could support farmers improve their productivity and income.

The study tracked and analyzed digital solutions such as farmer advisory services, which provided weather or planting information via SMS or smartphone applications, and financial services, including loans and insurance for farmers.

Nearly 400 different digital agriculture solutions with 33 million registered farmers across sub-Saharan Africa were identified in the study by Dalberg Advisors and the CTA. However, the current digitalization for agriculture (D4Ag) market is a tip of the iceberg with just a six percent penetration, the report authors say.

In 2018, the digitalization for agriculture market recorded an estimated turnover of $143 million out of a total potential market worth over $2.6 billion, the study said.

The study found an annual growth of more than 40 percent for the number of registered farmers and digital solutions, suggesting the D4Ag market in Africa is likely to reach the majority of the region’s farmers by 2030.

“Digitalization can be a game-changer in modernizing and transforming Africa’s agriculture, attracting young people to farming and allowing farmers to optimize production while also making them more resilient to climate change,” said Michael Hailu, director of CTA, as he urged private sector investment in increasing the adoption of this model to help farmers increase yields.

By using digital solutions, farmers saw improvements in yields ranging from 23 to 73 percent, and increases of up to 37 percent in incomes, the report found.

Michael Tsan, partner at Dalberg Advisors and co-leader of the firm’s global Digital and Data Practice, said digitalization for agriculture has the potential to sustainably and inclusively support agricultural transformation for 250 million smallholder farmers and pastoralists in Africa.

“Sound digital infrastructure that provides basic connectivity and affordable internet is a prerequisite for smallholder farmers to fully harness the opportunities of digitalization in agriculture,” Debisi Araba, a member of the Malabo Montpellier Panel and Regional Director for Africa at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), tells IPS via e-mail. “To bridge the digital divide, rural communities need to be better connected to electricity reliable telecommunications and internet connections households, schools and workplaces.

The Malabo Montpellier Panel is a group of 17 African and international experts in agriculture, ecology, nutrition and food security. The panel guides policy choices by African governments towards food security and improved nutrition on the African continent.

“Africa now has the opportunity to leapfrog and leverage the potential benefits of digital innovation in the food system, while using targeted regulation to avoid the risks that digitalization can pose,” Mr. Araba says.

A report launched by the Malabo Montpellier Panel at its annual forum in Rwanda last June highlights promising digital tools and technologies emerging in the agricultural value chain across Africa. The report, Byte by Byte: Policy Innovation for Transforming Africa’s Food System with Digital Technologies analyzed the experiences of Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda and Senegal who are at the forefront of applying digital technologies through policy and institutional innovation.

“Africa’s digital transformation is already underway, and the continent now has the opportunity to leverage the potential benefits of digitalization and new technologies for agriculture, as well as to

avoid the pitfalls that digitalization can pose,” says Mr. Araba.

Governments and the private sector should consider emerging technologies to leapfrog more traditional infrastructure approaches; he says urging that the use of handsets and mobile internet should be affordable and accessible for all agriculture value chain actors.

High prices have a significant impact on the uptake and use of internet and mobile services among smallholder farmers.

Although the price for mobile internet in Africa has dropped by 30 percent since 2015, the continent still has some of the highest prices for internet use globally, Araba laments.

Despite immense opportunities offered by digitization, there are challenges that need to be resolved to maximize its impact in the future. For example, there is low update of digital services among women despite accounting for more than 40 percent of the agricultural labor force.

In 2017, women in sub-Saharan Africa were on average 14 percent less likely to own a mobile phone than men and 25 percent less likely to have internet access, according to the World Bank.

“The mobile phone platform has helped me improve my farming because of the timely information I receive and the ease I have to do financial matters which took a while before. Now I buy and sell without leaving home,” Ms. Mazani says. (IPS)

AUGUST 6, 2019

THE FINAL CALL

15

Artists struggle to save Haiti museum after 2010 earthquake

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti—Franck Louissaint sighed and frowned as he stepped onto his patio and flung aside shower curtains protecting a painting by a former voodoo priest who became a renowned Haitian artist.

The painting from the 1960s once depicted a seemingly joyous voodoo spirit known as a loa, but it warped into something that looked like a three-dimensional satellite image of mountains after it was damaged by rubble and waterlogged when a 2010 earthquake hit the museum where it was displayed.

“It’s like the skin of a crocodile!” exclaimed Mr. Louissaint, an artist who expects seven more months of work to fully restore the painting by Robert Saint-Brice.

It is one of dozens of well-known paintings that artists are still trying to rescue nearly a decade after the magnitude 7.0 quake killed an estimated 300,000 people or more and struck countless buildings, including the Museum of Haitian Art of St. Pierre College—one of the country’s top institutions. More than 600 other watercolors and paintings by prominent artists are still in storage and in danger of decaying as a small group of artists struggles to restore the damaged works.

While life has begun anew for much of Haiti since the quake, the museum has been shuttered for nine years and only recently opened a tiny room to display a small quantity of art.

On a recent day, 91-year-old museum president Louis DuBois walked briskly through the building, pointing out the damaged roof and walls as he occasionally put on his glasses to inspect certain paintings.

“We have to reopen to the public,” he said.

“All the great artists are here.”

The quake also devastated other public spaces dedicated to art across Haiti, with $30 million in losses reported at the Museum d’Art Nader, which had one of the world’s most extensive collections of Haitian art.

But the Museum of Haitian Art is one of the few worldwide to host Haitian paintings from the 20th century. The museum, which previously drew 9,000 visitors a year, was established in the 1970s by art lovers to commemorate U.S. painter DeWitt Peters and is tucked into the southeast corner of Port-au-Prince’s historic area. It features mostly donated artwork.

Fewer than a dozen paintings are currently on display, including one titled “Marriage of Interest” by Rigaud Benoit, who is considered a master of Haitian painting, and “Tower of Babel” by Prefete Duffaut, whose work was collected by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Both men also painted murals inside a cathedral in Port-au-Prince that was flattened by the earthquake.

The museum’s oldest painting dates to 1945 and is by seminal Haitian artist Hector Hyppolite.

The Smithsonian Institution has helped the museum restore some paintings, as has the Louvre, which also donated 1,000 copies of a catalog illustrating all of Mr. Hyppolite’s paintings so local officials could sell them to help generate money.

But the museum still has blank, white walls, with hundreds of works stacked in a narrow

In this July 4 photo, Berthony Vilbrun points at a painting that was damaged during the earthquake 2010, at the Musée d’Art du Collège Saint Pierre, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The museum has only recently opened a tiny room to display a handful of paintings. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

storage area exposed to heat, humidity and other dangers. They are taken out only for the occasional cleaning while the more than 30 earthquake-damaged works are being restored.

Among those needing attention is a 1960s lush jungle scene by Jean-Claude Toussaint, which is nearly ripped in half and also slashed diagonally. The painting remains rolled up with yellowed masking tape that has lost its stickiness.

Mr. DuBois estimates that the museum needs $50,000 to reopen, noting the roof must be fixed and the electricity repaired before additional paintings can be displayed.

For now, he and others are relying solely on the restoration efforts of artists such as Erntz

Jeudy of nearby Quisqueya University.

Mr. Jeudy recently sat in front of a 71-by-79inch painting by Miami-based artist Edouard Duval Carrie titled “The Republican Army of Santo Domingo,” which was stripped down to blank canvas in certain areas.

“This means a lot to me because it’s the restoration of a very rich heritage,” he said. “It’s great to be able to work and transmit this to future generations.”

It’s a feeling familiar for Mr. Louissaint, who works up to 10 hours at a time to restore Mr. Brice’s painting. He said it makes him proud to have permission to touch such artwork.

“It’s the story of the old Haiti,” he said. “It starts to live again.” (AP)

16

Mueller

Continued from page 4

ter Mr. Mueller’s testimony. “We still have some outstanding matters in the courts,” she said at a news conference. “It’s about the Congress, the Constitution and the courts.” Only a half-dozen more Democrats—bringing their total above 100—joined the call for impeachment proceedings after the hearing.

The circumstances of these charges and the ideological role-reversals are complex. The FBI, since its founding director J. Edgar Hoover illegally conspired to destroy the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL) and its founder the Honorable Marcus Mosiah Garvey more than a century ago, has openly sought to disrupt the Civil Rights Movement and militant Black advocacy organizations ever since, is now cast as a hero, investigating a tainted president.

But even though the FBI does not itself have “clean hands” concerning the violation of citizens’

The Final Call rights with their past investigations does not mean that they are not truthful in what was discovered in the Trump investigation, according to Mr. Fletcher. “We should never trust them but that doesn’t mean that they’re necessarily wrong, but we should never trust them,” he said. “It’s not like we should glamorize them at all.

The question is what are the facts?

That’s what we should be looking at and understanding.

“Also, there’s certain things I don’t think that we’re going to find out anytime soon because it really does go to what was revealed to U.S. intelligence agencies. There was something that got 14 different agencies really nervous about the 2016 election and that’s not what’s being discussed in Congress today,” he continued.

“And this is also part of this double standard that we see in the United States of America that is to say that it’s our world is it not that for years you have folks on the left persecuted for alleged and asserted ties to Moscow by the right.

“A lot of folks aren’t accepting that this really is a different world,” said Mr. Fletcher. “The

Russia that we’re looking at has more in common with Tsar Nicholas than it does with anything happened between 1917 and 1991,” the Communist revolutionary period.

“And so we’re (now) dealing with a Russian ruling group that is very White supremacist, is very much in lockstep with the conservative Orthodox Church, is incredibly misogynist, and is very much of a twin of the Trump administration. These two, Putin and Trump really are the ideological godfathers of global right wing populism. So the Russia that we’re dealing with is completely different from a Cold War scenario. The Russians clearly wanted Trump in, and they want him in again, and they’re going to do whatever they have to do.

“I guess the other thing that we should say is look at what the Russians are alleged to have done, which (Mr.) Mueller documents very well in the 2016 election, is absolutely what the United States has done around the world in undermining governments’ elections that they undertook against a (President Salvador) Allende in

augusT 6, 2019 Chile in ’73, or currently against Venezuela or other places.

“But the fact that the United States has done this does not mean that you turned a blind eye to what the Russians are doing.

The Russian government does not represent our friends,” said Mr. Fletcher. “They are not advancing democracy. And that’s one of the things that I think that our listeners have to keep in mind.”

“But the purpose of this hearing as I understand this was to create momentum for impeachment,” said Dr. Horne. “And I’m not sure if that momentum was created. The political problem is that even if the House under a Democratic administration feels that it is incumbent to move forward with an impeachment resolution, it’s apparent that the Senate under Republican Party domination will not convict. And then the question becomes was that just a wasted effort?

“Then the other political question (is) that Mr. Trump’s base is not crumbling. Recall that his popularity went up after he made those racist tweets with regard to the four Congress women known as ‘The Squad.’ There is reason to

suspect that the Republican Party base may be actually to the right of the leadership which is a political problem that we all have to confront sooner rather than later, because both sides are dug in.”

The good sign coming from the hearing, according to Dr. Horne, was seeing many talented, new Congressional Black Caucus members effectively questioning Mr. Mueller.

“If you’re a casual consumer of news you saw the multiracial representatives of the Democratic Party majority—Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.); Karen Bass (D-Calif.); Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-Texas) interrogating Mr. Mueller,” said Dr. Horne. “And you saw this monochromatic Republican Party, and they would draw the inference that (the Trump supporters) are going to stay not with the multiracial Democratic majority but with the other side.

“I mean that’s the political problem that we see that it is the lack of political education about racism combining to give the current incumbent, the current occupant of the White House, an extended lease on political life.”

AUGUST 6, 2019

THE FINAL CALL

WHO IS THE ORIGINAL WOMAN? The Mis-Education of Trump Rally Chanters ‘As President Trump delivered a speech to his supporters and discussed his political controversy with Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar, his crowd of adoring supporters began to chant “Send her back, send her back, send her back!” The chants echoed and were in obvious support of President Trump’s controversial tweet that suggested that Representatives Omar (D-Minn.), Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-N.Y.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) ought to leave America instead of complaining about the corrupt laws and policies in America.’

by Demetric Muhammad –Guest Columnist– @brotherdemetric

According to the research findings and conclusions of Alexander von Wuthenau, who wrote “The Art of Terracotta Pottery in Pre-Columbian South and Central America,” Black people were in America long before Columbus first voyaged here. He writes: “It is a contradiction to the most elementary logic and to all artistic experience that an Indian could depict in a masterly way the head of a Negro without missing a single racial characteristic, unless he had actually seen such a person. The types of people depicted must have lived in America …

The Negroid element is well proven by the large Olmec stone monuments as well as the terracotta items and therefore cannot be excluded from the pre-Columbian history of the Americas.”

Despite the facts of history cited by von Wuthenau and others, most of the American people are ignorant of these important truths. For example, in recent days there has been much outrage and righteous indignation resulting from the ominous scenes of a rally in support of President Trump. As President Trump delivered a speech to his supporters and discussed his political controversy with Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar, his crowd of adoring supporters began to chant “Send her back, send her back, send her back!”

