Ongoing efforts to make our communities safe and decent places to live
by Azizah Muhammad
ATLANTA—It has been nearly six years since the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam issued a clarion call to Black communities to work to make cities where they reside safe, clean and decent places to live. The Minister issued that call during “Justice or Else,” the 20th anniversary of the Million Man Marchheld on 10.10.15 in Washington, D.C.
Min. Farrakhan has continuously warned that the Black community is faced with “a war on two fronts”—attacks by outside forces in our communities including violence inflicted by rouge police, but also the fratricidal violence we inflict on one another. He called for 10,000 Fearless Men and Women willing to help stop the bloodshed.
›The Minister gave glory to God as he connected the condition—particularly of the Black man and woman in America—to the need of cultivating better conditions in our communities. “You are a seed; I am a seed. We have not yet been placed in the proper spiritual or physical environment that would cause the seed to swell and burst and let what is within come out that we could say, ‘I am a part of the glory of God,’” Minister Farrakhan stated during his keynote message.
The Muslim world leader also mentioned the importance of cleaning up our communities. “I need 10,000 fearless Black men,” Minister Farrakhan said. “We gotta clean up our community, and there’s no way we can make a good people and leave them under the educational system of White Supremacy.
We have to take over the educational system because the education that you’re receiving has not made you a good people or a better people, it made you a more willing tool or slave for your oppressor; that system has to go in order for Black people to be set free.”
Moving out on Divine commands
After hearing Minister Farrakhan’s call, Nation of Islam Southern Region Student Minister Abdul Sharrieff Muhammad went back to Atlanta, Ga., and immediately used the Minister’s instructions as a tool to construct the 10,000 Fearless Men & Women Headquarters of the South. Those efforts and work have continued.
Located in a previously crime-ridden area referred to as “The Bluff,” the 10,000 Fearless Headquarters has been serving the community since 2015. “When the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan says he wants something, by the Grace of Allah (God), I strive to bring it into reality, no matter what it is,” said Student Minister Sharrieff Muhammad.
He highlighted the importance of taking charge of Minister Farrakhan’s 10.10.15 command. “Anytime God’s man gives a command, we are obligated to carry it out,” he said. “Especially if we believe that he is the mouthpiece of Allah (God) in our midst,” he continued.
Led by co-chairs Student Minister Sharrieff Muhammad and Reverend Timothy McDonald, pastor of First Iconium Baptist Church, the 10,000 Fearless Headquarters of the South has been a seed implanted in the core of the community and helped to highlight the need for more help in the ongoing efforts.
“When we first went in (The Bluff), we cleaned the houses, painted the houses, fed the people in the community and clothed the people,” Student Minister Sharrieff Muhammad stated. “After that, they took on a change of their own.”
Expanding the mission and partnering for progress
From 2015 till today, the services of the 10,000 Fearless Headquarters of the South have expanded by way of new locations, broader experiences, and a sea of new mouths to feed and bodies to clothe.
When asked what he sees as next steps in the movement, Student Minister Sharrieff Muhammad told The Final Call, “(I see us) having 10,000 Fearless community patrol and People United for Change in every city in America, Africa, and the Caribbean. … We all move together as a solid wall!”
Over the years, the 10,000 Fearless Headquarters of the South has continuously offered the following services: 24-hour conflict resolution which is a program to settle disputes with dignity rather than weapons and words of destruction; a community patrol which is a service to keep crime off the streets;
Financial assistance, including a variety of programs that render aid to those struggling with bills and other expenses; youth programs which offer guidance to young people to enhance the quality of their thinking; mental health services which provide helpful solutions to those struggling with challenges.
Services also include a food pantry and clothing drive, two programs that give weight to the scriptural words, “For I was a hungry, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger and you took me in.”
The 10,000 Fearless Headquarters of the South is partnered with People United for Change, Inc. (P.U.F.C.), a nonprofit organization established by Student Minister Sharrieff Muhammad to help feed the physical, mental, and spiritual well-being of every individual.
People United for Change currently has a total of 12 locations established between Georgia and Tennessee. The nonprofit is also in partnership with the newly established 10,000 Fearless of the South II, developed by Student Minister Sharrieff Muhammad, and located in the Southwest area of Atlanta in a building that he has named, “The Ark.”
“Our goal is to serve every hungry soul in the world,” said Celesia Muhammad, director of People United for Change, Inc. “We not only strive to assist, but we also strive to educate and give people the tools necessary to change the future,” she explained.
The group provides fresh produce, canned goods, and a variety of staple items to the community. The 10,000 Fearless of the South II also serves as a pathway to deliver items to hungry senior citizens who live in the apartment complex across the street.
