(FinalCall.com) – The second week of touring took the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan East–starting the second leg of his 23-city Millions More Movement tour in his childhood hometown of Boston. On Aug. 23, community members of note and the LOC filled the sanctuary of Muhammad’s Mosque No. 11 to listen to Minister Farrakhan outline their role in creating a programmatic vehicle to lift the masses of our people.
Stressing the decline of education in America, he quoted the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad: “Education is the torchlight of a civilization. If the torchlight goes out, the civilization goes down.” And he stressed that the country is going down swiftly, leaving Black, Brown, Red and poor people little future to look forward to enjoying.
He encouraged the distinguished audience to develop character to accompany their knowledge, because the fall of America is linked to the internal moral rot that has eaten away the spiritual and moral fiber of the people.
“Decadence is part and parcel of the conspiracy,” he charged, “which has the American people with their heads in their crotches. What kind of respect does the government have for the sanctity of the mind?” he asked.
The next day, Minister Farrakhan met with Baptist preachers before delivering a compelling rally address that was tinged with the laughter and relaxed tone of a fireside chat with family.
Big news in the Big Apple
Since the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan held several meetings with various spectrums of leadership in New York, his schedule did not include a meeting with the LOC. Instead, he hit the New York pavement running, with interviews with radio, television and print media, a private meeting with the editorial board of the Amsterdam News, one of the historic Black papers in the city, as well as a one-on-one interview with the Daily Challenger, concluding with a powerful briefing to a packed press conference. Beginning at 7:30 a.m. Aug. 26, he appeared on 97.1 FM, reaching teenagers; followed by 98.7 KISSFM speaking to young adults and the middle-aged group.
He emphasized the role of youth in the success of the Millions More Movement, and shared that it was enlightening to listen to the level of frustration expressed by the youth who called into the radio station to ask him questions. The candid interview was heartbreakingly revealing of the generational divide, which Minister Farrakhan insisted can be overcome with conscious effort on the part of the young in being open and the elders in being patient. He fielded questions ranging from the goals of the Millions More Movement to Mexican President Vicente Fox’s much publicized comments on Mexican employment in this country, to the war in Iraq and his restoration of health. “I am in no ways tired,” he told the listeners of 98.7. “I love Black people,” he said on 97.1 FM, “and I live to work towards seeing us free.”
Immediately afterwards, he traveled to Newark to tape a face-to-face interview with the legendary Gil Noble for his television show, “Like It Is.” The interview was hosted on the property of the African Cultural Center owned by the Women in Support of the Million Man March. The media trail continued in one on one segments taped with BET’s “Cousin” Jeff Johnson and MTV’s Amanda Seales. He concluded his day with a radio interview with 105 FM.
Two successful rallies–in Brooklyn on Aug. 27 and in Mt. Vernon on Aug. 28–were separated by a unique evening interview with the city’s Caribbean radio show host Dhaved Levy on WBLS, in which Minister Farrakhan admits was an interview like none other. Listeners enjoyed the rare occasion of Minister Farrakhan crooning out calypso and sharing stories of his early personal history.
Inspiring Newark to new life
Concluding the top of his East Coast tour in Newark, the Honorable Minister Farrakhan addressed the LOC and the community-at-large in a high-spirited meeting at the WISOMMM center on Aug. 29. He referenced the work of God in man, embodied in the Messiah, and stressed the need to cling to principles not personality.
“We must teach the word of God from an uncircumcised heart, so that we will not introduce poison as we introduce life,” he taught. “The knowledge of Jesus is a purifying agent and if we get into him and get him in us, then we have a power within that Jesus was blessed with.”
A brief press briefing immediately followed the community meeting, after which he met privately with about 60 clergy members of various faiths in the chapel of the center. Calling the intimate address in the dimly lit sanctuary a “conversation,” Minister Farrakhan
He informed them that the Millions More Movement is not about converting anyone to Islam, but rather calling all who say they believe in the prophets to live by the example of that prophet, which will forge unity between all religions.
“We are so fascinated with what we call ourselves that we refuse to work with anyone who calls themselves by another name,” he chided the religious representatives. “We come alive through submission and obedience to the Will of God.”
He cautioned that, “Labels can deceive you. But if a man has the right spirit, he can touch you in your spirit,” so they should not fear answering the call from him, a Muslim leader, to work collectively to bring life to our people.
“It is counterproductive to argue theological points,” he warned, “when our people are dying.”
(Coverage continues next week as Minister Farrakhan travels through the Mid-Atlantic region.)