The chants echoed and were in obvious support of President Trump’s controversial tweet that suggested that Representatives Omar (D-Minn.), Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-N.Y.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) ought to leave America instead of complaining about the corrupt laws and policies in America.

As a student of Black History, this grotesque display of ignorance and fever pitch enthusiasm caused me to think about the lynching of Black men and women that also took place before crowds of enthusiastic supporters. The lynching of Black

men and women in America was really America’s first popular spectator sport. And for many years, the lynching of Black men and women was completely legal! Courageous women like Ida B. Wells and others literally had to fight to get the government to enact laws that forbade the rape, murder, mutilation, desecration and slaughter of Black people.

Original People The Bible’s Exodus 20:12 states: “Honour your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.”

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan’s profound exegesis of this verse maintains that this verse of scripture serves as an exhortation to Caucasian people. It gives them the conditions under which they—as a people— might enjoy longevity beyond their allotted time; they could appeal to God for more time by honoring their parents, who are the Original Black People of the Earth. The Minister brilliantly expounded upon how scripture, world history and also science, documents that the Original Man and Woman are an ancient Black man and woman of whom the modern Black people are direct descendants of. The Minister said that the Black, Brown, Red and Yellow peoples of the Earth are original people. He quoted his teacher, the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad who said that: “The Original Man is the Asiatic Black man, the

maker, the owner, the cream of the planet earth, god of the universe.”

Scholars who bear witness that the Original Black People are the father and mother of the White race have said: “The process of artificial selection carried on by plant and animal breeders … [its] probable that the fairest races of White people of Europe, are descended from … Negroes,” said Dr. James Cowles Prichard.

“White skin … started from an ancestor with a black skin, in whose offspring hair and iris color were suppressed more and more.” Lodewijk “Louis” Bolk.

The Minister went on to discuss the Biblical passage in Psalms 24:1 that states that the “Earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.” The Bible has also described God as being “the ancient one of days” (Isaiah 43:13 and Daniel 7:9, 13, 22). This description of God being “the ancient one” is very important. For when we search the world for the most ancient people, we discover that the most ancient human remains that have been found have been found in Africa, where Black people live!

The most ancient people descend directly from the ancient God and both are Black people! These ancient Black people are the father’s and mother’s Continued on page 38

17

AUGUST 6, 2019

THE FINAL CALL

19

America’s Dreaded Destiny by the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad

The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad

America and her people have been here, according to history, since a few years after Columbus, the explorer. She conquered the aboriginal Red Indians, the original owners of the land, whom she found here and took it for a home for herself and kind. She has continued conquering until her conquering power has gone around the earth affecting every civilized nation; submission to her will. She was successful in forcing other people to bow to her will—whether they liked it or not.

Now it is the hand of God which is after America to force her into submission—a hand from which we have no defense as it is written and prophesied in the Bible, under the name of Babylon.

Jeremiah 51:25: “Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the Lord, which destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain.”

Jer. 51:53 says: “Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall spoilers come unto her saith the Lord.”

America is under a destruction similar to that of ancient Babylon. In the Bible, Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Revelation of John prophesied concerning her. Babylon, there-mentioned is a future Babylon, and not a Babylon of the past.

America has enslaved all of the so-

called Negroes and her evil mistreatment of them is similar to ancient Babylon’s enslavement and mistreatment of the Jews, according to the scriptures. It took the hand of God to bring the king of Babylon and his people into submission to the power of God. He brought the surrounding kings and their power against ancient Babylon in the prime; the height of her glory—the hand writing on the wall—the casting of Daniel and his followers into a fiery furnace; making drunk the people of God with their strong wines and then mocking them—so has America done to the socalled Negro.

America makes him drunk with wine, whiskey and beer and then laughs at him.

She put him into the fiery furnace—burned him at the stake while sitting around with her families, drinking intoxicating drinks and laughing at the burning flesh of God’s people.

There is no justice whatsoever. As Revelation gives it, “She made all the world drink of the wine of her fornication.” But an end is coming to such evil doings.

America has lived in peace—so far as foreign war is concerned. She has destroyed other peoples and their towns and cities. She has leveled them to the ground.

She is still prepared to do the same with her great stockpile.

She says she has enough bombs and destructive weapons to destroy all human beings on the face of the earth three times, and still have some left. Of this she boasts. But Allah (God) has said to me that He will destroy America. He will bring her to her knees (humiliation).

The destruction sent to ancient Babylon and recorded in the Bible is the answer to most of what He has said to me will come upon the now rich America.

Rain, hail, snow and earthquakes—these weapons all belong to God. America, how do you fight an army like this?

The four mentioned weapons of Allah (God) cannot be ignored. The whole year has been a year thus far of Allah (God) plaguing America day and night with storms, rain, floods; killing and destroying property.

And now the coming winter—hail has been falling in some places the size of golf balls, baseballs and footballs.

The rain continues to fall in places and a dreadful snow blizzard is now in the workings. A cold wind is brewing in the North to come against America, as it is written and prophesied in Job 38:22-23:

“Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or has thou seen the treasures of the hail, which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?”

Earthquakes are now again to be recognized, touching America lightly—but nevertheless they are here. With all of her wealth and preachings of Christianity, she has not been a good Christian herself. As Jeremiah says: “Arise, get you up unto the wealthy nation, that dwelleth without care, saith the Lord, which have neither gates nor bars, which dwell alone.”

This corresponds to America. She lives situated between the two greatest bodies of water of the earth, the Atlantic and the Pacific. And she is very careless. She rejoices in her evil and filth as though she is self-protected from the divine hand of God. Jer. 50:31 prophesies: “Behold, I am against thee, O thou most proud, saith the Lord God of hosts: for thy day is come, the time that I will visit thee.” Allah (God) is visiting America with great destruction which He has to pour upon wicked America.

After their mistreatment of the socalled Negro for four hundred years, she desires now to deceive them and to cause them to suffer with her and share in her doom.

Jer. 50:6—”My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they (White and Black preachers of Christianity) have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their resting place.” (their native people and country).

Jer. 50:7 “All that found them have devoured them: and their adversaries said, We offend not, because they have sinned against the Lord, the habitation of justice, even the Lord, the hope of their fathers.”

Since the White man has made the so-called Negro as wicked a person as himself now, these are the words that he

speaks: “They are just as evil as we; therefore, Allah God is against them, too.” The so-called Negro repeats the same and says the White man is no worse than the socalled Negro.

The White man has opened all of his doors and avenues of temptation to lure the Negro in for total destruction.

Again we have a warning to leave a people with whom God is angry as the people of ancient Babylon were warned to do.

Jer. 51:45—”My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the Lord.”

All of the plagues, destructions and judgment which Allah (God) used to destroy the wicked and disobedient from the time of Adam until this day will be brought upon America. Then she will be burned with fire. This is the time of trouble that shall bring America into insanity.

(Reprinted from “The Fall Of America,” 1973.)

20

THE FINAL CALL

The Man Jesus and How Not To Fall Into Idolatry

BY THE HONORABLE MINISTER LOUIS FARRAKHAN [Editor’s note: The following article contains excerpts from an important message delivered by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan at Mosque Maryam in Chicago, Illinois, on Sunday, July 21, 2019, “The Man Jesus and How Not To Fall Into Idolatry.” To order this message in its entirety on DVD, CD and MP3, please visit store.finalcall.com or call 1.866.602.1230, ext. 200. This is Part Two of this message and we encourage readers to get the full message. Part One was published in The Final Call Newspaper, Vol. 38, No. 43.]

In The Name of Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful.

The world is not afraid of America, but our president wants the world to fear him. So, coming out of the White House, they said that if Iran purifies some of its uranium, Israel would attack Iran and America would back Israel.

This is from a senator from South Carolina.

What does that have to do with my subject?

America’s about to go to war and when she goes to war, she wants Black and Brown bodies—now you’re useful. They don’t give a doggone about how Black Lives Matter until they want to use Black Lives to accomplish their wicked ends.

They’re trying to provoke Iran. I would like to say to the president, Mr. President, it would not be a wise move for you because you’re al-

ready $23 trillion in debt and you don’t have any money to prosecute a war. So, if you don’t have the money to prosecute a war, the Federal Reserve is printing money every day. So, you will have to go to the Federal Reserve to borrow money that you don’t have to prosecute a war in a time when any little thing could cause the dollar to fall and the stocks to fall. …

They may do to me what they did to the Messenger, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, during World War II. They may issue an Executive Order to arrest Farrakhan. You think I should run away now? Some of you would like to wear the crown but you don’t want to pay the price. … *********

I’ve been telling you, watch the weather. Every day the weather is getting worse and worse.

The White meteorologists cannot tell you what the weather’s going to be; but my teacher told me. Who’s your teacher, Farrakhan? My teacher is the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad. Without him and the Great Mahdi, I wouldn’t be here, but he told me there are two of us backing you up: Allah and myself. They are worried about the weather. The president knows something. He says he doesn’t believe in climate control (climate change) and that we can do something to stop this.

Mr. President, you do have a point. If the scientists could cause this to stop, they would have done it. The scientists have a point, but

AUGUST 6, 2019

President Donald Trump

THE FINAL CALL

21

‘The president does not control the weather. If he could he wouldn’t have let the White House get flooded. Do you know why God is using weather like this? I’m going to be very clear: It’s about you, and I have to say, it’s about me.’

the scientists don’t create rain hail, snow and earthquakes. Some of these chastisements are being guided. Did you hear what I said? Who has power to guide a storm and it destroys what the guide says? The Mahdi is not just a guide for human beings. He’s a guide for the forces of nature itself.

So, America is surrounded with the Judgement of God. Climate control is very important in the context of war but there’s no space on this earth that has received as much calamity from weather as the United States of America. Water glaciers are melting. Some of these glaciers are the size of some small states. When you see a water glacier, what you see on top is nothing compared to what is on the bottom. So, when the top falls off, the bottom rises. And when the top begins to melt, the water rises.

So, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad said the Holy Qur’an bears witness that Allah would curtail this place on both sides. He said he wouldn’t buy anything on either coast, because the coasts are going to be flooded. You heard it first here.

Now watch the news bear witness that a Messenger of God, a man taught by God, is telling you things that are and things to come.

Heavy rain fell in Washington and flooded the White House. “What did you say, Minister?”

Oh, you didn’t hear. Not just the basement of the White House but the lower basement, levels down. What is God trying to get you to see, Mr. President? That he can touch you wherever you are. Allah-U-Akbar! (God is the Greatest!)

The two earthquakes that hit California, 6.4 and 7.1 Richter scale, in an area in California where the Navy owns 100 million acres of land, a little more than that, and the earthquake left a fissure, a crack in the earth’s surface that could be seen from space. That’s a naval base where their nuclear stuff can’t work now. They have to fix it. The Wheels have been seen by the Navy pilots out there. Now, they’re reporting in a dif-

ferent way than the lying way that they spoke in the past. Those UFOs are real. Everywhere on earth where there are nuclear missiles, the Wheels have visited them.

Do you think I could talk like this if I didn’t have backup? The cowardly police feel good when they can reach into that little microphone calling for backup. I don’t have to reach into anything to call for mine. My backup stays tuned into me every minute, every second, every millisecond of the day.

God is telling you, America, you can stop this.

I’m going to show you how. You mean the president can stop this? Not that he can stop it, but if he does what God wants him to do, He (God) will stop it. But what does God want me to do?

Thank you for asking. …

The president does not control the weather. If he could he wouldn’t have let the White House get flooded. Do you know why God is using weather like this? I’m going to be very clear: It’s about you, and I have to say, it’s about me.

Now, you have been a prey in the hands of America for 464 years. He (the enemy) doesn’t want to let you go and he doesn’t want to give you a good send off. The Messenger said, “We need about eight to ten states and we need to separate from this enemy.” It’s something the way you are trying to get in good with him. I thank Allah (God) for congressional representatives Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Sister Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Sister Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). These are not punk sisters. They are what Black men should be. I said it in Washington, D.C., in 1984 at the National Press Club.

I told them to beware that America was losing what is called Democracy and America was being taken over by special interests, and the power of Jewish money. …

The Torah is the book of scripture containing the laws of God that were given to Israel through the Israelite prophets.

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan

Have you heard of Yakub, the father of the White race? Come back and hear more from the worthy students of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad because Moses taught the enemy the Torah which is righteous law; but he also taught them some of the forgotten Tricknolegy. Tricks and lies that they were taught that would enable them to master the original people of our planet and master their own White brethren.

The righteous Jews studied and followed the Torah. The wicked Jews they followed the Talmud. Some of you look at the Minister as a nut.

No. I’m prepared to accept that name because I know soon you will see who the nut really is.

The reason that God is so angry with the devil is that the devil changed the truth of God into a lie—made God some mystery when they know God is as real as you and I are.

The Talmud has taken the negative side of Moses’ teaching and their scholars and Rabbis and doctors of law have put together a book and the Qur’an asks over and over again, “Who is this that forges a lie against Allah?” Allah (God) gives you a pure word and then after you understood it you altered it. That’s a real devil to alter the word of God after you knew it, understood it then you altered it, what was your reason? Because your guidance from God then would be interfered with by one who would change the truth of God into a lie.

