DETROIT—The crowning event of Black History Month, the Nation of Islam’s Saviours’ Day convention, is a time of great significance and importance. This year’s Saviours’ Day keynote message, delivered on Feb. 22, carried a lot of weight and magnitude.
Not only in the priceless content of the message itself, but also in the touching moments that conveyed decades of love between a teacher, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, the National Representative of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, and his student, Minister Ishmael Muhammad.
So much so that several times, in his humility, Student Min. Ishmael, a son of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad and Mother Tynnetta Muhammad, shed tears.
The subject of the message, “We Must Make Our Community a Decent and Safe Place to Live,” from Minister Farrakhan, was delivered by Student Min. Ishmael, his National Assistant Minister. As Student Min.
Ishmael was in the beginning part of delivering the message, Minister Farrakhan approached the stage, the two embracing, as tears flowed. Members of the audience were also moved.
Student Min. Ishmael’s 29-year-old son, Bro. Ishaqq Muhammad, shared in his father’s emotion. In fact, Bro. Ishaqq said this Saviours’ Day was likely the most emotional for him.
“As [Student Min. Ishmael’s] son, I’ve had the privilege to see him grow in his ministry and as a student of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, and it brought me great joy and just pride to know that he has remained steadfast since he was 13 years old,”
Bro. Ishaqq said, referring to the age his father was, when Minister Farrakhan asked Mother Tynnetta Muhammad could he take him on the road with him.
“Even through all the ups and downs that life has presented, all the challenges … he’s remained faithful to his teacher… . So, I’m feeling very proud right now as his son, and I love him very much.”
Bro. Ishaqq explained that Min. Ishmael’s Saviours’ Day lecture was a culmination of decades of hard work. As Bro. Ishaqq watches his father’s journey, he said it’s been an inspiration for his own life.
“The Nation, the Messenger, the Minister, it’s in my DNA, literally,” he said. “So, I could never thank Allah enough for allowing me the privilege to be born in something so much greater than myself. It’s given me a purpose.
It’s given me a criterion, a yardstick, somewhere to go. To be able to see the example in my father, to literally do this day in and day out.
It comes with a lot of struggle, (it) comes with a lot of challenges that some don’t see, or some do see, but the reward and the fruit of that labor at the end of the day brings great satisfaction and brings joy to the soul.
And there’s nothing like bringing joy to the soul, because you feel at peace. So, I pray that Allah blesses me with that same feeling at the end of my days.”
Bro. Ishaqq’s flood of emotion was also shared by Larina Nelson, a cousin of Student Min. Ishmael.
“For one, just seeing Ishmael get so emotional up there, and just knowing that he’s a really big, important part of our upbringing and our life. We have nothing but gratitude.”
Ms. Nelson remembers being a young girl in the 80s and seeing Minister Farrakhan in her great-grandmother’s kitchen. Reflecting on those memories and watching her cousin speak before a crowd of hundreds nearly brought her to tears.
Detroit City Councilwoman Renata Miller also has memories of Minister Farrakhan from the 1980s. That’s when she first heard his voice on a Tuskegee, Ala. campus, when she was around 17 years old. She described him as the most aggressive servant she’d seen in her entire lifetime.
“To see him tonight, the courage and strength still in his voice, and that call in his voice gave me goosebumps,” she said.
As a newly elected official, just 45 days into her position, it was very important for Ms. Miller to hear Minister Farrakhan’s words, coupled with Student Min. Ishmael’s lecture in helping to inform the important work ahead of her.
“My biggest take from it was how we should have self-love, dignity, respect, because if we have those things, we won’t have pedophilia in our neighborhood, we’ll know how to treat our women in our neighborhood, we’ll know how to raise our young men to honor and care for where they live, their homes, just the values that really we learned biblically growing up.”
Another major point for her was how bloodline does not determine service. As someone who was adopted, it spoke volumes to Ms. Miller. “It’s not about the blood, it’s not about what people think, but it’s about the one who’s going to stand up and have the courage to make that decision,” she said.