With its goal of individual improvement and a vision for collective freedom, the 10,000 Fearless Headquarters of the South also offers educational programs to help children with their academic needs, an information center to connect individuals with resources, and a veterans affairs program that provides support for veterans. “When they [the veterans] come in, we direct them to where they need to go for medical help and housing assistance,” explained Barry Muhammad, director of the 10,000 Fearless Headquarters of the South.
Offered at the base of both the 10,000 Fearless Headquarters of the South and the 10,000 Fearless II is the community patrol services. New patrol cars have been purchased and put to work as the community is kept secure by the presence of the 10,000 Fearless. “People see us come and they put on their best behavior,” said Barry Muhammad. “They understand that we are working with them and it’s all in the spirit of love and unity.”
As crime rates rise, the community patrol is needed to keep the streets clear of commotion and conflict. Student Minister Sharrieff Muhammad believes that proper training and disciplinary action can help reduce the crime in our communities. “I would like for the people to have a decent and a safe place to live,” he stated. “I want people to know that the 10,000 Fearless community patrol is [here] to protect the community, and I want them to be trained so that they can go back and protect their own communities.”
The work continues
The 10,000 Fearless Headquarters of the South has become a tree with many branches, expanding the command of Minister Farrakhan to cities across the U.S. “Now we are in over 80 cities around this country,” Student Minister Sharrieff Muhammad stated. You will find establishments of 10,000 Fearless Men and Women in cities such as: Jackson, Miss.; Memphis, Tenn.; Fort Valley, Ga.; Houston, Texas; Chattanooga, Tenn; Mobile, Ala.; Athens, Ga., Charlotte, N.C. and other cities.
Student Minister Sharrieff Muhammad’s swift response to Minister Farrakhan’s call for 10,000 Fearless Men and Women has inspired others to follow and get involved.
Kevin Muhammad is director of the 10,000 Fearless in Chattanooga, Tenn. He described Student Min. Sharrieff Muhammad as a “visionary.”
“He’s an example of ‘Do For Self’ and he’s not someone who preaches it, he’s someone who actually does, he’s a doer. I thank Allah for the instructions of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan…and Minister Abdul Sharrieff Muhammad for being the word made flesh,” said Kevin Muhammad.
Established in 2017, the 10,000 Fearless Men and Women in Chattanooga operate under a nonprofit called, “Community Haven” which has significantly aided the community and is currently renovating and establishing a center for skills training, leadership development, youth and family outreach, small business opportunities, and community initiatives for Chattanooga’s residents.
Kevin Muhammad understands the importance of working together in unity. “The goal is to inspire our community to look beyond religion and our differences to establish a model that is representative of all of us working together to make our community a safe and decent place to live,” he said.
Frank James Muhammad, director of the 10,000 Fearless Men & Women in Fort Valley, Ga., stated, “Student Minister Sharrieff already made the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan’s word flesh, so all I had to do was duplicate what he had already done. At every turn he (Student Minister Sharrieff Muhammad) always directed me,” he explained. “By following his direction, we are where we are today.”
Partnered with Pastor Al Sanders of the Feed Center Family Worship Center, the 10,000 Fearless Men and Women of Fort Valley, Ga., go out in the community and feed people. Frank J. Muhammad and his team of 10,000 Fearless in Fort Valley are in connection with the Ministerial Alliance and have partnered with city council members, police department, and police chief of Fort Valley, Ga. Frank J. Muhammad works with people of various denominations to ensure that decency is a dominant factor in the streets of the community.
“We have Hebrew Israelites, Christians, Five Percenters, all coming together for one common cause,” he said.
Christina Muhammad of the 10,000 Fearless First Responders located in Texas heard the call and responded with urgency. “We are fearless men and women by the Grace of Allah (God) who heard the call from the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan through our dear brother Abdul Sharrieff Muhammad,” she explained.
The 10,000 Fearless First Responders teach disaster preparedness and have built first responder teams across the nation. “America doesn’t have Black and Brown people in their safety programs so we must build one for ourselves,” she stressed.
The 10,000 Fearless Men and Women have not only been building on land. First Admiral Khalid Muhammad manages the 10,000 Fearless Sailing Academy, located in Buford, Ga. The academy is a unique sailing school designed to bring forth the Black man and woman’s lost but natural talent for sailing.
Students of the 10,000 Fearless Sailing Academy are taught proper safety sailing skills, how to sail, how to determine wind direction, and the history of the ship named Jesus, which the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught was the name of the slave ship that brought the first kidnapped and enslaved Black Africans to America.
“The students can go anywhere around the world with these types of skills,” Admiral Muhammad stated. “They don’t even have to know no one else’s language. If they know how to run one of these [ships] that’s a language. That’s universal,” he explained.
Whether by land or by sea, the 10,000 Fearless Men and Women are leaving their marks on the pavement of our communities.
For more information on the 10,000 Fearless Men and Women Headquarters of the South, 10,000 Fearless Men & Women II, and to locate a 10,000 Fearless Men and Women in your city, call 404-963-1078
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