Now you that think the Minister is off course because he spends too much time talking about Continued on page 22

THE FINAL CALL

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The man Jesus Continued from page 21 members of the Jewish community and some of you say, “I like Farrakhan but he seems obsessed with members of the Jewish community.”

I am, but not a stupid obsession. The reason I’m obsessed with them is because you love them not knowing you’re in love with Satan himself.

Satan changes the word of God. He makes a book, not for you, it’s a book for Jews who want to follow the teachings of Yakub, their father, that would make them the wicked rulers of our planet until the coming of God. …

I stumbled upon Reverend Jackson, he’s my brother. He wanted to be president and he asked me to help him. I took it up with a council of us and the council agreed we should help him because he wanted to be president of the United States of America but he embraced Yasser Arafat of the Palestinian Liberation Organization. So the satanic Jews couldn’t stand him and I’m for Jesse, trying to help Reverend Jackson, and some of them trying to kill him.

So the FOI, among whom are some FBI, had an assignment to protect Reverend Jackson and the FOI handled the assignment with great dignity and love.

But when Reverend Jackson was talking to a Black reporter and talking about New York, he called it “Hymietown.” You know how we talk. We always have a slang name for everything.

So Jesse was using a slang word to represent Jewish power in control of New York and when they got ahold of that they started plotting against Reverend Jackson and we the Muslims came to his defense, particularly me, and that’s when the Jews called me a New Black Hitler. You can read it, it’s documented.

Now when you call a Black brother that has never been arrested; never carried a weapon in his life a Hitler, then you’re making the people to hate him and want to kill him—thus every week I was in the paper, cartoons of me laying on a table with Jewish doctors operating on me. They did try to kill me but they wanted to do it medically.

I had cancer and they had a protocol called brachytherapy where they

use radiated seeds. I had a beautiful Black doctor and they radiated me with 40 seeds from Howard University in Washington, D.C., hospital and within a couple of hours I was up and preaching and I felt great.

My PSA went all the way down but then like cancer does it has a way of sneaking back. And the doctor gave me a biopsy but it was in a different kind of clinic, it wasn’t Howard Hospital. It was a clinic right down the street from CIA headquarters.

It’s not an accident. I’m not connecting to the CIA for nothing. If you want to get rid of a man and it’s passé to shoot him, especially if he’s loved by many; you create a revolution. So the best way to kill him is medically.

You go in the hospital and you don’t come out. It didn’t happen quite like that but they said my cancer was coming back and they irradiated me with 180 more radiated seeds.

I don’t know how many rads were in each seed but I’m going to try to find as much out as I can because that was the means by which they would have killed me. I traveled the whole world with 220 radiated seeds in my system. I’m speaking in 53 countries but I’m on fire in my

AUGUST 6, 2019 midsection, not knowing that it was a death plan for me.

My point is that radiation was eating up my insides so I would die of natural causes and nobody would know what really happened to your brother. But I’m standing in front of you.

The Babylonian Talmud instructs Jewish people that there are three things they have to have in order to be a man. Did anybody ever tell you the things we have to have in order to be classified as a man? But look at what they told Jewish people; these are the Talmudists. All of this is written in the Babylonia Talmud. You must have land or real estate. You must have cash, and, three, you must have those who will work your land if you own land.

Everywhere, according to our research, where wealth is the Babylonian Talmudists or the Synagogue of Satan moves their people in that direction. When sugarcane, tobacco, these kinds of things meant wealth in the Caribbean, the Satanic Jews moved there. When cotton became king, the Talmudic Jews moved to the Delta, Mississippi, Alabama, etc.

Wherever there was a commodity that they could seize control of to enhance their riches, they moved there.

When oil became king they moved to the Middle East. Wherever they move they take on the identity of the people there.

I want you to listen my Muslim family because they’ve gotten their way into Christianity, into Islam, and some of them are great scholars of the religion but they’re where they are to try to lead religion. Allah (God) says that they will come after us in the straight path.

Did you know that pedophilia, homosexuality, sex trafficking is the work of Talmudists? So Mr. Jeffrey Epstein and the cabinet member of Mr. Trump, former Labor Secretary Alex Acosta, worked out a deal that

flouted the law.

Harvey Weinstein, movie producer, and Mr. Epstein and all of those top Jewish Talmudists who are in media, television that abuse women, you don’t hear anyone talking about Mr. Weinstein. You don’t hear anyone talking about Mr. Epstein. You don’t hear anyone talking about the man who set up a hedge fund because Talmudist Satanic Jews are the ones who feel nobody has a right to punish them for what the Talmud has made lawful to them. …

In this world Jews don’t get prosecuted. They can lie, they can steal but the Gentiles get caught. … Bill Cosby is in jail and they offered him a way out, they tell me, and they would let him out because he’s doing so well in jail because he’s really a good Black brother. …

I can never sanction the misuse of any woman White or Black or Brown. I hate sex trafficking of young girls. When we come to power, and we will, the penalty of death will put on any and every man who refuses to clean up his life that will make merchandise of the second self of God which is our women.

So my dear brothers and sisters the Talmud must be exposed and those who practice it and lie and steal and violate little girls and boys, they must be called to account. Some of the Popes ordered the Talmud burned but then fell victim to it and now there’s hardly anywhere you go in Christendom where you won’t find young boys that have gone under abuse from priests and people of notoriety. This whole system has to be ended.

In the Book of Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar, who was the king of Babylon, had a terrific dream one day and a man that was in his kingdom named Belshazzar was asked to interpret it. After the astrologers and all the magicians could not give Continued on next page

Men respond to a point made by Minister Farrakhan.

A guest pays close attention to Minister Farrakhan’s message.

Young men take in the Minister’s words.

(L-r) Student Ministers Carlos Muhammad, Nuri Muhammad and Hip Hop icon Doug E. Fresh.

AUGUST 6, 2019

Nebuchadnezzar the meaning of his dream like it was with the Pharaoh and Joseph so it was with Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar.

The interesting thing about these scriptures and the Babylonian persecution of the Children of Israel, corrupting them, taking away their names and religion, Nebuchadnezzar once had the heart of a human being and the prophesy said that heart of a human being would be taken out of him and he would have the heart of an actual beast.

I don’t know what that means to our president but there’s a heart there that in some cases is not human. But the thing about Nebuchadnezzar was the dream was that his nation or government was like a huge tree with branches and fruit. God ordered it be cut down to just a stump and the root of it was banded around by iron to keep it from growing.

But under that condition of loss, Nebuchadnezzar’s reasoning began to come back, the heart of a beast was beginning to come out of him, and become human again. I say to President Trump, God is punishing America for what she’s done to Black, Brown and Red people, par-

THE FINAL CALL ticularly the Black that God is after and you won’t let them go.

Now if Mr. President you reasoned with what he, the Hon. Elijah Muhammad, asked for: We need eight to ten states. Don’t take anything out of it, just move out yourself. We can run cities. We can run states. We can run any corporation.

We know something about everything. So all of you that are with the movement to get our people registered to vote I say speed it up. But, you have to vote with a vision in mind. If we learn how to vote and you say we want eight to ten states and we’re becoming the majority in a lot of states, particularly in the South, that has agricultural land that is fertile and minerally rich with an outlet to the sea. Our being prolific baby makers, soon you could run the state just with the power of the vote.

You aren’t killing anybody. You aren’t robbing anybody, just exercising what they say we can do.

Many of you go to law school and you’re coming out and you’re brilliant. We can run the law of a state, we can run courts. We know how to be good sheriffs; we know how to be good policeman. We have over

400,000 of us in the Armed Forces of America. Whatever land we have we know how to protect it.

But Mr. Trump you have to see that’s in the interest of America’s future—not to make you great again because you never really have been great in a righteous way. You felt great because of how you took the land of the Native people. You felt great because you brought millions of us over here and made us slaves. You felt great because you brought the Chinese in to lay your railroad tracks and other things. You felt great because White power was in effect. But America you can truly become great but righteousness has to be the cornerstone of your greatness and justice for the Black man and woman has to be a part of your plan, Mr. President.

If you just turned and saw the value of what the Honorable Elijah Muhammad gave us to talk to you about. I want to tell you how to try this. If you just sat down in a quiet room in the White House and begin thinking about what America would look like with 40-50 million Blacks in states or a territory of their own. I know some of you: “Man that would make it easy for him to just come and

23 bomb us.”

Didn’t I just tell you of our backup? You have to have a plan for the next 20-30-40-50 years and, Mr. President, if you agree to look after us in that territory for the next 20-25 years, like you did for Israel giving them millions of dollars, you would be proud of what we do. And, we’ll protect our side and you’ll have an extension of time and God will show you mercy for just thinking about it.

Not studying reparations, but if you sat down sincerely with a desire to do something to ease this problem for Black people, I can guarantee, you the harshness of the weather will change.

After I leave this rostrum, I want you to watch the weather because it’s going to increase in severity just to help the president humble himself before God. And you, my Black brothers and sisters, you have to stand up where you are and begin to make yourselves better people.

Muslims if I hear you talking stupid: “The Minister is leaving, oh, what are we going to do you?” You sound foolish and you sound like a Disbeliever in God. God is not going anywhere. He will be with you as you are with me. He’s not going to leave

you alone. So put your trust in God. What are we going to do? What are you doing now? Just keep doing it but do it better. You have a council, you have great teachers but can anybody be a messenger? I can’t sit anyone in my seat but you can help.

This mosque is called Maryam because this place is the womb. Like the womb of Mary and everyone that comes and hears this word will start patterning their lives after the lives of the prophets. And, as the Scripture says, in that day God is going to pour out His spirit without number and you’ll see the old prophets walking around.

But the greatest of all the prophets is Muhammad and the Jesus who is also Muhammad and Jesus the Messiah who is with the Mahdi and we will be made into the beautiful person that they talked about when they introduced me. You will be a god too.

You will be like Jesus too and you will go out from this house and become saviours for your people in the name of God and in the name of His Christ.

Thank you for listening and may Allah bless you as I greet you in peace: As-Salaam Alaikum (Peace Be Unto You).

The Final Call

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August 6, 2019

Mosque Maryam hosts special film screening of ‘Emanuel’

by Tariqah Shakir-Muhammad The Final Call

@Piercingstar19

CHICAGO—The 2019 film “Emanuel” executive produced by NBA star Stephen Curry and actress Viola Davis is a critical reminder of White supremacy and racial hatred in America. It documents the brutal massacre of nine innocent Black parishioners during a Bible study inside Mother Emanuel Methodist Episcopalian Church in Charleston, S.C.. by convicted mass murderer and White supremacist Dylann Roof.

A special public screening of the film was held at Mosque Maryam in Chicago at invitation of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, National Representative of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam.

It was followed by a panel discussion featuring Rose Simmons, whose father Reverend Daniel Simmons Sr., was among the victims of the Charlotte massacre; Student Minister Ava Muhammad, national spokesperson of Min. Farrakhan; Student Minister Dr. Wesley Muhammad, an author and researcher; Student Youth Minister Tariq Muhammad; Student Youth Minister Kenya M. Muhammad; Dr. Khalilah Muhammad, a college professor,; and Attorney Arif Muhammad, Nation of Islam general counsel.

The film features Nadine Collier, whose 70-year-old mother Ethel Lance was among the victims of the June 17, 2015 massacre. Actor George Howard and Adams Brien are also featured in the film.

“I am so humbled because it honors the fallen, it honors the nine victims, and the survivors,” Ms. Simmons stated. “I think the film embodies what they died for and that is reconciliation, forgiveness we know it goes to, and awareness.”

Ms. Simmons said she has no regrets helping produce the film and that she was elated to tell her father’s story.

Rev. Daniel Simmons Sr. was an ambitious and persistent man, she continued. “It’s a huge thing for me and I’m just so proud of my father for even being a part of it even though it cost him his life, he will always be remembered and that is what I’m most happiest about.”

“Emanuel” also points out the racial terror in Charleston and Southern states extending to the post-Re-

Youth listen to panelists during “Emanuel” screening discussion.

Student Min. Wesley Muhammad

Student Min. Dr. Ava Muhammad

Rose Simmons, daughter of Associate Student Youth Minister Tariq MuhamPastor Daniel Simmons who was mur- mad dered.

construction and Jim Crow era while delving into the critical history. The screening at Mosque Maryam took place July 16.

The film was magnificent, Student Minister Ava Muhammad, who is also an author and radio personality, told The Final Call. “It provided not only a deeper insight into the massacre but for the first time, it gives us a picture of the experience from the inside,” she said.

“Hearing from the loved ones of the victims was very painful for many and the historical perspective from Charleston I thought was exceedingly valuable; very educational, very enlightening and the way in which the producers and directors put it together, I thought that it was plain, it was clear.

Children can watch it and understand what is going on.”

The panel discussion allowed participants and audience members to share how they felt about the film and

what they felt was the central message.

“I think that one important question or comment that was raised had to do with the importance of security for our community, that the teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad which require us to secure ourselves and secure our places of worship and in fact, anywhere that we gather has been in some cases criticized as being a demonstration of dislike or hatred or reverse racism,” explained Student Min. Ava Muhammad.