“So, me, as a city council person, hiring people to lead our district five, that resonated a lot with me, too. It’s not your best friends, it’s not who you’re cool with, it’s who’s going to actually do the work and put that time in and strive to be successful.”
Reverend Julie Price, pastor of Northwestern Community Baptist Church in Detroit, said this Saviours’ Day was the first one she’s attended in years. She had the opportunity to sit on the stage during the lecture.
“I thought it was very inspirational and encouraging as to how we as Black people, all we have to do is come together and unite, and nobody can do the things for us like we can,” she said.
“I saw the younger people and that was a good thing to see. It was very refreshing to see our young people coming together and wanting to be a part of a unified nation.”
William Gardner, a former Detroit public school teacher and community liaison for Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.’s chapter in Detroit, sat on stage during the lecture. The only other Saviours’ Day he attended was in 2007, but he said this year was unmatched.
“I think Saviours’ Day with Brother Ishmael Muhammad has exceeded what Minister Farrakhan wants,” he said. “Minister Farrakhan is still the true Black leader of Black Americans.
The call to action for us to take control of our community, to not depend on other ethnicities to validate us, and the need to especially get with the church and our school systems,” he said.
Deandre Yancey, 24, traveled all the way from Jacksonville, Fla., to attend his second Saviours’ Day convention. Mr. Yancey shared that he feels that the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan is a “staple” in the Black community and that attending this year’s Saviours’ Day has inspired him to join the ranks of the Nation of Islam. “I see [how] our communities are.
They do need change. It’s bad out there. It’s really bad. So, I do feel like we do need to take that step to help bring everything together and uplift our communities,” Mr. Yancey stated.
Seema Ahmad is from Detroit and is a candidate for state representative. She was attending Saviours’ Day for the first time. She said she always wanted to connect with the Nation of Islam. “I come from the Bangledesh-American community and we are not at all connected with the Nation of Islam.
We need that connection to unify as Muslims and get work done in our communities. So, I think it is a gift from God to be here, to be connected finally and hear from the Minister [Farrakhan]. It’s truly a gift from God, especially during Ramadan.”
Ortez Thompson is from Detroit and explained how the message resonated with him. “This was my first time attending Saviours’ Day and today’s message encouraged me. I got encouraged to motivate myself to unite my family and friends to be better for ourselves and our community,” he said.
Benjamin Erwin is also from Detroit. “I attend Saviours’ Day every year, and this message really resonated with me. I agree that in order to have safer and better place to live, we have to do something for ourselves,” he said.
Sister Tasha X from Milwaukee, stated, “Today’s message left me overwhelmed with gratitude and love. There should be no more talk, it’s time to do the work.”
For Shawn Scott of Detroit, the day marked a fulfillment of long-held dream. Mr. Scott, has been studying the Teachings of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, represented and exemplified by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan for about 37 years while he has been incarcerated.
Released just five months ago, he always wanted to be able to attend an address, accompanied by his son, also named Shawn Scott. “To have him [Minister Farrakhan] come out and walk out was a beautiful thing. That was a blessing, that was a prayer, that was everything,” said the elder Mr. Scott.
Photos: Courtney X
Emotions welled up in his son, as the younger Mr. Scott expressed what resonated with him during the address. “I learned today, more so, about Elijah Muhammad’s family lineage, that was interesting,” he said.
“The way his son spoke, he said something to me that really stuck to the kinds of things that I’ve got going on right now and just not giving up and finding my way in myself to keep going. That’s what I needed to hear,” he added.
“To be here with my father was a dream come true,” Mr. Scott concluded.
Fuqua Bey of Moorish Science Temple #25 in Detroit, said Minister Farrakhan’s presence made it a true Saviours’ Day.
“Seeing him, because I don’t think it would have been a Saviours’ Day without the ‘saviour’ himself, you know, and [Student]Minister Ishmael, he did extremely well,” Mr. Bey said. “The message is about unity and coming together, talking about economic security, and being present here in America. … It was very inspirational.”
Contributing Writers Shawntell Muhammad, Yaminah Muhammad, Donna Muhammad and Zakiyyah Maryam Muhammad contributed to this report.
To view the Saviours’ Day 2026 message in its entirety, visit media.noi.org