WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Nubian Leadership Circle (NLC) brought its highly successful online National Black Leadership Summit to its first in-person meeting at Union Temple Baptist Church to commemorate and celebrate the 29th Anniversary of the Million Man March and to continue its organizational work.
Hundreds of participants attended online during the previous 10 summits and signed up for working group cadres that continued meetings between summits.
“We were very pleased,” Nubian Leadership Circle founder and summit convener Sadiki Kambon told The Final Call about the first in-person gathering. “We had some obstacles that occurred but we were able to work them out and we had a very positive spirit.
The one thing that has really resonated with me was when we first started the NLC and I spoke to the Minister (Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan), and he stated the fact that what I was attempting to do has never been achieved before in terms of bringing our people together like this,” he said.
Mr. Kambon stated that Minister Farrakhan shared with him that his efforts were going to take a lot of time, energy and patience.
“That’s the piece that in many respects has carried me. I thought about him when some things came up that weren’t necessarily working out for us. But overall, the summit worked very well. It was well received.”
People came from around the country to participate in the first in-person summit held Oct. 19. NLC started its first summit in 2021 online during the COVID-19 pandemic. Minister Farrakhan gave the keynote address at the first one.
Subsequent summits, at least four a year, attracted hundreds of Muslims, Black Nationalists, Pan-Africanists and regular folks from across the U.S. and other parts of the world.
The purpose of the gatherings is to develop a national strategic plan to address the issues and conditions of Black life in the U.S. and diaspora and to develop and foster relationships among Black organizations.
The in-person summit included breakout sessions for the different cadres, including, food and land, family essence, economic development, arts and culture, spiritual renewal, health, education, and international advocacy.
Student Minister Rodney Muhammad and his wife Lisa Muhammad of Mosque No. 11 in Boston reported from the spiritual renewal breakout session. “Spiritual renewal is the key in the core to anything that we do in life. Without God, whatever name we call Him, we will never be successful.
We always have to have Him in the center of our lives. We encourage the brothers and sisters that it’s something we must do to justify our existence. Give out free food, once a month, or be a mentor for Black youth somewhere in our community.
Brothers and sisters are reaching out to be mentors in the prison system. We also had retired teachers and first responders. One father talked about being role models for his sons,” said Student Minister Rodney Muhammad.
Lisa Muhammad added, “We talked about either joining a prayer line or creating a prayer (line) among your community, or your family just to encourage one another. The other thing we talked about was the prison program. We had a lot of youth in our last group that we did online.
They said, ‘we have a lot of family members or we have family members who are incarcerated.’ We talked about that and how important it was not to just leave them in the belly of the beast, but to reach out, to be a pen pal or to give a positive word to any brother or sister that is struggling or going through a lot.”
D.C. resident and family essence working group co-facilitator Lashawna Henderson told the audience that their cadre group focused on how to revitalize important family gatherings. “Family is ground zero for all of us. What we do in the home, grows into the community,” she explained.
“We have ideas to strengthen our family units, establish a cadence and find time to talk as a family. You can bring everyone together to open communication channels for conflict resolution.”
Following the cadre reports, attendees observed a panel discussion led by Mr. Kambon and Million Woman March co-founder Phile Chionesu. The panel featured attorney and activist Nkechi Taifa; Paul Pumphrey from Friends of the Congo; Reverend Willie Wilson, who established Union Temple; and Nation of Islam Student Minister Nuri Muhammad of Mosque No. 74 in Indianapolis.
Student Min. Nuri Muhammad shared his perspective on technology, describing it as an essential tool despite its detrimental impact on the mental state of the Black community.
“The so-called World Wide Web has led to unprecedented levels of ignorance and depression. This toxic web has hollowed us out, leaving us as empty shells. However, if we utilize [social media] correctly to bridge time and distance, it can be employed for positive purposes,” said Student Min. Nuri Muhammad.
The next steps for the summit include continuing the push to be an international, global institution. “We’re putting a lot of energy into these working groups and the projects they will be involved in,” said Mr. Kambon. “For instance, the family essence group is working to reestablish the Sunday family dinner that was so effective in the past.
I remember when I was a youngster, you had to be there. The food was good, but my grandfather sat at the head table, my great uncle to his left. We enjoyed the food and each other, but we talked family business. That’s something that folks can relate to,” he said.
“The land and food group is encouraging folks who might have a family garden to promote that to friends and neighbors. Do you know someone else in your neighborhood? Can you start a family garden association? That leads to building a network that hopefully would become nationwide,” added Mr. Kambon.
He added that Minister Farrakhan is his biggest supporter. They’ve known each other since the 1970s from the Minister’s days in Boston. “We’ve been in the liberation struggle, for a long time,” said Mr. Kambon. “The biggest thing is talking to him and getting a sense that I’m on the right path,” he added. For more information on Nubian Leadership Circle, visit nubianleadershipcircle.org.
November 11, 2024