“But we saw in what happened in Charleston, again, it impacted and emphasized the importance of this hour of securing our community,” she added.

“The Honorable Elijah Muhammad and Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan has called for 10,000 Fearless to make our communities a safe and decent place to live and this is one aspect of doing it; not only are we talking about our children being able

(L-r): Bro. Tariq Muhammad, Student Min. Ava Muhammad, Dr. Khalilah Muhammad, Dr. Wesley Muhammad, Sis. Rose Simmons, Sis. Kenya Muhammad and Bro Arif Muhammad

walking to school safely but we’re talking about the protection of the entire community,” said Student Min. Ava Muhammad.

Kenya Muhammad is a student in the Nation of Islam’s ministry class and attends Saint Xavier University.

She said she was grateful for the opportunity to see the film and discuss the relevance and impact of the massacre that occurred four years ago.

She told The Final Call, “A member of the audience questioned what makes us sometimes pacified when we get signs of justice, such as an indictment, settlement or even the Confederate flag being taken down

in Charleston, but never true justice.”

“To me, that question signified a certain level of mental awareness in members of the Nation of Islam and others that recognize the trick of our enemy and refuse to allow ourselves to be lulled to sleep by a sign when we have not received a full and complete freedom,” added Kenya Muhammad.

“The film and panel evoked many emotions in me, but I felt inspired to continue to help the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan teach and train our people—myself included—to be better reflections of the will and way of God.” For more information on “Emanuel,” visit www.emanuelmovie.com

Office of The National Prison Reform Ministry In the name of allah, the BenefIcent, the mercIful. as-salaam alaIkum.

From the Desk of: Brother Abdullah Muhammad Nation of Islam Student National Prison Reform Minister “American people, particularly Blacks, must accept their natural responsibility to get up, unite, and pool their resources and do everything that they can to develop themselves, create institutions that serve their needs and make government responsible to create the atmosphere that will allow all of the citizenry to enjoy the principles of freedom, justice and equality,” by The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, The National Agenda.

Dear friends and supporters: Serving as the Nation of Islam’s Student National Prison Reform Minister, I am truly happy to report that I have identified and begun the purchase of our first male ex-offender re-entry housing facility.

It is the desire of The Nation of Islam’s Prison Reform Ministry to establish housing facilities for both male and female, with emphasis placed on helping ex-offenders with entrepreneurship/economic development programs, job training for employment, continued educational classes, life skills, etc. Our efforts to help acclimate our brothers and sisters back into society requires financial support and your monetary assistance will aid in making this a reality.

Below, you will find the donation form to be used to submit your contribution. I thank each and every one of you, in advance, for your much needed support.

May Allah (God) bless us in this endeavor, and once again, I thank you for your continued support. It is greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Abdullah Muhammad The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan’s Student National Prison Reform Minister of The Nation of Islam

26

The Final Call

augusT 6, 2019

Engulfed in the mother of entanglement ‘Tangled is to become or make something become twisted together into a jumbled mass; to catch and entwine somebody or something in something that is difficult to get out of. ...’

[This is a reprint and was published online September 6, 2005.]

Only in the Gospels of Matthew (27:18) and Mark (15:10) are we told that envy was the motive of the religious leaders, who handed Jesus over to the Roman authorities to be murdered. The word “envy” does not appear elsewhere in the four gospels.

In Volume One of “The Death of the Messiah,” Raymond E. Brown, on page 802, writes in depth on the Greek word “Phthono” translated into English as “envy,” which also means: “jealousy,” “spite,” “malice” and “sheer malice.”

He writes: “Phthono covers the spectrum of violent dislike for good, even to the point of homicide.”

In Greek, this word covers the full range of violent dislike for another, for it also carries the idea of “zeal.” This word—in its fullest meaning—in English, describes a malevolent person whose envious hatred is also zealous! Continued slander leads to outright murder.

A malevolent person is one: “having or showing a desire to harm others; having a harmful or evil effect or influence.”

Jesus departs through the door of the fullest envy. Later, he returns to thoroughly triumph over it.

We can be conquerors—with him—too. But if we continue in jealousy or envy, we’re yet in the mindset of his murderers. To refuse to even start to fight to overcome this mindset is to be in Satan’s will and soon his doom.

It’s interesting that the Gos-

pel writers write that it was Roman governor Pontius Pilate who “knew” the motives of such malevolent persons. It’s reasonable that he had agents who kept him up on such facts.

Why did they envy Jesus?

“The Living Bible” tells us that Pilate “knew very well that the Jewish leaders had arrested Jesus out of envy because of his popularity with the people.” However, it goes even deeper.

The gospels state that these Jewish leaders persuaded an angry crowd to ask Pilate to release Barabbas “and destroy Jesus.” Interesting choice. (The King James Version) Jews outright reject this account of their involvement in Jesus’ murder.

In a study guide entitled “The Murder of Jesus” by Pastor John F. MacArthur Jr., he points out, and I paraphrase him here, that many who have studied the subject say that crucifixion was meant to produce the maximum pain, while prolonging suffering as long as possible. The type of crucifixion or execution Jesus underwent, according to the gospels, was also intended to heap the maximum degree of shame and disgrace possible. The crucifixion came after public mockery, taunting and ridicule.

But Jesus willingly bore it all, as he knew this was the key part of God’s plan for the redemption of the maximum number of people, even into the distant future.

Hebrews 12:2 teaches that it was written that, “for the sake of the joy which was still in the future, he endured the cross.” He loved his God unconditionally!

Now I quote Dr. MacArthur

Jr.: “Scripture records a number of supernatural phenomena that occurred while Jesus hung on the cross. These events constituted God’s own supernatural commentary on the cross. They are further proof of the extraordinary importance of what was occurring that day just outside of Jerusalem’s walls.

“The routes to the city that day were jammed with pilgrims coming and going, as they prepared to celebrate Passover. Few, if any, of them realized what a monumental event was occurring at Calvary. God’s true Paschal Lamb was dying on the very Passover to provide forgiveness for all of the sins of the redeemed of all time.

That was the very focal point of redemptive history—yet as far as Jerusalem was concerned on that day, relatively few were taking notice.

“But suddenly, all nature seemed to stop and pay attention.”

But why are scholarly Jews who await the Messiah so firmly convinced that this did not occur 2,000 years ago? On the other hand, why don’t they admit the truth of the Black man’s place in prophecy?

I saw a CNN-TV (August 15) report that a film adaptation of Dan Brown’s novel “The Da Vinci Code” began shooting in England.

The movie will probably become more controversial than the book. Mr. Brown’s book, according to researchers, is largely based on a book by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln entitled “Holy Grail: Holy Blood.”

The basic idea of these authors is that Jesus married Mary Magdalene, fathered a baby, and thus

started a bloodline that exists today, among White people.

But, I’ve seen one of the authors openly admit, on TV, that their book (“Holy Grail: Holy Blood”) was a big guess. Yet, there is a secret in what they wrote.

This all upsets the Catholic Church.

Entanglement!

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught that long ago the White race got themselves so “entangled” with their fraudulent versions of the scriptures that they lost the real knowledge of its truths.

Nevertheless, with their deceitful use of the Bible and by force of arms, they went about viciously conquering the indigenous people of the earth. Many Caucasian scholars describe their own people’s history as fulfilling uncomplimentary prophecies of the scriptures.

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad explained the root of their entanglements and how it yet serves God’s eternal purposes. He explained that they became mixed up in their understanding of the Jesus of 2,000 years ago with the prophecies of the coming of the Mahdi—the Jesus Who was to come at the end of their world.

In the late 1950s, he observed that a growing number of seminary students had come to see that the scriptures’ teachings of Jesus 2,000 years ago must be of a Jesus to appear in these days. That number has grown.

Tangled is “to become or make something become twisted together into a jumbled mass; to catch and entwine somebody or something in something that is difficult to get out of, for example, a net or

trap; to trap somebody in a complicated, awkward, or dangerous situation; to become involved in a confrontation or disagreement with somebody, especially somebody powerful or important; a complicated situation or problem; a state of mental or emotional confusion or upset.”

They’re now engulfed in the mother of all entanglements.

Allah’s (God’s) prophets were all signs. They all reflect the life and work of the Mahdi, Messiah, his chief helper and their people— on varying levels.

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad made clear that the Holy Qur’an teaches (23:50) that Jesus and his mother were signs. This is the key to understanding his life, mission and death. The scriptures don’t tell us of whom Jesus and his mother were signs.

So now, here comes the test.

Why did Allah hold (His) answer back? How can we know His answer from the answers others give?

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad answered: “That is done for protection, and to serve as a test between the knowledge of believers and disbelievers in the last days of this world.”

This test began in September 1931, when Master Fard Muhammad and the Honorable Elijah Muhammad first met. ***** Everything planned against Minister Farrakhan will prove to be all-good for him, for those with him and, ultimately, for our people here and the world over.

More on Jesus, next issue, Allah willing.

August 6, 2019

the FinAl CAll

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Minister Louis Farrakhan addressing the nation and the world on the serious troublesome times that we’re living in with a warning and instruction at Mosque Maryam on August 17, 2014.

[Editor’s Note: This article is reprinted from Volume 33, Issue No. 46 and The Final Call will continue to reprint articles written by our late and dear Mother Tynnetta Muhammad.]

“When the Event comes to pass—There is no belying its coming to pass—Abasing (some), exalting (others)—When the earth is shaken with a (severe) shaking, And the mountains are crumbled to pieces, So they are as scattered dust, And you are three sorts.”— Holy Qur’an, Surah 56, verses 1-7 As I submit this article to The Final Call newspaper for publication, it is also my last day in Detroit, Michigan, having completed the final funeral and burial arrangements for my younger brother who now rests in peace. The city of Detroit is the birthplace of my family and it is the birthplace of the Nation of Islam, founded by Master W. Fard Muhammad, beginning in 1930.

I sat secluded in my hotel room overlooking the Detroit River running through both the United States border and Canada on the other side. Thoughts of my early childhood meandered through my mind. I could almost reach out with my hand passing over the

river to touch the banks on the other side.

I remember being told by the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad that a photo of one of the planes from the great Mother’s Wheel had appeared in the Toronto or Ottawa Canadian newspaper back in those early years of the founding of the Nation of Islam.

I also recalled the young student who introduced himself to me during my senior year in high school, who appeared from another world or galaxy, inviting me to come on board one of these ships, most often identified by the public as UFO’s. On the evening of my arrival to Detroit from Mexico to join my family and other believers in preparation for the funeral rites of my brother, I was told by the sister who escorted me, accompanied by a few brothers from the airport to my hotel, that while they were returning home that evening, they sighted in the night sky at least seven to twelve orange-colored baby planes overhead which hovered briefly and then skirted away out of sight.

I reflected on the August 17th Sunday address by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan on the subject, ‘The Troubled World—What Should We Be Doing’? delivered from Mosque Maryam in Chicago,

Photo: Michael Muhammad

The Promise Of Allah Is True—‘Cannot A Fool See That A Mighty Change Is In Progress in Every Living Creature?’

Picture of DVD documentary, “From Genghis Khan to Kublai Khan to Farrakhan” produced by Mother Tynnetta Muhammad covering her extensive studies on the Mongolian Nation and its founder, Genghis Khan, to the present moment of history under the spiritual guidance of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan.

People protest Aug. 17, for Michael Brown, who was killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo.

Illinois. As he spoke these words concerning Chicago being the epicenter of the worst violence that would break out in America’s cruel and hateful disposition towards our Black population that Ferguson, Missouri, was only a more deepening flashpoint of America’s planned attack against our nation and people, with particular emphasis on our youth.

Minister Farrakhan also reflected on his Vision-like Experience which occurred on the evening of September 17, 1985, 29 years ago in the country of Mexico.

In that Vision, he was informed by the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad that the United States government was planning a war somewhere on our planet which is now targeting our own people right here in America.

Mother Khadijah and I were the first two witnesses to the Honorable Minister Farrakhan’s Vision-like Experience on the morning of September 19th, the day of the great earthquake in Mexico City. I noted that from one border of America facing Canada in the North to her Southern border with Mexico, my journey has taken place including outlets to the sea and the Great Lakes area.

I remember the words of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad that there is an evacuation plan already established for our escape or departure when the time comes.

He referred to climatic conditions and the weather playing a major role in dividing and separating the land mass forcing its occupants to the center of America.

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, as did his teacher, warned us about the rapidly changing climatic conditions that we are facing at the present moment prevailing over America curtailing her on all sides. Many of us were also made aware, through the Divine Teachings of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, that some of us would link up with the angels in helping our people to escape the Divine Chastisement of Allah. As the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan ended his address of dire warning with instructions to the Nation and the world on this past Sunday, he described the over-militarization of the police departments throughout America to wage war against its defenseless Black population of X-slaves, and that blood would be running in the gutters.

