Powerful, provider and protector. These are the words that come to mind as I reflect on the original Black man in America and around the world. You are the backbone and burden-bearer of our society. You are the great influencers of our time.
If you don’t believe me, look at what our world would be without you. You have reshaped and redesigned American style through music, dress and artistic expression. Whether it’s the innovative ideas of the past and present, athletic excellence, or overall achievement; Black men, you continue to surpass expectations and break records showcasing your greatness and value. In fact, the world would not exist without you because you are directly connected to God.
The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan teach that every time you look at a Black man, you are looking at God. However, negative headlines and portrayals of our men in the media present Black men only as criminals, victims and assailants.
For years we have been bombarded with a narrative that condemns you. The rise of Black-on-Black crime only proves that the ways of a degenerate world have taken over a once righteous mind. Your struggles are not without blame or responsibility, but what needs to be brought to our attention are the God-given abilities that come from our nature and not the circumstances that seem to define you.
Scrolling social media recently, I was not surprised to hear constant negativity, sometimes even by our own people. In the midst of a common narrative, Detroit social media influencer and co-founder of Modesty International of Sister Tamorah Shareef Muhammad provided another refreshing approach to recent news events:
“Dear Black men
You are seen
You are loved
You are strong”
Sis. Tamorah is the owner and operator of a healthy lifestyle and coaching business for women and she creates social media content promoting positivity and change.
“I hate to say this, but some of us as Black women are so ignorant that we act as though we don’t know that we need to stick up for our men when they are being attacked by the wicked in this society,” said Sis. Tamorah who attends Muhammad Mosque No. 1 in Detroit.
In a 1994 lecture from Minister Farrakhan titled, “Father’s Day Message,” he explained that when estranged from a real father you begin to get lost. “Estrangement from a real father is similar to being estranged from God. Whenever a human being is linked to God, we are linked to the source of our life and the source of creation. The moment we start breaking our relationship with God and become more estranged or removed from God, then we begin to feel the loss of peace, the loss of contentment of mind, the loss of security, then the loss of health and wealth and the loss of our own selves. Then, we’ve become savage,” he said.
We, as the Black community, are in this struggle for survival and achieving greatness together, Sis. Tamorah said. “There are many great and righteous Black men of principle who are doing their part and great works in our community,” she said.
“The story of our brothers who strive hard in Allah’s way and cause is never told enough. Despite all of the traps and negativity against the Black man in this society, these brothers of ours stood up like no other in their various walks of life; from skilled professionals to hardworking brothers formerly from the streets to unite together as one in answering the call of our leader, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, to be the leaders and fighters for our community to redeem our suffering people by being real-life saviors by showing them the better way of life,” she added.
Abisayo Muhammad, a former Final Call staffer, is an entrepreneur, a mother and first lady of Benton Harbor, Mich.
