During the recent “Roland Martin Unfiltered” daily digital show three-part tribute to the legendary Harry Belafonte, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan quoted a common verse from the Bible, “… perfect love casts out fear.” These were the exact words that came to my mind in reference to the Minister, just as he used them to describe his great mentor and friend.
I’m so excited to have the honor and privilege to celebrate the life and 90th birth anniversary of Min. Farrakhan. As it relates to sisters, he has affected so many of our lives during his nearly 70 years of unconditional love and sacrifice, 48 years in the absence of his teacher, the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad. I wish to highlight a few women who bear witness to how a Man of God has affected our lives throughout the years.
Sister Rhea Muhammad, 71, said the blessings go back to the days with the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad in Chicago. “As a child, I played the Louis X record, ‘A White Man’s Heaven is a Black Man’s Hell’ over and over on my little record player until I knew it by heart,” she said. “So, Minister Farrakhan’s trusted and sincere voice of truth has been in my ear for 62 years. I graduated valedictorian from Muhammad University of Islam (M.U.I.) High School in 1969.
“The decades have brought a myriad of changes to my life but, with Our Savior Allah and the inspirational voices of encouragement of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan via cassettes, CDs, DVDs and live, I was blessed to achieve both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Computer Science and I worked 30 years in Information Technology as a computer programmer, systems analyst, project manager and software auditor,” she said.
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“In my humble opinion, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan is the personification of love,” said former National M.G.T. and G.C.C. Captain Charlene Muhammad. One story she recalls is how when traveling on behalf of the sisters across the Nation, her presence was requested by Min. Farrakhan and the Laboring Board in Chicago.
“I headed straight there and when I got there I apologized to the Minister for being late. He asked me why I was late and I told him that the plane had circled the airport due to the weather for an hour. Then he said something that changed my life forever. He said, you should have ‘willed’ the plane down. Then he gave me permission to sit at the table. I thought about that statement over and over and from that point on I began to study ‘the will,’” Sister Charlene Muhammad explained.
“We have an entire ‘Study Guide, Self-Improvement: The Basis For Community Development,’ The Will of God Part I, II and III and it was from this that I understood what the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan said. I am eternally grateful for those words,” she said.
Today with hard work and consistency, Sister Charlene has “willed” a Spanish online course for children and adults since the COVID pandemic.
Chicago community leader and longtime friend and supporter of the Nation of Islam, Sister Aleta Clark, 33, also known as @englewoodbarbie on Instagram, shared thoughts of gratitude after she commented on a post where Minister Farrakhan donated 2,000 free dinners throughout Black communities in Chicago distributed by the F.O.I. at the close of the holy month of Ramadan in later April.
“I’ve been very grateful to say the least,” she said. “Not only because of his (Minister’s) Teachings but because I get to be connected with an army of men (F.O.I.) taught by him that love God and Black people. (They) are very respectful and aren’t judgmental. If it wasn’t for the Minister’s love for us all these men wouldn’t even be available. I’ve had nothing but a great time being connected with the Minister and his family and I’m honored to have been given the opportunity to say happy 90th birthday to such a great fearless, God-fearing leader. He really represents the culture.”
Sister Taliyah X from Mosque No. 61 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, was 15 years old when she first heard the Teachings and remembers seeing the brothers on the corner selling The Final Call newspaper.
“I’ve been in the Nation of Islam for two years now,” she said. “He’s been a father figure to me in my life. You really can’t love something without understanding the true knowledge of it. It’s his love and understanding of the value of the woman and it all leads back to the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad,” she said.
Sister Dr. Christina Parks is a Ph.D. in cellular and molecular biology. She is also an educator, researcher and scientist.
“I just sent in my (Saviours’) letter, and I think that the most surprising aspect—and it shouldn’t be surprising—but in a world without love, it is. It is the love that I found in the Nation,” said Sister Dr. Christina Parks of Freemont, Michigan. “My first Saviours’ Day was in 2022. The love the Minister had for his people was so apparent. Through study, I came to understand that I believe the same beliefs that the Nation believes,” she said.
“But I think what really cemented my bond with the Nation under the Minister’s guidance and direction and the guidance and direction of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad is the love.”
Happy Birth Anniversary to our Brother Minister Farrakhan!
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