The Most Honorable Elijah

Muhammad speaking of these terrible times warned us that we would be attacked in America’s final assault upon our people but would not take down more than 300 of us before the Help of Allah would come. We may now better understand, with greater clarity, the meaning behind our extensive study in foregoing years on the subject of the Mongolian nation and its founder, Genghis Khan and his followers down to Kublai Khan, who was the last of the Khan’s who resided in China with the proclamation of the Cultural Revolution.

This epicenter history comes all the way down to our present time with the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan proclaiming the Cultural Revolution and the New World of Islam. May Almighty God Allah continue to bless and strengthen our beloved Minister Louis Farrakhan, and to strengthen our baby Nation of Islam, for the great battle that lies ahead.

The promise of Allah is true … “How that ALLAH would Separate us from the Devils and, then, Destroy them; and Change us into a New and Perfect People; and Fill the Earth with FREEDOM, JUSTICE, and EQUALITY as it was filled with wickedness; and Making we, the Poor lost-founds, the Perfect RULERS.”

“So those on the right-hand; how (happy) are those on the right-hand! And those on the left; how (wretched) are those on the left! And the foremost are the foremost—These are drawn nigh (to Allah). In Gardens of bliss. A multitude from among the first, And a few from among those of later times.”—Holy Qur’an, Surah 56, verses 8-14

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THE FINAL CALL

AUGUST 6, 2019

Little Pure Food on Market T

here is no way we can ever enjoy good health unless we obey the teacher of health, Who advises us the proper way to eat. No people has ever been as fortunate as the Lost and Found members of the Black Nation (so-called Negroes), to receive guidance of life from God, Himself, present among them—the God who will bring about a total change of civilizations of this world; Who has the histories of how people practice a way of life for themselves back into the hundreds of thousands, millions and billions of years. Should He not know the best way to eat to live?

The Devil is a race of people for experimental purposes, whose way of life the people of the God of truth, justice and righteousness did not intend to follow, but have followed for a short time.

Remember our success is obedience to the Will of the God of truth, justice and righteousness, as we have been obedient to the devil in following and practicing other than truth, justice and righteousness. What we eat, I will repeat, keeps us here and takes us away. This is God’s teaching to me, and it is so logical that there are no questions.

This race of people experiments on everything other than good. This includes what they grow and prepare for us to eat.

There is very little pure food on the market today. And, there will not be any pure food on the market tomorrow, if they prepare it for you, because they are experimenting on your life to see what can take you away and what they can keep you here with for a certain length of time. Our lives are limited by what we eat that this race of people (meaning White devils) prepares for us.

The earth brings forth good food the natural way, but the food is poisoned by other ways. The fertilization process they use and the preservatives are all poisonous. They know in their limited time of six thousand years to rule that they are experimenting on themselves and us, too. Even the very earth

is poisoned where they are experimenting on growing food for their markets, because it is the almighty dollar they seek and not the almighty health and long life for you and me.

Good will help the enemy devil, but since by nature they are not made of good, they cannot prosper under that which they do not practice.

Eat one meal a day and get the best you can out of what is before you.

The most important thing of health which prolongs life is accomplished by not eating poison food, which shortens our lives and brings disease into the body. This is accomplished, secondly, by not feeding the stomach too often.

All the White race, referred to as the Christian European race, eats too often.

From two to four or five times a day, they are feeding their stomachs with some type of food. They even eat sandwiches between regular meals (or as they call it, they have brunches and lunches between their regular meals).

The stomach begins to be stuffed with various kinds of foods, and more foods, from the time they awake in the morning until they are asleep at midnight or later.

They even eat late at night and early in the morning, if they awake, although they have already eaten two or three heavy meals the previous day. Their stomachs are continually churning and trying to digest a combination of meals.

Then, in addition to eating frequently, they eat nuts of various kinds and candies full of nuts, which the stomach is unable to digest without harming its delicate digestive tract. Trying to digest these various poisonous foods forces the stomach to empty all of its digestive juices, thus causing it to wear out early from hard work.

The loss of our stomachs can cause the loss of our lives. There is a limit to the amount of digestive juice that starts flow-

ing when our food enters our mouths, and continues until it is in the large colon of our body.

Some of the foolish people—when they hear of eating once a day—laugh in fun and scorn and say they cannot live like that. You most certainly cannot live long eating three and four meals a day, and stuffing your body with hog, tough beef, lamb and veal— or any meats.

By nature, the human body was not made to digest meats. Meat causes a great shortening of our lives. We all eat meat. I eat meat also, but it certainly is not good for us. I do not, however, eat pig.

We should not eat any kind of bird.

When it actually comes to the best diet for our bodies, no kind of bird should be included except the baby pigeon, called squab, which eats its food from its mother’s mouth, after it has been chewed by the mother. Allah (God) has taught me that as soon as the squab is weaned from its mother, and starts eating its own food, we are not to eat it.

No grown pigeons or other birds—not even chickens—are good to eat. Of course, a lot of chickens are raised for the market on corn, oats, and other various types

of food, because such food quickly fattens the fowl. When they are raised in the above-mentioned manner, the chickens do not have a chance to eat poisonous food, such as worms, bugs, and filth, which they will do by nature. They will eat anything the hog and the buzzard will eat, if allowed the freedom to do so.

We are, by nature, vegetable and fruit eating people. Bread is also for us to eat.

Eat good bread and good fresh vegetables and fruits. Although all of us are not able to eat the right foods, I warn you to stay away from the pig—and I warn you not to eat more than one meal a day. Allah (God), in the Person of Master Fard Muhammad, to Whom praise is due forever, has taught me that we are to wait until we are very hungry before we eat. And, after we eat, we are to wait until we are very hungry before we eat again.

Ninety-five per cent of our sickness comes from eating before we are hungry.

Frequent eating puts our stomach to work before it calls for food. Let us eat one meal a day or one meal every two days, as Allah (God) has appointed for us.

(Reprinted from “How To Eat To Live,” Book One, 1967.)

A Salute to the TOP TEN Mosques & Study Groups for distribution of The Final Call newspaper: VOLUME 38, NUMBER 42:

1. New York, NY

VOLUME 38, NUMBER 43:

1. Chicago, IL

2. Chicago, IL

2. Atlanta, GA

3. Atlanta, GA

3. Washington, D.C.

4. Washington, D.C.

4. New York, NY

5. Los Angeles, CA 6. Detroit, MI 7. Philadelphia, PA

5. Detroit, MI 6. Philadelphia, PA

8. Newark, NJ

7. Newark, NJ

9. Houston, TX

8. Los Angeles, CA

10. Baltimore, MD

9. Houston, TX

New Brunswick, NJ

10. Baltimore, MD

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The Final Call

augusT 6, 2019

Telling our own story in Columbia, S.C.

COLUMBIA S.C.—There is an axiom that a people without knowledge of their history is like a ship without its rudder, it has no direction. However, the Nation of Islam has both, direction and a well-documented history of its development.

The history of the Nation of Islam was celebrated and featured during a two-day visit to Columbia, South Carolina by the group’s Student National Archivist, Carlos Muhammad. He also serves as Student Minister of Muhammad Mosque No. 6 in Baltimore.

“We have actual authentic letters of Master Fard Muhammad to the Honorable Elijah Muhammad (and) many authentic letters of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad from the 30s and the 40s,” said Carlos Muhammad.

The Nation of Islam Archives works hard to obtain materials on the people, places and events of the 89-year-old movement that was founded by Master Fard Muhammad July 4, 1930.

“We have tangible artifacts that we can use when our detractors say this or that about us; now we can refute it with tangible data,” added Carlos Muhammad during his visit June 29-30.

Over a four-course dinner at the local Muhammad Mosque No. 38 there was a film showing of “A Minister for Black Souls,” a rare film on the work of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan in New York City. The film gave a

From left: Student Secretary Inga Muhammad; Student MGT and GCC Captain Shanasia Muhammad; Student Minister Carlos Muhammad; FOI Captain Bryan X; Student Investigator Eddie Muhammad

Flyer of film chronicling the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan’s work in New York.

Photos: Brian E. Muhammad

Student Minister Carlos Muhammad

Visitors at Muhammad Mosque No. 38 in Columbia, S.C.

glimpse into the profound power of Islam to restore human beings as demonstrated by Minister Farrakhan’s interaction with the people on the streets of New York.

He served as the Nation of Islam National Representative and from 1965 to 1975 minister of the historic Muhammad Mosque No. 7 in Harlem.

The documentary was filmed in 1971 by veteran broadcast journalist Tony Brown for Black Journal, a popular television program at the time. Before initially being shown in 2018 at the Nation’s annual convention, Saviours’ Day, the footage had not been seen in 47 years.

Another highlight during the film presentation was a special preview of “A Nation of Common Sense,” which featured the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and some of the Nation’s economic thrust and early development of Muham-

Sisters enjoying film footage.

mad Speaks Newspaper.

An added highlight for those gathered was a photo exhibition that also included historical images of the Nation of Islam in Columbia, South Carolina. Carlos Muhammad provided in-depth narration for many of the still images and documents shown in the exhibit.

Most images featured little-known truths about the Nation of Islam and its early pioneers who sacrificed and suffered to establish Islam in North America and a better future for Black life. Various details of the history unfolded, and dots were connected during a question and answer discussion that included Muslim pioneers Akilah Rasheed, 88, who accepted Islam in 1955 under Minister Malcom X and Joseph Muhammad who accepted in 1971.

The two day visit culminated

June 30 with a keynote address by Student Minister Carlos Muhammad called, “He Came that We May have Life: The Birth of the Nation of Islam in the West.”

Among other speakers were Jermaine Muhammad, the Nation of Islam Study Group Coordinator in Bennettsville, S.C. and community leader Germon “Momma G” Miller-Bey who runs the R.I.C.H. (Rebuilding Individual Character Habits) program. The program provides mentor training and rehabilitates youth in the juvenile justice system. Ms. Miller-Bey was also a past instructor at Muhammad University of Islam in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Guests, visitors, and Nation of Islam members and representatives from throughout South Carolina traveled to Columbia to participate in the weekend programs.

The weekend was organized by

Student Minister Carl Muhammad, Bennettsville, S.C. Study Group Coordinator Jermaine Muhammad.

the student Laboring officials of the Columbia mosque in an effort to tell the back stories of the Nation of Islam from its own historical documents, images and sagas of the people who lived it.

“Most of what we learn in the Nation of Islam about our history is griot,” commented Sister Shanasia Muhammad, Student MGT and GCC (Muslim Girls Training and General Civilization Class) Captain at the Columbia mosque.

“So, to have the student national archivist come and exhibit documentation that substantiates our history and our legacy helps to lend to the authentication of the work of the pioneers and of the works of Master W. Fard Muhammad in our inception,” said Sister Shanasia Muhammad.

—Brian E. Muhammad, Staff Writer

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The Final Call

31

Min Farrakhan speaks at July 27 dinner honoring Abdul Akbar Muhammad.

Photo: Cartan X

Min. Akbar Muhammad signs copies of his book, “Africa and the World Revisited,” after evening banquet July 27 in a St. Louis suburb. Photo: Cartan X

Akbar Muhammad Continued from page 7

spirit,” said Mr. Khaldun.

Michael V. Roberts, multi-millionaire, businessman and friend of Min. Akbar Muhammad and Min. Farrakhan shared words about his relationship and support of the Nation of Islam and the evening’s honoree. “I’ve been friends of Akbar for over 35 years as well as the Minister and as I reflect back to our time together, I donated space to the Million Man March.

He (Min. Akbar Muhammad) came to me and asked for help. The mosque used to be in my building, the Victor Roberts building in St. Louis. My relationship goes even deeper. We had an event with Kwame Ture when he was in town. We co-chaired two fundraisers for him. So he’s always been a good friend. We’ve been together in Ghana. We’ve been together in the Bahamas. When the Minister was going to Cuba, he and the whole entourage stayed in the Robert’s Castle in the Bahamas for about three or four days,” said Mr. Roberts.

“I’m a businessman, I’m a capitalist in the sense of being able to make money, build companies, employ people, and give back to the community. That’s what we have to be about. That’s what the Honorable Elijah Muhammad talked about, economic development.

Economic freedom is how I would put it. We look at the connection, back to Africa, that Akbar’s so involved with and we look at where we are today. Those of us in the Diaspora must do exactly what Akbar has been involved with and that is reconnect with our families, with our friends, look at the business opportunities, take our knowledge and wisdom to the richest of countries in the world and that’s Africa. And let’s take the next hundred years forward and do something with it. That’s what he stands for and that’s what we all should stand for,” Mr. Roberts said.

Another longtime friend of Min. Akbar Muhammad was St. Louis-based nationalist leader and community

activist Zaki Baruti. “First of all, it was an honor and a humble experience to salute a giant among our community, that being Akbar Muhammad, who stands in support of the great giant of our community Minister Louis Farrakhan,” he said.

“Having had the experience of knowing Minister Akbar since the mid-70’s when I first met him as an educator and from that relationship onward we have had a great brotherhood. I just want to salute Akbar from one man to another because he has helped enrich me,” said Mr. Baruti.

“He taught brotherhood. He is the example of brotherhood. No matter where we have been, no matter what country, no matter what environment, he always sought out the masses of the people in that country,” recalled Brian Muhammad, who served with Min. Akbar Muhammad in Ghana. Min. Akbar Muhammad was assigned to Ghana by Min. Farrakhan and lived there for several years with his family and he taught Islam, built a Nation of Islam Information Center, and connected with the country’s leaders and its ordinary people. He also organized visits and tours to Ghana and other parts of Africa to build relations on both sides of the Atlantic.

“If he was there for some Islamic or political conference representing the Minister among other dignitaries, he would always make his way in the street and talk to the people, to the taxi drivers, just the people on the street. He always tried to learn something about the people’s culture.

I learned that from him and learned the importance of integrity. When I moved to Ghana and we were on the ground and the college students wanted to do an Islamic conference and Brother Akbar said do it at the Islamic conference center, because the Muslims are used to doing things on a very small level. But, he said, make sure that whatever you do afterwards, make sure it’s the Ghanaian students that get the credit—not us. Now, we put up the money, so what did I learn from Brother Akbar overall is his true sense of brotherhood and compassion for the people and integrity. He didn’t waste the Minister’s resources and money. It was integrity. That’s what I walked away with as a mentor from Brother Akbar,” Brian Muhammad said.

Samimah Aziz shares memories of her father and his work.

Photo: Donna Muhammad

The evening inspired people who were experiencing a Nation of Islam event for the very first time and some said that it was life changing.

Henrietta Taylor of St. Louis didn’t know Minister Akbar Muhammad but wanted to come and support the event. To her surprise Minister Farrakhan was there and she expressed her heartfelt gratitude for the experience.

“It was the most intriguing experience that I have ever had, and this is the first time just experiencing Elijah Muhammad, Farrakhan and Akbar. It was an experience just to be here especially for the first time and a lot was learned and I enjoyed it. I really enjoyed it, a very unforgettable moment,” she said.

Dr. Dan Drach, an oral surgeon, drove 300 miles to witness the love given to Min. Akbar Muhammad. “I drove down from Chicago, very emotional, spiritual event. I really got a deeper look at the Nation of Islam. I had no idea of the amount of love and the experiences people had gone through. It was like a very intimate affair with the Minister, with Akbar. I couldn’t ask for a better event than what was held tonight,” he said.

The event was organized by the Believers of Muhammad Mosque 28B of East St. Louis, Illinois, with Student Minister Earl and Kiva Muhammad and Student Minister Ralph and Pamela Muhammad, Min. Donald Muhammad and his wife of the Nation of Islam mosque in St. Louis, taking the lead.

While Min. Akbar Muhammad came into Islam in New York and often worked in Chicago, he built a lasting legacy and relationships while serving as the Nation of Islam minister in St. Louis, in addition to attending to other duties. The evening tribute was held in a St. Louis suburb.

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Honoring Brother Akbar Continued from page 6

Min. Farrakhan was among speakers that night who paid homage to “Brother Akbar,” a father of 12 children, 12 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Emceed by Min. Ralph Muhammad, of Mosque No. 28B, in East St. Louis, Ill., who with his wife, Pamela Muhammad, and Minister Donald and Helen Muhammad of Mosque No. 28 in St. Louis led the effort.

The children and family members of Min. Akbar Muhammad crowded the stage. His daughter Samimah Aziz shared how she and her eight sisters grew up under the guidance of their father, who taught them to be strong and independent women.

All of them had jobs as their father pursued different businesses, whether a bookstore or making bean pies, and traveled, she said.

When he returned the girls would rush to him, seeking to get the first kiss, and watch news programs with their father explaining what was really going on after the programs went off.

“We were curious and we were learning about the world from our dad,” she said.

His wife, Nafisah Muhammad, thanked her husband for making her compassionate, caring, loving, all characteristics she found in him—as she referred to him several times as “my dear.”

Alice Wyndon remarked at how special the occasion was for so many people to show up and there were others whose hearts were there. Min. Akbar Muhammad has done so many things that any one thing would be enough for a lifetime, she said. But, Ms. Wyndon, added, as a man who sponsored book fairs and brought authors into the city, the most important thing you have done is encourage our people to read.

Acolytes and those well-taught by Min. Akbar Muhammad were eager to share their stories of lessons learned from him.

Min. Donald Muhammad shared how his mentor was often simply referred to as “Big Brother.” And, he said, from this man I learned how to run a mosque, how to conduct a press conference, was inspired to go into business and learned how to fill a stadium.

Anthony Muhammad, the Nation of Islam minister from Memphis, and Nisa Islam Muhammad shared how Min. Akbar Muhammad was instrumental in helping establish the annual Ramadan Prayer Line, which now touches thousands of people in 50 countries each year. The prayer line is now 10 years old.

It was also amazing that Min. Akbar Muhammad could come into your city, working in advance for Min. Farrakhan, and know more people than you did, added Anthony Muhammad as the audience laughed.

There were stories of how Min. Akbar Muhammad got things done by assigning the same task to multiple people and by teaching excuses were useless and a waste of time.

St. Louis was dead when Min. Akbar Muhammad came here, said activist Anthony Shahid, who counts himself among those trained by Min. Akbar Muhammad. But, he came with a “New York takeover and St. Louis makeover,” said Mr. Shahid.

Within a month, Muhammad Ali and Min. Farrakhan had visited St. Louis and Min. Akbar Muhammad was shaking up the city, he said.

“The main thing you taught us was to love the brotherhood,” said Anthony Shahid.

“My heart and my spirit are soaring,” said music producer and performer James Mtume who came down to support his longtime friend. There is a difference between what appears to be leadership and what leadership really is, he said. Min. Akbar Muhammad and Min. Farrakhan represent real leadership, he added.

His son, Jihad, 22, thanked his father for his work, teaching and example, and for devoting his life to serious pursuits. He

From left, Aliyah Muhammad; Brother Akbar Muhammad’s daughter Miriam; Pamela Muhammad, who helped organize the event, with Samimah Aziz, another daughter of Min. Akbar Muhammad; and Safiyah Chaubin. Photo: JA Salaam

Abdul Akbar Muhammad with his wife Nafisah and one of his children. Photo: J.A. Salaam

Anthony Shahid

Photo: Cartan X

Activist Zaki Baruti, second from left, and members of his organization were on hand to recognize his old friend and comrade Abdul Akbar Muhammad. Photo: J.A. Salaam

called his father a born leader and a born soldier. A rendition of “What A Difference A Day Makes” was delivered to her father

by Ruqayyah Muhammad and the evening drew near closing with a song and words from Denise Thimes.

George Khladun, who met the evening’s honoree as a teenager in New York, shared how it was Min. Akbar Muhammad who taught him to sell the Muhammad Speaks newspaper, under the Hon. Elijah Muhammad. It was Mr. Khaldun who likened Min. Akbar Muhammad to Chou En-lai. And, he said, this man

worked under Malcolm X, under Imam W.D. Mohammed after the departure of the Hon. Elijah Muhammad and with Min. Farrakhan to rebuild the Nation. “We have a beautiful Nation of Islam with the love Akbar has for Islam and Black people,” he said.

A proclamation was presented from Mayor Ras Baraka in Newark and St. Louis alderman John Muhammad presented a proclamation declaring July 27 “Akbar Muhammad Day,” in St. Louis.

augusT 6, 2019

Donald Muhammad

The Final Call

Photo: Cartan X

33

Several hundred people came out to show their appreciation for Abdul Akbar Muhammad at July 27 dinner. Photo: J.A. Salaam

Akbar Muhammad’s daughter Lateefah holds his grandson. Photo: J.A .Salaam

Min Akbar Muhammad, left, was honored for longtime service to Black people and the Nation of Islam.

Min. Akbar Muhammad worked to reestablish the first temple in the rebuilding of the Nation of Islam by Min. Farrakhan.

Alice Wyndon

Anthony Muhammad

Jazz vocalist Denise Thimes performs at tribute dinner for Abdul Akbar Muhammad.

”

n a . Min.

Akbar Muhammad with son Jihad. Photo: Rosalind X Guy

Fareedah Sidqui greets Mother Khadijah Farrakhan, seated at left, during tribute dinner. Photo:Haroon Rajaee

Ralph Muhammad, the evening’s emcee, with St. Louis Councilman John Muhammad and proclamation presented to Abdul Akbar Muhammad. Photo: Haroon Rajaee

34

Egypt Photo: courtesy of @blackgirl_wander

Going Back

The Final Call

Mr. Johnson’s sentiments.

‘Being on the continent ... it changes you somewhat’ For Carol and Robert Muhammad, their journey to Africa Continued from page 2 began in 1994. That was when Nation of Islam Minister Louis using the hashtag #GoBacktoAfrica to highlight their Motherland Farrakhan took the movement’s annual Saviours’ Day convention to Accra, Ghana. experiences.

“That was the first time I came [to Africa]. He brought 2,000 “We’ve also seen an increase in businesses within the continent people over,” said Robert Muhammad. that are also interested in working with companies to increase Then, in 2006, Carol Muhammad Black travel to the continent,” Mr. received pictures of property from Martin said. “The more we can a woman in Phoenix who’d visited provide opportunities and incentives Ghana. She found out a member of the for travelers to visit, the easier it will Nation had land for sale in Ghana. The be to counter stereotypes about the Muhammad’s bought some land and Diaspora as a whole.” had a house built, which was finished in The company sees this as 2008. Afterward, they went going back having an impact on countering and forth between the United States and the negativity behind the phrase.

Ghana, until they finally made the big At gobacktoafrica.com, they’ve move. They have no regrets. posted the pictures, connecting “Go From making friends near their Back to Africa” with words such as home to giving their own friends and “friendship,” “harmony” and “ease.” family from America tours, it has been “Research has shown that the an amazing experience. phrase is used negatively at an “For me, it’s second only to the average of 4,500 times a month, Million Man March,” said Robert and that’s recent research,” said Kent Johnson, co-founder of Black Trou du Prophète grande comore comoros Photo: cour- Muhammad. “When we came in ‘94, it was the best thing … . It was in another & Abroad. “If you were to check tesy of @nouriaofficial country and when it’s high noon and you those same numbers after Trump’s look at the sky, and you see the people recent inflammatory statements, I’m sure its negative use skyrocketed. It’s unfortunate to say that the and it looks like midnight. So I could really appreciate that.”

The couple’s home sits close to a beach, which was exactly phrase is still a tactic utilized to demean the continent of Africa, its what Carol Muhammad wanted. She can walk to Langma Beach, citizens and African-Americans as well. It implies that something is wrong about being from or being associated with Africa, and but also lives only a few hours away from another landmark—the slave castles. that’s far from the truth in both circumstances.”

“We had friends come and we’ve taken them to the slave A number of Blacks who have “gone back to Africa” share

augusT 6, 2019

castles, a kind of tour of the area and let them see what it’s all about, especially our history going to see the slave castles. Cape Coast is one, Elmina is another and we usually try to get them to see those things,” Carol Muhammad said.

“There’s a lot of history here. One of my biggest ambitions is to get Black people over here and actually go to the slave castles like she was talking about. They had about 40 slave castles on the West Coast of Africa ... and 30 of them was in Ghana,” Robert Muhammad said. “You really realize this is where it happened— this is where it started … It changes you somewhat.”

Even though living in Africa has proved to be a great experience for the Muhammad’s, they still face challenges.

“With me, being a woman, I guess, it’s adjusting to things I don’t have at home,” said Carol Muhammad. “I’ve always been an organic food eater and I can barely find anything that says organic.”

Robert Muhammad said there’s an adjustment to realizing that you’re no longer living in America.

“In Ghana, there’s really a stark difference between the haves and the have nots,” he said. “Africa is probably the richest continent on the planet in terms of resources, but because the awareness is not where it should be, they don’t have actually the best governance here yet. The rich get richer over here as well and if you’re on the bottom, it’s real hard.”

With President Akufo-Addo calling for 2019 to be the Year of Return, the couple has seen an influx of Blacks visiting the continent—not only now, but also over the years. They believe Blacks in the West could offer great aid to Africa.

“We stay between two fishing villages and the people, they get up in the morning, they go out and fish, and they catch enough fish to feed their family and they sell the rest. But they been doing the same thing for 500 years on the same level,” Robert Muhammad said. “So they stay on the same level, they still got rowboats. So you can’t stand over them beating your chest saying you know better, because they’re not begging anybody. They take care of themselves, their family and they make a living, so you got to approach it and it’s going to take time.”

Reconnecting to Black roots In Philadelphia, Penn., Ali Salahuddin and his wife, Helen, work heavily with youth. As an entertainment attorney for young artists, Helen Salahuddin searched for venues where young artists such as Kriss Kross and others could showcase their talents back in the 1990s. She had the idea of starting a day club—as opposed to a nightclub—for teenagers. Different hip hop artists would come by and take pictures with the youth. This became known as the d’Zert Club.

“We got to know the children and as we began to talk to them about their history and other things, you found out they just didn’t know about their history. So we decided to add a cultural element to what we were doing,” said Mr. Salahuddin.

As a result of the Million Man March in 1995, Mr. Salahuddin and his wife decided to access the list of over 20,000 youth they’ve worked with, and take them on cultural field trips. In 1996, they had the opportunity to travel to Africa for the first time.

“As a result of that trip, that really just put me on another direction. It was just so life-changing for my wife and I to set foot on the continent and just get impacted by the ancestral energy,” he said. “When we came back, we decided, look, forget the field trips. Our thought was that every Black teenager really needs to go to the Motherland, so that’s why we put the program in effect, now called the African Genesis Institute.”

The African Genesis Institute took its first group of Black teens to Senegal in 1998, to Ghana in 1999, and each year since 2000, they’ve taken a group to Egypt.

“From a statistical standpoint, we’ve noticed a significant increase in [the youth’s] grades, a significant increase in their scores on standardized tests, respect for elders, decrease in lateness and absenteeism,” Mr. Salahuddin said. “I would say about 85 to

augusT 6, 2019

The Final Call

World 21st Century, a Pan-Africanist organization, desires to see economics brought to the continent.

One of its initiatives, “The Door of Return to Africa,” partially focuses on connecting business and professional leaders in Africa and the U.S. “There’s always an urgent need for that engagement,” said Dr. Daniels. “While we have no antagonism towards any other nation or country, Africa’s resources are vast. W.E.B. Du Bois said that Africa is the wealthiest continent on the face of the earth, but what is happening is, you have the Chinese, you have people from various Middle Eastern countries, India, who are coming in and who are really sort of carving up Africa for its own interest all over again.

Some of it’s beneficial, some of it may not be so beneficial. But the issue becomes within the framework of the vision of Marcus Garvey, you know, how do we as African people, including the Diaspora, be the first ones to take control of our own resources and use those resources for our own development?”

l e o

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r Worker serve up delicious pastries in West African bakery t Photo: Richard Muhammad ” d Continued from previous page o w90 percent of the students end up going to college and about half

of them end up going on scholarship. So we noticed a tremendous sdifference. Attitudes, it’s just like night and day.” , Coming up on August 15, the African Genesis Institute will take

a group of 100 students and adults to Ghana. t “This will be the most impactful trip. I don’t even want to call it ra trip. Probably the most impactful sojourn that we’ve done in our shistory,” Mr. Salahuddin said. o They plan to do some building in Africa, driving economics

35

Robert and Carol Muhammad live in Ghana.

and providing a place for the African Diaspora to come to visit the continent. Mr. Salahuddin said they’ve purchased 4 1/2 acres of land in Ghana, about five minutes from the slave dungeons.

They plan to build a leadership academy and camp for teenagers.

Purchasing more land and building homes is also on the list.

“So we’re not just going back for a visit, we’re returning for real. So people talk about we need to go back and they want to leave this country and they want to separate, well we’re gonna make that a reality, to have someplace they can go. It won’t just be talk, it’ll be real talk,” Mr. Salahuddin said.

Dr. Ron Daniels, founder of the Institute of the Black

Experiences in the Motherland Mr. Salahuddin says it’s hard to explain what it’s like to step foot on African soil for the first time.

“When you go to the Motherland, especially if it’s your first time and you put your foot on the continent, then what happens is that there’s a spiritual phenomenon that takes place,” he said. “Some people call it ancestral energy, some people call it the territorial imperative. But it’s like if you went back to your grandmother’s house, something that you would feel when you got there. You make a connection and that’s what happens when people go to Africa, especially when they go to West Africa. They feel that spiritual connection to the ancestors.”

For Carol Muhammad, Africa’s truly become her home.

“They call all the older women ‘mom’ so you’re mom to everybody, if you’re a little older,” she laughed. “Robert has been dad. My older grandson came and visited us while we were here.

He made friends with young people here that are still coming to see me, and now they call me granny because that’s what he calls me.”

The couple has made friends with a Ghanaian family that lives very close to them, and with people in a village not too far from their home.

“We can walk over there, and one of the girls has a store and me and her started walking together,” Carol Muhammad said. “She just told me the other day, she said ‘Mommy’—she’s younger—around 40, but she says, ‘we got to start walking again!’ ” Mr. Johnson said his experience has been eye-opening.

“So far, I’ve been lucky enough to visit Ghana, South Africa, Senegal and The Gambia, and the experience has been incredibly welcoming, eye-opening, soothing, but also frustrating,” he said.

“Frustrating because I wish more Black travelers would have the chance to visit one of the countries and see for themselves that the world has painted one view of Africa, and not proper nuance and appreciation it deserves.”

The continent has left Mr. Martin in awe.

“My first ever trip to the continent was in October of 2015,” he said. “At the time I didn’t know what to expect. All I can remember was spending the first few days of the trip in awe of my surroundings, realizing that it was a true blessing to touch down on the land of my ancestors. It also reminded me that we in the Western world have so much to learn about ourselves and our people. The practices, the food, the languages, the culture.”

Moving to Africa has had its challenges. For one, the Muhammad’s are still waiting for some of their belongings to arrive from overseas. Also, Robert Muhammad said the pace of business is much slower in Africa than it is in the West.

However, even with the many challenges they’ve faced, it’s not impossible.

“You just gotta be in it for the long haul,” he said. “When we come from America, we got an instant mentality. It’s a process. You have to be in it for the long haul if you intend to make a difference over time.”

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THE FINAL CALL

AUGUST 6, 2019

Black vote Continued from page 3

cation, reparations and environmental justice are just a handful of the issues Black voters are concerned with. And, for some, having a president other than the current occupant of the White House is all they want. A June survey commissioned by the Black Economic Alliance gave a glimpse into what some Black voters felt was important when it comes to advancing economic opportunities for them and their families.

The survey found a three-way split on the top issues on the minds of Black American voters, with 77 percent of respondents saying affordable health care, college affordability and creating more jobs with benefits were “extremely important issues,” reported Politico.

The Final Call interviewed Black voters, activists and analysts at the 110th NAACP National Convention held July 20-24 in Detroit about critical issues and the outlook for 2020.

“It don’t take no Ph.D. to figure this out,” Dr. Wendell Anthony told a crowd prior to the Presidential Candidates Forum at the convention. He was recounting what he told a reporter that asked him what Black people wanted. “We want healthcare just like everybody else, we want good jobs like everybody else, we want income equality like everybody else. What the hell do you think we want? We want a life, like everybody else!”

Dr. Anthony, pastor at Friendship Chapel in Detroit, serves on the NAACP National Board of Directors and is president of the Detroit Branch NAACP, the largest branch in the country.

“This ain’t difficult, there is not no magic to this. We want what everybody else have. We want to be able to have a good house, a good community, good schools, good education, live safely and when we get stopped by the police we don’t want to have to go home in a box!

We want the same damn thing everybody else wants!” he said.

Ten presidential candidates spoke at the July 24 forum in Detroit: Mr. Biden, Sen. Kamala Harris, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Cory Booker, former HUD Secretary Julian Castro, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Republican Governor Bill Weld. Moderated by

April Ryan, (left) who served as moderator for the NAACP forum, interviews Sen. Kamala Harris. Photos: Andrea Muhammad

journalist April Ryan, each candidate answered questions on a variety of issues.

Sen. Harris, Sen. Warren and Mayor Buttigieg have introduced some semblance of Black-targeted plans and policies they vow to implement if elected president.

Sen. Harris recently touted her plan which calls for a $60 billion investment in Historically Black Colleges and Universities. She is an alumnus of Howard University, an HBCU. The California senator proposed a plan to spend $12 billion on entrepreneurship programs aimed at the Black community. Mr. Buttigieg introduced his Douglass Plan, named for abolitionist Frederick Douglass as “A Comprehensive Investment in the Empowerment of Black America.” It encompasses a variety of areas including economic investment, healthcare, education and criminal justice reform.

Sen. Warren proposed her plan to address the economic hardships of “women of color,” Blacks, Latinas, Native Americans and Asians.

Media personality, political commentator and entrepreneur Roland Martin explained that key voting issues vary and ultimately it is a personal decision.

“If you’re an African American that lives in a rural part of the country, if you live in a city, if you’re a homeowner versus a renter; you’re a student versus somebody who’s never gone to college, so it varies. So, what I would suggest is for the individual to sit down and say, ‘what are the three most important things to me?’ ” he told The Final Call.

“Look at whether it impacts your family, whether it affects your community, your city, your state, and then go from there. They may be local issues. Then the question is how that person does who is in

office, how will they impact that particular issue because a lot of people don’t know how to connect the dots. So, we’re not a monolith and so we have different interests and concerns.”

For 18-year-old college sophomore Darion Dawson, he has one concern: student loan debt. Any candidate proposing free college or drastically reducing college debt has his attention. “I’ve been struggling with going to college. It’s very expensive but it’s just crazy that you have to be incarcerated in order to get free education. Why can’t you get free education while being out of jail, which is good,” said the mechanical engineering major. He is from San Francisco but is attending Xavier University in Louisiana.

Mr. Dawson wants the next president to not be as divisive as Mr. Trump. “I look for a candidate more worried about getting the people together and making the country a better place for all people, especially us Black people,” he added.

Michael Childress agrees. He is president of the DuPage County NAACP just outside Chicago. “I think the number one issue that

affects Black people and we don’t seem to realize it, but it’s really presidential oversight because this guy has pretty much said he can do whatever he wants. If a person gets to the point where he can do whatever he wants, that means he has no boundaries. And usually when you run across people with no boundaries when they turn their wrath on someone, it’s usually us as Black people, people of color, the powerless, those are the people that they’re really going to take advantage of and the tool that they’re using is racism,” said Mr. Childress.

“It goes, to me, deeper than the health care, which is a problem, kids in the border, that’s a problem. But when you have a guy that thinks he’s pretty much God, I don’t see much difference between him and Hitler. I mean what’s to stop him in a second term from building the ovens, the concentration camps? He’s already started them now. Who’s going to stop him if we don’t get him out of there in this next term? He’s already defied every subpoena, every rule of law. Again, there’s no boundaries to what he feels he can get away with.”

Environmental activist Musta-

pha Ali said as he travels the country problems of racial disparities in the environment are still prevalent.

“We have 200,000 people dying prematurely from air pollution.

We have water quality issues and infrastructure issues inside of our communities that are poisoning us and putting our lives in danger and putting our children’s lives in danger. We should also be, when they’re having these conversations about jobs, we should be very clear that when people talk about a new clean, green economy, that we want to make sure that we have ownership in that space. That less than two percent of the businesses that have been created, you know, and wind and solar and all these other things that are important that people talk about, are owned by people of color,” said Mr. Ali. “When we get to African Americans, that number shrinks even more. So, we’ve got to be focused on making sure that there will be accountability if we are not given the opportunity to create our own businesses in this space,” he added.

When asked what Black voters must do to hold those they support and elect accountable for the promContinued on next page

NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson (3rd from right); Rev. Dr. Wendell Anthony, president of Detroit NAACP (2nd from right) join others at opening press conference at the 110th NAACP National Convention in Detroit held July 20-24.

AUGUST 6, 2019

ises they make, Mr. Ali said it must be a collective effort. “Beyond a conversation, I think that we should be actually pulling together all of our various organizations that we have trust in. And we need to be putting together the plan of the individuals that we want hired in the next administration. Who are the African Americans that should be running the Environmental Protection Agency, should be running HUD, should be running the Department of Labor, that should be running CDC?” he continued.

“We should be also be looking at the White House and the positions that exist inside of there.

What we should also be focused on for these campaigns and other types of positions that sometimes are forgotten we need to make sure that our folks are the ambassadors, as well, especially to our own countries and others. So, there are a number of different positions that we should be putting forward a list of names and then holding people accountable if a significant number of those individuals are not being hired,” said Mr. Ali. In Philadelphia, Black voters are concerned about rebuilding distressed communities said Rodney Muhammad, president of the Philadelphia NAACP. “We’re witnessing urban decay. The biggest cry in the city right now is gentrification. Too often by the time we cite gentrification, the arrow has already left the bow and many deals have already been made and it’s going to be a real uphill climb for us,” he said. There is also the concern of growing gun violence and a growing distrust Blacks have toward government and elected officials, he explained. Mr. Muhammad is also the student minister of the Nation of Islam’s Muhammad Mosque No. 12 in Philadelphia.

Terrance Williams of Gary, Indiana, works in security. His main concern where he lives is affordable housing. “In Gary, we’re hurting,” he said. There are so many abandoned houses as the result of the once vibrant steel industry in the city collapsing, so it has been tough, he said. He has not decided on any particular candidate to throw his support behind yet.

“They (candidates) speak to the separation of the children from their parents (at the border) here in the United States as though it is something new to this country and it’s not,” said Yolette Green, a union activist from New York. “Our people have been separated from their

THE FINAL CALL

Audience members at the Democratic presidential candidates forum, at NAACP Convention.

Roland Martin

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Photo: Andrea Muhammad

Mustapha Ali

Rodney Muhammad

Dr. Benjamin Chavis, president and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, attended the forum. Photo: Andrea Muhammad

land and from their families and we were brought here against our will and it is as though that is not prevalent today as though it has been forgotten. Other people’s plights have been presented as more important than ours when in this country we are still enslaved, mentally and physically,” she said. Reparations for Black people is an important issue for her and free education for Blacks would be a start, she said.

Janis Dunn is from the DallasFort Worth area and is president of Tri-Cities NAACP, which covers Cedar Hill, Desoto and Duncanville, Texas. Criminal justice reform and reparations are key areas for people in her area. She said for candidates that talk about criminal justice reform, “we want to make

sure it comes to fruition.”

Blacks must continue to mobilize even after elections to pressure candidates to keep their word, she explained. “We register a lot of people to vote but what we don’t do is get them back to the polls.

We can register thousands and thousands but if we don’t get them back and excited about it then we’ll never change anything. It’s about mobilization.”

Tammy Greer Brown lives blocks from where Eric Garner was choked to death by a New York cop. The Justice Department recently announced it would not charge the officer in his death.

She serves as advisor for the NAACP Youth Council for Staten Island New York. She is also on

‘We’re witnessing urban decay. The biggest cry in the city right now is gentrification. There is also the concern of growing gun violence and a growing distrust Blacks have toward government and elected officials.’

–Rodney Muhammad President, Philadelphia NAACP Studet Minister Muhammad Mousque No. 12 in Philadelphia

the steering committee for Moms of Black Boys United, a group that fights against police brutality and misconduct and fights for law enforcement policy changes on local, state and national levels. Criminal justice reform and education are the issues most critical to her.

“I have a Black son who has been arrested, who has been targeted,” she said. “My concern more than anything is that Black men and my son have been targeted.

I’m tired of seeing our Black men die. I’m tired of seeing our Black

males die; not just Black men but our Black boys die and I’m tired of seeing my daughter, who’s afraid of the police, come after school and be targeted to identify suspects.”

Ben Chavis, president and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, said Black organizations must work more in unity in their work for the whole. “The solutions to our problems are in our own hands. They’re not in the hands of the White House. They’re not in the hands of corporate America; they’re in our own hands,” said Dr. Chavis, whose group is composed of Black newspaper owners across the country.

“Our greatest challenge is to turn to one another, not against each other. The absence of unity is going to affect voter turnout for 2020, it’s going to affect public policy. We now have more brothers and sisters in the Congress in the United States than ever before. But the inaction of legislation like the Reparations bill (HR 40) is coming to support the study. We already know the answer is that we should have massive reparations to repair the damage that has been done. While the larger society needs to study the problem, we already know the problem because we’ve lived it,” added Dr. Chavis, who previously served as executive director of the NAACP. “I like the theme of this convention, ‘When We Fight, We Win.’ But we have to be clear on what we’re fighting for, not just what we’re fighting against. Everybody’s against Trump but what are we for?

It has to be freedom, justice and equality, economic empowerment, economic development and overall unity not only in America for Black people but throughout the African Diaspora. Unity for African people all over the world ought to be our top priority.”

38

Original woman Continued from page 17

of humanity; they are the original Adam and the original Eve.

In fact, a few years ago the Discovery Channel produced a documentary called the “Real Eve.” The description for this eye-opening documentary states: “The made-for-cable documentary film The Real Eve is predicated on the theory that the human race can be traced to a common ancestor. The mitochondrial DNA of one prehistoric woman, who lived in Africa, has according to this theory been passed down from generation to generation over a span of 150,000 years, supplying the ‘chemical energy’ to all humankind.”

This controversy involving President Trump and his supporters proves why the average White person in America needs to study Black History just as much as the average Black person does.

Moreover, according to the Australian Museum it was the country of Somalia—the country of origin of Congresswoman Ilhan Omar—where ancient axes were discovered in the 1800s that inspired the 20th century’s research discoveries that proved that Africa is the cradle of humanity. According to www.australianmuseum. net.au :

THE FINAL CALL “… stone hand axes from Somalia provide important evidence, showing unity of early human species across the Old World. In addition, they asserted that Africa must be examined when the human origin is being considered.

Successive research in the 20th century demonstrated that Africa was indeed the cradle of humanity.”

The Bible again, states that you should “honor your mother and your father…” The Holy Qur’an says similar when it says “do good to parents” and don’t use foul speech when speaking to them; don’t say so much as “fie to them.” These 4 courageous congresswomen are members of the Original People of the planet Earth. And as such, they are owners of the earth. President Trump and his supporters have no right to tell them where they can and cannot live on the earth! The Original People are the owners of the Earth and as owners, we can go and live anywhere we choose to go!

I say to their critics, if you disagree with their politics, then submit your alternative political position and allow the public to weigh which of the 2 opposing views they agree with. But to act dishonorably towards them; to be vile and ignoble; to proceed forth with unmitigated gall and savage rancor regarding them is to position yourself on the opposite side of God and his commands!

Congresswomen Signs of God’s Presence It should be noted that Allah (God) often communicates His divine presence within a situation, set of circumstances or events through the use of signs and symbols. Allah (God) says in the Holy Qur’an (15:75): “Surely in this are signs for those who take a lesson.”

These 4 courageous congresswomen have emerged from their respective communities to challenge the status quo in American politics. I noticed that each of them was blessed by their parents with a name of spiritual significance and importance. The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad always stressed the importance of Black people in America having names that reflect the divine attributes of Allah (God) and the Original Peoples of the Earth. He frequently gave to his followers names of strength; names of power; noble names that describe the presence of God within man and woman.

This group of extraordinary women has names rich in meaning, names that provide indicators of their respective destinies and life’s work in and out of American politics. The meanings of their names, like signs from Allah (God), suggest the presence of the hand of Allah (God) inside this current season of American electoral politics. Consider that the name Rashida means “rightly guided”; it is the feminine

This group of extraordinary women has names rich in meaning, names that provide indicators of their respective destinies and life’s work in and out of American politics.

AUGUST 6, 2019

Ilhan Omar - One of the first Muslim women elected into the United States House of Representatives. Photo: MGN Online

of one the 99 divine names of Allah (God) in Islam, Al-Rashid. The name Ilhan has several profound meanings. It means “ruler,” “precious” and it means “to have a beautiful voice.” Within the Holy Qur’an, the believing men and women are admonished to speak their prayers in “goodly voice.” They are similarly told that they should “argue in the best of manners using wisdom and beautiful preaching.” The name Ayanna means “beautiful flower.”

Jesus is referred to in the Bible as the Rose of Sharon and the Lilly of the Valley. The name Alexandria is the feminine of the name Alexander.

It means “defender of the people; to defend, to help.” There is a verse of scripture in the Bible, Psalms 121:12, that says, “I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.”

These 4 courageous congresswomen should be respected and protected. Their work and courageous stand is worthy of admiration.

None of President Trump’s supporters has a right to tell these courageous women to get out of America.

Dissent has always been a sacred right in America that is secured by

the First Amendment right to free speech. And despite that painful price that is paid to speak the truth, a price that often includes mockery, ridicule and even assassination, those who dare to speak the truth are patriots of the highest order. For, it is the courageous speakers of truth, who exist as the protectors of a society against the abuses of the powerful. Legendary Senator Carl Shurz, in “The Policy of Imperialism,” put it like this: “I confidently trust that the American people will prove themselves … too wise not to detect the false pride or the dangerous ambitions or the selfish schemes which so often hide themselves under that deceptive cry of mock patriotism: ‘Our country, right or wrong!’ They will not fail to recognize that our dignity, our free institutions and the peace and welfare of this and coming generations of Americans will be secure only as we cling to the watchword of true patriotism: ‘Our country—when right to be kept right; when wrong to be put right.’ ” Read more from Demetric Muhammad at www.researchminister. com. Follow @brotherdemetric on Twitter.

THE MUSLIM PROGRAM What The Muslims Want This is the question asked most frequently by both the Whites and the Blacks. The answers to this question I shall state as simply as possible.

1. We want freedom. We want a full and complete freedom.

2. We want justice. Equal justice under the law.

We want justice applied equally to all, regardless of creed or class or color.

3. We want equality of opportunity. We want equal membership in society with the best in civilized society.

4. We want our people in America whose parents or grandparents were descendants from slaves, to be allowed to establish a separate state or territory of their own—either on this continent or elsewhere. We believe that our former slave masters are obligated to provide such land and that the area must be fertile and minerally rich. We believe that our former slave masters are obligated to maintain and supply our needs in this separate territory for the next 20 to 25 years—until we are able to produce and supply our own needs.

Since we cannot get along with them in peace and equality, after giving them 400 years of our sweat and blood and receiving in return some of the worst treatment human beings have ever experienced, we believe our contributions to this land and the suffering forced upon us by White America, justi¿es our demand for complete separation in a state or territory of our own.

5. We want freedom for all Believers of Islam now held in federal prisons. We want freedom for all Black men and women now under death sentence in innumerable prisons in the North as well as the South.

We want every Black man and woman to have the freedom to accept or reject being separated from the slave master’s children and establish a land of their own.

We know that the above plan for the solution of the Black and White conÀict is the best and only answer to the problem between two people.

6. We want an immediate end to the police brutality and mob attacks against the so-called Negro throughout the United States.

We believe that the Federal government should intercede to see that Black men and women tried in White courts receive justice in accordance with the laws of the land—or allow us to build a new nation for ourselves, dedicated to justice, freedom and liberty.

7. As long as we are not allowed to establish a state or territory of our own, we demand not only equal justice under the laws of the United States, but equal employment opportunities—NOW! We do not believe that after 400 years of free or nearly free labor, sweat and blood, which has helped America become rich and powerful, that so many thousands of Black people should have to subsist on relief, charity or live in poor houses.

8. We want the government of the United States to exempt our people from ALL taxation as long as we are deprived of equal justice under the laws of the land.

9. We want equal education—but separate schools up to 16 for boys and 18 for girls on the condition that the girls be sent to women’s colleges and universities. We want all Black children educated, taught and trained by their own teachers.

Under such schooling system we believe we will make a better nation of people. The United States government should provide, free, all necessary textbooks and equipment,

The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad schools and college buildings. The Muslim teachers shall be left free to teach and train their people in the way of righteousness, decency and self-respect.

10. We believe that intermarriage or race mixing should be prohibited. We want the religion of Islam taught without hindrance or suppression.

These are some of the things that we, the Muslims, want for our people in North America.

What The Muslims Believe 1. WE BELIEVE in the One God Whose proper Name is Allah.

2. WE BELIEVE in the Holy Qur’an and in the Scriptures of all the Prophets of God. 3. WE BELIEVE in the truth of the Bible, but we believe that it has been tampered with and must be reinterpreted so that mankind will not be snared by the falsehoods that have been added to it.

4. WE BELIEVE in Allah’s Prophets and the Scriptures they brought to the people.

5. WE BELIEVE in the resurrection of the dead—not in physical resurrection—but in mental resurrection. We believe that the so-called Negroes are most in need of mental resurrection, therefore, they will be resurrected ¿rst.

Furthermore, we believe we are the people of God’s choice, as it has been written, that God would choose the rejected and the despised. We can ¿nd no other persons ¿tting this description in these last days more than the so-called Negroes in America. We believe in the resurrection of the righteous.

6. WE BELIEVE in the judgment; we believe this ¿rst judgment will take place as God revealed, in America.

7. WE BELIEVE this is the time in history for the

separation of the so-called Negroes and the so-called White Americans. We believe the Black man should be freed in name as well as in fact. By this we mean that he should be freed from the names imposed upon him by his former slave masters. Names which identi¿ed him as being the slave master’s slave. We believe that if we are free indeed, we should go in our own people’s names—the Black peoples of the Earth.

8. WE BELIEVE in justice for all, whether in God or not; we believe as others, that we are due equal justice as human beings. We believe in equality—as a nation—of equals. We do not believe that we are equal with our slave masters in the status of “freed slaves.”

We recognize and respect American citizens as independent peoples and we respect their laws which govern this nation.

9. WE BELIEVE that the offer of integration is hypocritical and is made by those who are trying to deceive the Black peoples into believing that their 400year-old open enemies of freedom, justice and equality are, all of a sudden, their “friends.” Furthermore, we believe that such deception is intended to prevent Black people from realizing that the time in history has arrived for the separation from the Whites of this nation.

HE LIVES!

If the White people are truthful about their professed friendship toward the so-called Negro, they can prove it by dividing up America with their slaves.

We do not believe that America will ever be able to furnish enough jobs for her own millions of unemployed, in addition to jobs for the 20,000,000 Black people as well.

10. WE BELIEVE that we who declare ourselves to be righteous Muslims, should not participate in wars which take the lives of humans. We do not believe this nation should force us to take part in such wars, for we have nothing to gain from it unless America agrees to give us the necessary territory wherein we may have something to ¿ght for.

11. WE BELIEVE our women should be respected and protected as the women of other nationalities are respected and protected.

12. WE BELIEVE that Allah (God) appeared in the Person of Master W. Fard Muhammad, July, 1930; the long-awaited “Messiah” of the Christians and the “Mahdi” of the Muslims.

We believe further and lastly that Allah is God and besides HIM there is no God and He will bring about a universal government of peace wherein we all can live in peace together.

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